The Wedding
A tropical setting, beautiful beaches, vegetation everywhere with warm humid air---the perfect place if you are wearing loose, flowing garments or no clothing – warmth and humidity are your welcome friend…but if you are dressed as if you just walked off the pages of Vogue and your escort is in a dark blue Brioni suit and a $300.00 Kiton tie, heat and humidity are not welcome. This is especially true if the event is in an ancient building that feels more like a sauna than a church. Most in attendance were seemingly oblivious to the weather even though his shirt looked like someone had douse him with water.
The bride was beautiful , the venue was a beautiful 12th century church. It was a fortress like structure with elaborate Byzantine mosaics in the small city Cefalù, Sicily. It was a fairytale event with the bride and groom fitting the part of prince and princess. The attendees brought their “A” game with beautiful dresses accompanied by dark clad gentlemen playing the backdrop role. As much as they might ignore the weather, the combination of being fully dressed in a sauna, like this 12th century edifice; well, it did take just a little bit of the excitement away. We feverishly waved our gifted fans waiting for the bride to make her entrance. She and the dress were stunning and the groom looked appropriately dashing. There is that added bit of something special when the event is a seriously religious ceremony. It puts the marriage in a different category, and under scores that we have no control over the weather or the circumstances, that belongs to a higher power whatever that might be for you. Releasing our need to have control, all of us were present for this couple. As if it was an award for being patient, we exited the cathedral to be greeted by a splendid late afternoon with a slight breeze and a balmy evening to enjoy. We celebrated this couple until the wee hours as they begin their journey as a married couple. I was honored to be invited and to be present.
I might have been the only American in attendance. Like a wedding I attended in Sardinia several years ago this was a truly international event with everyone able to speak multiple languages. I was modestly proud of myself for taking the time to study Italian. Although hardly fluent, I knew enough to understand what was being said and could respond. It was a reward for my studies that it allowed me to feel part of the event on a deeper level
My other observation on this day was to notice the people in the Cathedral who were not part of the invited guests.
This cathedral had been transformed with flowers on every pew. All the attendees, as mentioned, had come dressed in their finest wedding attire. But on the outskirts of the ceremony and around the fringe of this giant building were people in T-shirts and shorts. On vacation or locals of Cefalú, they felt comfortable enough to ring the outside of the assembled group and to observe. I don't know what brings people to want to participate in this voyeuristic process. They might catch a glimpse of celebrity but in reality, this group of t-shirt glad observers were the celebrity. Perhaps they were wishing they could be part or maybe it was just curiosity to observe the group that had assembled dressed so elegantly to celebrate this matrimonial. I was curious if they felt less important. Was their touring not measuring up to this other group which they were observing? Perhaps hopes of attending such an event in the future or just fantasizing about being involved. Did they feel intrusive as they clearly weren't invited? They had to feel as an outsider and yet they chose to take it upon themselves to stand and watch. I don't have a judgment but I am just curious as to what drives people to observe others. Do they think they do not deserve to be watched or their life is unimportant? .
I enjoyed my time, I was honored to be invited. I was happy to be amongst this well-turned-out group celebrating their friends. The next day I left for Palermo. I spent that day on my own yet I was in travel preparation mode. I was full of anxiety, having missed 12 days of home. Convinced that it was not done property or in a timely fashion. As much as we travel, we are anxious about what happened while we were gone
Within a minute of our return, it was like we never left
Buon viaggio