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The wedding guests arrived by van at the lovely home of Roland's sister Linda on the outskirts of Santa Fe. The front plaza was beautiful, with the color of autumn leaves and flowers and the sounds of water splashing. We knew that they were about to experience something very special.
We walked through Linda’s home to a rear
terrace where the photographer was taking flash photos all around the terrace and garden. The sky was a deep clear blue, the way it seems to be in Santa Fe in early autumn on a perfect day. The garden was beautiful; who could have guessed that Linda had just had the final touches made to the garden the day before!
Roland, Dean, the photographer and the officiant took their places under a wonderful locust tree, which was just beginning to show its fall color. The leaves allowed the occasional sparkle of sunlight to reach the faces of the wedding party, adding a magical element to the atmosphere, adding to the excitement and a bit of nerves.
We formed a semi-circle around the wedding party. The officiant, who was dressed like a mother earth, in full length lace gown, had a soothing aura of peace and tranquility, which lent a sense of awe and wonder to the occasion.
The ceremony started with sweet words of the couples’ vows, to be each other’s husbands and to live as equal companions in good times and bad.
Roland repeated his vows, facing the officiant, rather than Dean, so Dean reminded Roland that he was marrying him, not the woman who was conducting the ceremony! Roland quickly turned to face his soon to be husband and continued to repeat his vows, now face to face with Dean. The rings were presented. Dean looked like his knees were locked and a small amount of nervous perspiration appeared on his forehead and glittered for a while in the sun's rays filtering through the locust tree overhead.
Roland could not fit the ring on Dean’s finger, as it appears that Dean may have been celebrating quite a bit the days before the ceremony, so Roland, being clever and resourceful, rubbed spit on Dean's finger and the ring slid easily onto Dean’s finger; the wedding guests were entertained with his skill and quick thinking.
After the ceremony we enjoyed a full bar and wonderful hors oeuvres, including prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, a crab curry pastry and other delicacies being served by the attentive catering staff.
After the cocktails and more photographs, we all moved to another rear terrace, this one off of the dining room. The setting was magnificent! The two tables were set under a tree, under the same deep blue skies and cotton white clouds, as before. The tables had amazingly beautiful flower arrangements. We had a wonderful lunch of sea scallops and tenderloin, potatoes au gratin, a duck confit salad and delicious wines. Dessert consisted of a lovely orange flan with caramel.
After more wine and drinks, some of the wedding guests were sleepy and others were simply tipsy from the celebrations. Everyone enjoyed the amazing experience that afternoon, under the deep blue skies and colorful locust trees, among great friends and surrounded by much love and laughter.
Photos by Cousineau Photography
The photos are also available on Shutterfly at Wedding Photos select slideshow for photos with captions
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