To a garden in Ecuador add the following ingredients:
~ One Master of Ceremony announcing as if he was calling contestants for “The Price is Right”
~ Confused American parents who are taking photos with their daughter, hear their names announced over a microphone, come running over to the ceremony area and discover they are expected to walk to their seats
~ Applause from the guests each time the contestants (parents, bridesmaid, best man, etc.) are announced
~ One DJ who plays only one song out of six during the ceremony because he hadn't taken the time to check his equipment beforehand and was missing a cord for the sound system.
~ One florist who delivers the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres (made of the wrong flowers) during the middle of the ceremony.
~ One flower girl with no basket of petals
~ One worried bridesmaid with no bouquet
~ One gorgeous stressed-out bride with no bouquet
~ One very handsome groom, concerned about his bride, with no boutonniere
~ One confused American
~ One panicking American mother
Sprinkle over all of this:
~ thoughts of “this must be a pre-ceremony practice; this can’t be real”, while the Master of Ceremony “announces” the bouquet-less bride, at which time the confused parents and bridesmaid mouth to each other, “are you kidding me? …. is this really it?”
Stir in:
~ a father, sitting by his wife in the front row, wondering what is happening, who hears the bride's name announced, and races over get his visibly upset daughter, standing alone, by a tree, trying to compose herself, so he can walk her down a grass aisle with no rose petals, no candles and no music.
Add:
~ Approximately 70 Ecuadorian guests who are thinking “oh…..this must be what an American wedding is like” and 11 American guests who are thinking “oh, this must be what an Ecuadorian wedding is like”.
Blend all ingredients on high power until you see tears, confusion, more tears, sadness and even a bit of anger.
After blending, allow time for the bridesmaid to hand tissue after tissue to the tearful bride. At this point it will be tempting to strangle the DJ and punch out the Master of Ceremony. Refrain from doing this for ten full minutes. After ten minutes, listen closely to the most heartfelt, beautiful and touching vows recited by the bride and groom. Observe rings being exchanged, and witness the transformation of tears to smiles.
Even if the ingredients in this recipe are not perfect, or fresh, and the blending results in an explosion rather than a smooth batter, the adoration and love surrounding this creation will be palpable.
Enjoy in the company of the ones you love.
Photos courtesy of Ryan Fuhrman
