In the end, it was the most beautiful day of my life. I didn't expect it to be, had nothing but foolish nerves about all those people! looking at me! can't I just sneak past them and surprise them at the altar, er, fig tree? But when my father and I walked down the aisle and all around us, our family and friends starting humming "Here Comes the Bride" because I hadn't planned for any music - much to my father's chagrin - and when I saw my friend Dave with his new Buddy Holly-inspired glasses waiting for us up at the fig tree, sermon in hand, and when Max and I were told to turn around and say hello to all the people who had come, by planes, trains and automobiles, from Seattle and Jakarta, from New York and Paris, from Rome and Berlin, from Salzburg and Brussels, to assemble in my mother's garden and see us be married next to the house that my grandfather bought and rebuilt 30 years ago, I realized with a full heart and a clenched throat that sometimes clichés exist for a reason.
I'm still in the happy, misty fog that enveloped us that day, even though the beautiful greenhouse-like tent is being dismantled as we speak and the seating chart that I nailed to the shack my grandfather built is gone and the wildflowers my stepmother and friends picked by the side of the road the morning of the wedding to decorate the tables with are now finally wilting. One by one, everyone has said goodbye and gone back home, leaving behind only a footprint in the dusty earth here and a bent bottle cap and a stray sequin there. Tomorrow I leave this house and these gorgeous hills that are forever changed in my mind. Now it is the place where I married the love of my life while our dearest dears looked on and cheered for us in the setting sun.
I am the luckiest girl alive, I thought on Saturday and every day since then. To have had this day, these days, to love this person, to know these hills. And to be a part of so many lives that came together that afternoon. If I close my eyes, I can see them still: my 10-year old cousin Max helping me with my makeup, my girlfriends in the bathroom with me, pinning chiffon flowers in my hair, my husband's eyes filled with tears, my father's speech, funny and true.
May I never forget any of it nor the feeling of happiness within me still. I am a lucky girl.
Best wishes to you and your husband. This post brought me to happy tears and helped me remember how wonderful I also felt on my wedding day.
Posted by: Jen | June 29, 2011 at 10:24 AM
Luisa, I've been reading for the last six months and I have to say a heartfelt congratulations. My husband and I are coming up on 3 years of marriage and it's been a season of golden light.
Posted by: Laurie | June 29, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Here's to a life well lived to both of you!
Posted by: Maria | June 29, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Congrats. It sounds beautiful and truly perfect. Cherish those memories, keep them tucked away in a warm place deep in your heart.
Posted by: Michelle | June 29, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Congratulations!!! You look so beautiful and happy. Radiant like your writing. xo Lucky couple!!
Posted by: Sharon Kitchens | June 29, 2011 at 10:27 AM
hey luisa
i was checking to see if you posted about getting married every few days - and am so happy that you have finally! congrats to you and your new husband. you both look so beautiful and happy. may your lives always be filled with love health and happiness! um, can we have more photos please?!
Posted by: mary | June 29, 2011 at 10:36 AM
We were all there with you, cheering you on as always--congratulations!
Posted by: sms | June 29, 2011 at 10:42 AM
big smile and HUGE congratulations from london, luisa & max!
Posted by: BF | June 29, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Congratulations Luisa! How wonderful!
I have been married for 20 years, and I would love to do it all over again, (w/ the same man of course!), just under a fig tree this time in Italy instead of the giant tacky catering hall with the cocktail hour and my mother making me do it that way!!! Yours sounds like the PERFECT day!!! Mazel Tov and a long and happy marriage. I hope you post more pics.
Stacey
Posted by: stacey snacks | June 29, 2011 at 10:49 AM
congratulations! so so thrilled for you. (and you both look beautiful and so happy)
Posted by: rachel @ sweettarte | June 29, 2011 at 10:50 AM
congratulations!!! (my wedding was NOT the most beautiful day of my life. fortuitously, though, it was (as they say) just one day (one day, and one really crappy night, if you count the rehearsal dinner (WHICH I DO))...and BEING married is THE BEST!!! srsly. The! Best!!!!)
many, many, many long, happy and healthy years to you and the mister!
Posted by: heather | June 29, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Oh, what a heart filling post! Your writing, as usual, is so beautiful and personal. Congratulations!
Posted by: Emily | June 29, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Congratulations! I know how you feel because I got married last week as well, and therefore it was fun to read about your wedding preparations on your blog. I appreciate the Charlotte Bronte reference!
Posted by: Divya | June 29, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Thanks for sharing that special moment with us. Congratulations!
Posted by: multikulinaria | June 29, 2011 at 11:00 AM
Such a happy happy day! Many congratulations!
Posted by: bea at La tartine gourmande | June 29, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Congratulations Luisa!! So incredibly happy for you.
Posted by: Ashley | June 29, 2011 at 11:38 AM
This is beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes. Congratulations and best wishes to you both!
Posted by: Holly | June 29, 2011 at 11:38 AM
Congrats!
Posted by: g00blar | June 29, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Both of you look so happy! Congratulations!
Posted by: donaji | June 29, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Congratulations! Wishing you luck and happiness.
Posted by: Meg O | June 29, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Luisa, Herzlichen Glueckwunsch! I am so happy for you and your new husband. May your life together be filled with stray sequins catching your eye -- little flashes of love and thankfulness shining back at you.
Posted by: Stephanie | June 29, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Congratulations & best wishes! Have a magical & Very Happy Married Life ahead :)
Posted by: Serena | June 29, 2011 at 12:34 PM
You look so cute and so happy laughing. Congratulations. A good marriage makes life so much more beautiful.
Posted by: Anne Marie | June 29, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Here's to loving, and loving well. May your marriage be all that it should, and more.
Posted by: Amanda | June 29, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Oh Luisa! It sounds like it was a happy, happy day. I know just the feeling of having your wedding turn out to be a most magical, special, beautiful day. Here's hoping your marriage always carries those feelings with it!
Posted by: Marisa | June 29, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Congratulations, and cheers to you and Max! Wishing you a lifetime of delicious meals together!
Posted by: Peggy | June 29, 2011 at 12:57 PM
Congratulations to the beautiful couple! This is how all weddings should be - genuine, meaningful, happy and full of the people you love!
Posted by: Michelle Arianne | June 29, 2011 at 01:09 PM
So beautiful! Chase happiness, and serve one another...it always makes it work. Blessings to you both!
Posted by: Sandra | June 29, 2011 at 01:20 PM
Congratulations! I'm getting married this fall and hope to feel much as you do (I think I will). What a perfect day to begin the rest of your lives together.
Posted by: nicole | June 29, 2011 at 01:20 PM
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your special, special day with us. Many blessings on you and the love of your life.
(I've been reading your blog for over a year and this is the first time I've left a comment.)
Posted by: Sela21k | June 29, 2011 at 01:43 PM
huge congratulations luisa!! you look incredibly beautiful and your happiness shines. wishing you both all the very best in your life together!
Posted by: danielle | June 29, 2011 at 01:45 PM
Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous.
You look beautiful, your husband looks dashing and your happiness and promise of your life together shines through your writing.
Im getting married in a year and a half and this has made me so excited.
Posted by: the twice bitten | June 29, 2011 at 02:18 PM
You're glowing! Congratulations! And that dress, oh, the dress. You look so classically beautiful, Luisa. I hope you share more pictures with us (and perhaps where your dress came from?--if it's not too intrusive to ask) :)
Posted by: Bridget | June 29, 2011 at 03:11 PM
Congratulations to the happy couple!!! Many wishes for a long and happy marriage.
Posted by: Melanie | June 29, 2011 at 04:00 PM
Congratulations! And beautifully written!
It made me even more excited about that most beautiful day in my life which will happen next summer.
Posted by: Sarah | June 29, 2011 at 04:16 PM
Congratulations! Beautiful words!
Posted by: TJG | June 29, 2011 at 04:25 PM
How wonderful Luisa! Your words brought a joyful tear to my eye - I'm a recent newlywed as well...happily married for all of three weeks :)
Best wishes for a lifetime of happiness!
Posted by: Sarah | June 29, 2011 at 04:52 PM
Sounds like pure magic.
Congratulations!
Posted by: Sasha Gora | June 29, 2011 at 05:41 PM
Congratulations!!!!! I've been happily married for over 21 years and wish you the same :)
Posted by: Claudia | June 29, 2011 at 06:19 PM
Oh, And the weather looked perfect!! Congratulations to you & your Mr! Wishing you all the happiness, and a lifetime of love.
Posted by: Bec | June 29, 2011 at 06:54 PM
You look so beautiful and your husband so handsome! How lovely! Congratulations, and thank you for sharing a glimpse of your wonderful happiness with us.
Posted by: Amy | June 29, 2011 at 07:44 PM
Huge congratulations to you both! What lovely words about what sounds like a wonderful wedding and such a happy picture of you both. May you always remember how happy you both were on your wedding day.
Posted by: Charlotte | June 29, 2011 at 07:51 PM
Congratulations! From a reader who has followed you, mostly silently, for two years now!
Posted by: Evy | June 29, 2011 at 08:04 PM
So nice .... Reminds me of my emotions on my wedding day!
Posted by: anita | June 29, 2011 at 08:49 PM
my wedding is in 3 weeks, and you've gone and gotten me all choked up. he is a lucky man; thank you for sharing your day with us. (you looked gorgeous, by the way!)
Posted by: Laura | June 29, 2011 at 09:24 PM
Dear Luisa,
I thought of you often on your wedding day, calculating what time it was in Italy, and wondering what you were doing. I am thrilled to see this beautiful picture and read your happy post. Congratulations and good luck to you both.
I, too, loved the Jane Eyre reference.
Posted by: Victoria | June 29, 2011 at 11:33 PM
I would love to get married again!
Posted by: 321 | June 30, 2011 at 01:27 AM
Congratulations! You looked sooooooooooo happy!
(long time reader, first time commenter)
Posted by: Vivian | June 30, 2011 at 02:35 AM
What a night! I'm still playing it over and over in my head, still trying to find words for how beautiful it all was. Big love to you and Max. xoxo
Posted by: Molly | June 30, 2011 at 04:29 AM
Congratulations!!! You look so radiantly happy!!
Posted by: EllenQ | June 30, 2011 at 05:10 AM