Congratulations to
Prince William & Kate Middleton!
It was a magnificent day, beautiful weather and a small, intimate ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Kate wore an elegant wedding gown designed by Sarah Burton - she was gorgeous!
We all love a good fairy-tale wedding... and I thought of one of the two wedding scenes I wrote about in His Lucky Charm.
This wedding takes place in a New York City church between the heroine's best friend and her special man. Keisha and Malcolm incorporate many ethnic customs into their ceremony witnessed by close friends and family...
It's a day for romance and weddings ~ so feel free to lose yourself in another fairy tale wedding.
Brandon was seated at the back of the church when the bridal procession started. He was pleased that he had entered the church in a crowd and blended among the many well wishers. Malcolm, his parents and his best man, his younger brother, took their places at the front of the church. He felt his heart skip when Caitlyn walked down the aisle. She was beautiful in a street length shiny gold dress. Her shoes were matching gold strapped sandals with ribbons that tied off above her slender ankles. She was carrying a small bouquet of tiny orchids, small yellow-white flowers on long stalks. Her beautiful chestnut hair was swept up into curls and tied off with gold ribbons.
Keisha followed with both of her parents escorting her. She wore a two-piece ethnic white wedding suit and ankle length skirt that was slit up one side to her thigh. The gold metallic embroidery around her neck and at the hem of the skirt glinted with every graceful move. Golden edged leaves surrounded her bouquet of white roses. Malcolm waited for her in a matching white dashiki and trousers that were also edged with gold metallic embroidery. Their parents, all four, joined them as they received blessings from the priest.
Malcolm had explained many of the traditions and rituals of their wedding to Brandon. He had told him that the wedding was the union of not just the couple, but of their families and their lives. Their parents and immediate families were just as much a part of the ceremony as the couple. It was a very spiritual time with prayers that were begun weeks earlier. Keisha’s father blessed his daughter and son as he now referred to Malcolm. Malcolm’s mother tied a loose string of conchi shells around Keisha’s neck as a sign of fertility and luck for a happy family. The priest conducted the service interjecting the civil requirements among the prayers and blessings.
Malcolm spoke to his bride thanking her for completing his life. “A man without a wife is a man without a home.” He promised to keep her happy and provide for her and he placed a simple band on her finger.
Keisha promised that her love for Malcolm would be never-ending like the circle of the wedding band. Then she placed a ring on his finger.
Both mothers took turns reciting an African marriage creed. Brandon noticed Caitlyn look downward as they gave the advice to “Be Open With Each Other. Bind not yourselves in the secretiveness that causes suspicion and doubt. Trust and reveal yourselves to each other, even as the budding rose opens to reveal its fragrance and beauty.”
He berated himself again for having kept secrets from the woman he loved and wondered if he would ever have the opportunity again to reveal his true self to her. More than that, he worried that she no longer had an interest in him or of learning his truths.
The ceremony concluded with Malcolm’s father tying Keisha and Malcolm’s wrists together with a purple cloth to symbolize their union. Together they jumped over a broom laid on the floor to show that they were starting fresh and welcoming the new path before them. Smiling and happy, they walked together up the aisle to the back of the church while the audience applauded.
The parents followed the happy couple and so did Caitlyn and Malcolm’s brother. Caitlyn noticed Brandon in the back row as she neared the door and her steps faltered. The best man placed a hand under her elbow and looked in the direction of her distraction. The smile Caitlyn had been wearing quickly left her face and she turned away from Brandon as she regained her footing.
