Chapter 8: Marriage and Ceremony

As the author described waiting in the airport for Felipe’s flight to arrive the US, tears started prickling my eyes as I remembered my own period of waiting and anxiety. After his disastrous first attempt to come to the US, on May 25, 1995 I awaited Davide’s arrival in Logan airport. I was nervous and excited, and this time I brought my mom with me in case anything went terribly wrong. I don’t remember much about that reunion, only that he arrived, we were relieved and happy, and we went back to my tiny apartment in Central Square to start our new life and prepare to get married within the 90 day deadline set by the US government.

The day before we got married we had a rehearsal of the wedding ceremony, just to make sure everyone knew where to stand and what to say when. It was just Davide and me, my sister and her future husband, and the ministers (we had two, one to conduct the ceremony in English and the other to translate it into Italian). It was a quiet summer evening, with a slight breeze. We made our way through the ceremony, laughing and joking with each other. 

In contrast, the next day was a blur, getting everything ready for the official ceremony, greeting friends and relatives, spending way too much getting dressed up. When we finally were ready for the ceremony, It seemed like it lasted about two minutes.

Looking back, I feel like we were actually married during the rehearsal. Time stopped for a few moments on that summer evening - I was in the present moment with the one I love. And I really didn’t need much more than that to feel committed.