The wedding day has been a joyful blur. 

In the morning I helped my sister-in-law decorate the hood of a borrowed, bright-red Volkswagen that would carry Damaris and her father to the church. All the flowers we used came from her garden. Nephew David assisted in attaching the heart-shaped bouquet to the hood.

Other than the bride being slightly late to the ceremony and some audio-visual glitches, the wedding went well. While German was the main language spoken, two women served as English translators. The bride’s three younger sisters performed a recessional on the same piano. I captured the last fifteen seconds of it on a video.

After the ceremony, we went directly to an adjoining reception hall for donated cakes and champagne. We endured family photos, then drove in a convoy over to a hotel restaurant for an elegant meal and entertainment. The party lasted past midnight, but John and I left around 11:30. We used the excuse that we needed to help carry all the gifts back to my brother’s house so they would be available for the couple to open on Sunday before leaving on their honeymoon. 

Weary feet but happy hearts.