Readings - Bible or No?

I am currently debating whether or not to read passages from the Bible during the wedding ceremony. Part of me wants to stick to tradition, as there are some lovely text about marriage and partnership. However, I also like the following, just because these words, from other men, speaks of Love the way I always wish I could.

1. From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
"Well, why did you say that I don't know about love?" the sun asked the boy.
"Because it's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it to love to roam the world like the wind. And it's not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

2. From E.E.Cummings

A.
i love you much(most beautiful darling)

more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky

-sunlight and singing welcome your coming

although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess

(except my life)the true time of year-

and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each

nearness)everyone certainly would(my
most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love

B.
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

C.
true lover in each happening of their hearts
live longer than all which and every who;
despite what fear denies,what hope asserts,
what falsest both disprove by proving true

(all doubts,all certainties,as villains strive
and heroes throug the mere mind's poor pretend
-grim comics of duration:only love
immortally occurs beyond the mind)

such a forever is love's any now
and her each here is such an everywhere,
even more true would truest lovers grow
if out of midnight dropped more suns than are

(yes;and if time should ask into his was
all shall,their eyes would never miss a yes)

3. From "The Little Prince" by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But he resumed his train of thought:
"My life is very monotonous. I run after the chickens; the men run after me. All the chickens are the same; all the men are the same. Consequently, I get a little bored. But if you tame me, my days will be as if filled with sunlight. I shall know the sound of a footstep different from all the rest. Other steps make me run to earth. Yours will call me out of my foxhole, like music. And besides, look over there! You see the fields of corn? Well, I don't eat bread. Corn is of no use to me. Corn fields remind me of nothing. Which is sad. On the other hand, your hair is the colour of gold. So think how wonderful it will be when you have tamed me. The corn, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I shall come to love the sounds of the wind in the field of corn..."
The fox fell silent and looked steadily at the little prince for a long time.
"Please," he said, "tame me!"
"I should like to," replied the prince, "but I don't have much time. I have friends to discover and many things to understand."
"One only ever understands what one tames. People no longer have the time to understand anything. They buy everything ready-made from the shops. But there is no shop where friends can be bought, so people no longer have friends. If you want a friend, tame me!"
So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the time for him to leave was approaching:
"Oh!" said the fox. "I am going to cry!"
"It's your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"I know," said the fox.
"And now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"I know," said the fox.
"So you have gained nothing from it at all!"
"Yes, I have gained something," said the fox, "because of the colour of the corn."

So, to conclude - I wish these were my words, as these are my thoughts:

Christian's hair isn't the colour of corn, neither am I a fox that was looking to be tamed. Still, it happened. Love happened, and now I have gained something.

Updates So Far

Back from the US, and here are the updates so far:

Done:
- Selected Church and reception venue
- Received all invitations from Irasema (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU)
- Scheduled make-up trial this March
- Scheduled meeting with the priest this March

In Progress:
- Narrowed the dress choices down to two similar designs (difference is in the straps)
- Christian is still on the look-out for photographers and videographers
- Sent some guests save the date emails

Not Started:
- Assemble and send out invitations
- Discuss needs with florists
- Look for reception entertainment
- Set reception agenda (argh!!!)

Post Gown Trials

Together with Elisa (my lovely colleague who graciously encouraged me to have this experience and wouldn't let me cancel), I headed over to Sask Fifth Avenue for gown trials... with Carolyn there to suggest, comment and (force) fit, it truly was a one-of-a-kind moment. The kind that you look back on and laugh and sigh happily afterwards.

First off, I was given cold water to refresh myself, and time to peruse the catalogue that detailed when designers would come in for their trunk shows. Tip: to all future brides out there, this is a great chance to see the new gowns by the designer of your choice in a relaxed setting, usually with champagne on hand! Some stores are on an appointment only basis, while others usually consider this event to be an open party.

I was then led to a big room full of chairs and mirrors, as well as a cute center stage, raised in the middle of the room. This was where Carolyn would drape down dress after dress and help me step into it. The raised platform made it easier to see the flow of the dress in its full length, and it also made it easier to see how the train of some dresses looked "full bloom".

Out of the eight or so dresses I tried on (in the span of an hour), there were two that really caught our eyes (three pairs of eyes are crucial - the eyes of an honest friend, the eyes of the attendant, and your own): one was a strapless, lacey Melissa Sweet dress that had a short but sweet chapel train; the other was a ball-gown, halter, heavy satin dress by Vera Wang. These were both very different looks (romantic versus modern), but these were the dresses I didn't want to take off.

Two more bridal salons to go, and I'm hoping to leave with some good top five choices...Cross fingers!

SAKS Fifth Avenue

I'm heading over to Saks Fifth Avenue for gown fittings (trials) after work... way over my price range and budget but, cross fingers!

My HTB is Gr8!

Just a quick (overly sweet) run-down of why my HTB (husband to be) is the best:

- He thinks I will look good in any wedding dress
- He is spurring me on to get in shape for said wedding dress
- He helps me schedule meetings with wedding suppliers (make-up, etc)
- He keeps me updated on the progress of Warrick

This list will go on, I'm sure, but for now, lots of pogi (Filipino word for handsome) points earned! I'm holding on to these memories each time I start worrying about the wedding day. With him at the end of the altar, everything will fall into place, I'm sure (otherwise he would be on his mobile ready to fix whatever went wrong) :)

One $10 Bridal Magazine, One Million Stories

US bridal magazines are the closest thing in weight to a Guttenberg bible, in my mind. En route to Philadelphia from New York, I bought one thick one worth $10 in price but $100 in value, due to the sheer volume of dress styles and reception ideas!

That said, all these choices are again making me feel ill, in the sense that I haven't really managed to nail down an ideal style for myself. I liked so many of the lacey, romantic dresses, but then the stylish, asymetrical modern cuts also made me pause and think twice. I'm glad I can read about other brides and their experiences in choosing dresses, at least I know I am not alone in my dilemas.

One bride wrote about how she realized she was going overboard with her planning when her HTB (husband to be) had to remind her that their wedding account was all used up as she continued to tear page after page of pictures from her stack of magazine. Another bride recounted how her mother actually asked her point blank why she didn't want to spend more of their cash to have a more lavish wedding than a simple 20-person backyard barbeque.

If I did write to the magazine to tell them my story, it would begin like this: Once, there was a girl who never thought she would get married to her best friend; And end like this: Unfortunately she fainted at the altar because she was worried nothing in her wedding entouraged and decor matched (and her wedding dress was cutting off her circulation).

The end.

Three Weeks

Three weeks in the US without Warrick or Christian... but two weekends in New York with the option of going into RK Bridal or SAKS.... hmmm....

Choices, choices, choices....