Hey There…. I was feeling low when I did these flowers. They were for our two close friends, Jen & Lightning, who were getting married before November 4th. I was excited to be doing the flowers for their civil ceremony but I had been working til’ 2am in the morning the night before and was about to be running back and forth across town to cat sit for my parents, not to mention a firedance performance I had the next weekend. I was just feeling run down that Saturday morning as I woke up at 5:30am, exactly a month ago on October 4th, and went downtown to the flower mart.
The funny thing is I’d been anticipating their wedding since they announced their engagement oh, six years ago. This wedding was six years of anticipation and two weeks notice. And it could not have been at a busier time. You know when you wake up feeling low and you think “I’m getting sick.” That was me that morning, going downtown at 5am in the morning. I was walking around picking the flowers thinking, “This day could not have come at a busier time, please let me find what I need, please don’t let me get sick.” Once I got back home with the flowers I also felt some mild panic in that I’d never really done bouquets before. I didn’t know if I could pull it off. But looking at the photos, I feel like a contestant on Project Runway, gushing at seeing their creations take form down the catwalk. They make me happy.
And that entire day made me happy. It was a civil ceremony in a park in West Hollywood that lasted maybe all of ten minutes which was then followed by dinner in Malibu that lasted throughout the evening. The big joke about the flowers is that the ceremony was so quick and to the point, I think Jen & Lightning held their bouquets for all of 40 seconds before needing their hands free to do the vows and the exchanging of the rings. But they did add to the day. They felt like a part of a very lavish, traditional wedding but it was the simplicity and clarity of love in their ceremony I found so beautiful.
In fact, their wedding was one of the best I’ve experienced and it was the best for me because I got to be as open and loving as I wanted to be and felt for them. I didn’t hold back, I didn’t feel self-conscious, I just felt present, joyful and honored to be celebrating their union. I hadn’t realized until that day unfolded, how excited I was about them getting married. There was toast after toast at dinner, shared by story after story of their moments together. And as if orchestrated perfectly (I think maybe by Lightning’s Grandparents who both passed away this year) after dinner as we were all driving down PCH, there was the most amazing fireworks display we’d ever seen. Why fireworks were going off on the coastline in Malibu on October 4th I have no idea, but they were incredible. There were Harry Potter-like, magical creatures coming out of those fireworks.
Driving back home, down the coast that evening, I basked in the day. For the whole wedding industry that churns on months of planning, thousands of dollars, tears and anxiety (while we had a great wedding, stress wiggled its way under the covers; my husband’s dream that compelled us to push our wedding date back? We were underwater, going deeper and deeper, and he relayed how the pressure was crushing our skulls) Jen and Lightning had captured the perfect wedding in a matter of weeks. And in terms of my overloaded commitments, what commitments? I was in the expansion of the moment. Life was great food, laughter, watching the sunset over the ocean and catching fireworks.
I woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed. And I thought how perfect. Their last minute wedding, the thing that seemed so crammed into my schedule, so on overload, sure to bring on illness, was exactly what I needed to take me out of all of that craziness. The stress of work and obligations faded away as I was just in the moment of love, the moment of celebration and joy. To Jen and Lightning!
November 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm |
Great food, laughter, love, a sunset, fireworks, friends and family … what could possibly be better? We need to keep this in mind always.
Great post!
Here’s to Lightning and THUNDER!!
November 5, 2008 at 1:50 pm |
My dear friend,
Words can’t begin to express what a treasured gift your spirit is. It’s not just the flowers; it’s the impulse behind the flowers.
In your first breath, after I told you we were getting married in a rush before November 4th, you immediately offered the question, “What are you going to do about flowers?” Naturally I hadn’t thought about it. Naturally I hadn’t thought about anything, not even what I would wear. It was just important to get the job done before whatever would happen with Proposition 8 on election day.
Your gorgeous artistic generous creative spirit transformed our utilitarian rush into something beautiful and precious. Your time, effort, expense, and creativity were and are so appreciated. Just knowing that that detail was taken care of gave me peace of mind. I was delighted to keep the secret from Lightning and anticipate its reveal. I didn’t even notice, what you pointed out, that the flowers were held for such a brief moment in the ceremony. To me, the flowers were held the entire time, if not by us, by a dear friend. Though not on the ’stage,’ they were very present to me the entire time, on through to the end of the evening.
Thank you thank you thank you, it was the special touches of our friends on that day that made it truly memorable, truly wonderful. And I always want to remind you how you and your soulmate gave us more than we could have hoped for in our engagement party years ago.
May you be richly blessed with creative personal and professional fulfillment. You put it out in the world and it comes doubly back to you! Love love love -
November 7, 2008 at 12:26 pm |
Great post, and a georgeous bouquet to boot! I’m glad you were there to make Erika and Jen’s day even more special. Just one question…I’ve never heard the nickname “Lightning”…where did that come from?
- Lightning’s little sister…I guess that would make me something like “firefly”!
December 11, 2008 at 9:35 pm |
I heard you speaking on the Cheryl Richardson Internet radio show the other day. I found your story so inspirational and fun, so I went to check out the website. WOW! Beautiful flowers, words, and spirit throughout.
I used to do something at a previous job called “Random Acts of Chocolate” – I would deliver “bouquets” of sweets to people on the college campus on which I worked who didn’t get a lot of attention but were crucial to my job. But the true randomness of many of your deliveries – awesome.
Thanks again for the inspiration – you are beautiful!
Sincerely, Rosemary Connors
December 15, 2008 at 3:36 am |
Heard you on Hayhouseradio, and you are right the topic was just perfect for you, ‘Pass the torch of hope’. What a good idea you had. I wish you all the best and good vibes.
Greetings from Zurich, Switzerland.