My Walk Down The Aisle

Getting their priorities right on the other end of the aisle ;)

Walking with my daddy  ♥

Daniel and I had a little ceremony in a herb garden facing church bells, which we call our spiritual ceremony. It was the part of the wedding I was looking forward to the most.

Four trees provided a beautiful canopy, and marked the boundaries of the ceremonial grounds where we seated our guests. Our aisle was the pebbled path of the garden, and our flowers were the natural blossoms. The sun was out, the skies were blue, the air was cool, and the birds were singing. It was so perfect, so beautiful.

Daniel loves my voice, I think mostly because he loves me. Sometimes, out of the blue, I will get a text from him complimenting its beauty, even when he hasn't heard it at all that day. I find it very sweet of him, and also very amusing, to be thinking of my voice, and it is always a nice surprise to get such a message from the man I love.

As a gift to him, I wanted to surprise him with a song before I walked down the aisle. I chose the ballad, 'Love Me Tender', because it was romantic and pure, and expressed raw, vulnerable emotion. It was simple and unembellished, and I felt that was what love needed to be - simple, and unembellished.

Between the civil ceremony and our spiritual one, we had a little apero for our guests to refresh themselves and fill their stomachs. I was hoping then to be able to warm up my voice, and practice a little, so it would be perfect for him.. and I tried to sneak away. Quite unexpectedly, I found him following me around. He was so adorable though, heart-meltingly so, so in the end, I decided that it was more important that we were relaxed and happy together, than to stress out over making the song perfect and missing out on spending these funny, happy, romantic moments together.

When it came time to walk down the aisle, I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath to compose myself. I called on God to make everything just right. And then I trusted, and sang. ♥ 

"..Love me tender, 
   Love me true, 
   All my dreams fulfilled.
  For my darling I love you,
  And I always will.."

I remember feeling a wash of calmness after singing it, the same feeling I get when I have prayed with all my heart. I liked that it was directed at Daniel, but it did also have an effect on me. It reminded me of the Baha'i prayer for husbands, which starts curiously with a stanza for the wife, and reminded me how our actions for someone else have such a big impact on our own selves.

When I was done, I remember my dad saying to me "Well done.", and smiling. That meant a lot to me. Then he took my hand, the music softly playing, and we began our walk down the aisle.

The stony path was difficult to walk on, and I struggled to keep my balance without stepping on my dress as my heels pierced through the chips of stone. I remember having to hold quite tightly on to my dad's arm.

When I think of it now, it was such an interesting mix of feelings.. the terrifying feeling of falling into the stone and tripping on my train, the uneasiness of being photographed and wondering how to smile (a very awkward feeling), the melody of my wedding march music and its beautiful lyrics - this same song I had played over and over again while awaiting this momentous day - now playing for the moment itself,  the ecstasy of marrying the man of my dreams and the incredulousness of this being a reality, the love and smiling faces that surrounded us, and the peace that encompassed all these feelings, as if all my emotions belonged to a home of joy and peace.

Daniel and I have many magical moments, but I would say this was one of exceptional magic. I was so happy when I finally reached him. ♥