Among other things, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jack and I spent this weekend unwrapping our wedding presents. It's taken a month because we dashed away straight from the reception to the unhoneymoon, leaving a big heap of presents under the stairs at my parents' house, and I've been busy every weekend since then, so this was the first chance I got to go back to Cambridge and actually deal with them. I am really, really bowled over by how lovely our friends are!
People took us seriously when we said we didn't want duty presents of household items because that's the tradition for getting invited to weddings. So many people gave us cards with lovely lovely messages, and many people gave us or our chosen causes money. And a few people gave us the presents we asked for, even though we weren't very specific: beautiful things. So now we own actual artworks, unique, non mass-produced pieces, some made by our friends, some commissioned by them, and some bought from artists who sell their work commercially. And in a whole bunch of different media, paintings, prints, sculptures, and some incredibly lovely ceramics. This makes me feel grown-up in a way that useful, practical household stuff could never have done.
Next job is going to be writing thank you letters to all these amazing wonderful friends, of course. But the thing is, I want to thank not just the people who gave us shiny things, but everybody who gave us advice and recommendations and moral support through the wedding planning. And everybody who contributed to the ceremony and the reception. And everybody who dealt with geography and found time in their lives to come and celebrate with us. The shiny dress was nice, being the centre of attention was nice, but getting to see all my friends at once was absolutely amazingly unforgettable.
( I hope I don't sound too much like an Oscar acceptance speech )
Then there ishatam_soferet. I can't find words to express how wonderful a gift it is that you created artwork for us! Wanting to commission a piece from hatam_soferet was one of the big reasons why I came down on the side of getting married rather than just making a private commitment to jack. The final piece is beyond any superlatives, but another amazing thing was the process of designing it, all the discussions we had, all the little progress reports she sent as a counter to the stress of last-minute wedding preps, the details that reflect shared history and express so much affection and friendship as well as being incredibly beautiful. I'm near to tears writing this; I can't believe that the rest of our lives are going to be made more shiny by having such a beautiful work of art to look at, reminding us not only of our exciting and joyful wedding, but of the even greater joy of having such a dear friend in our lives.
jack and I spent this weekend unwrapping our wedding presents. It's taken a month because we dashed away straight from the reception to the unhoneymoon, leaving a big heap of presents under the stairs at my parents' house, and I've been busy every weekend since then, so this was the first chance I got to go back to Cambridge and actually deal with them. I am really, really bowled over by how lovely our friends are! People took us seriously when we said we didn't want duty presents of household items because that's the tradition for getting invited to weddings. So many people gave us cards with lovely lovely messages, and many people gave us or our chosen causes money. And a few people gave us the presents we asked for, even though we weren't very specific: beautiful things. So now we own actual artworks, unique, non mass-produced pieces, some made by our friends, some commissioned by them, and some bought from artists who sell their work commercially. And in a whole bunch of different media, paintings, prints, sculptures, and some incredibly lovely ceramics. This makes me feel grown-up in a way that useful, practical household stuff could never have done.
Next job is going to be writing thank you letters to all these amazing wonderful friends, of course. But the thing is, I want to thank not just the people who gave us shiny things, but everybody who gave us advice and recommendations and moral support through the wedding planning. And everybody who contributed to the ceremony and the reception. And everybody who dealt with geography and found time in their lives to come and celebrate with us. The shiny dress was nice, being the centre of attention was nice, but getting to see all my friends at once was absolutely amazingly unforgettable.
( I hope I don't sound too much like an Oscar acceptance speech )
Then there is
hatam_soferet. I can't find words to express how wonderful a gift it is that you created artwork for us! Wanting to commission a piece from hatam_soferet was one of the big reasons why I came down on the side of getting married rather than just making a private commitment to jack. The final piece is beyond any superlatives, but another amazing thing was the process of designing it, all the discussions we had, all the little progress reports she sent as a counter to the stress of last-minute wedding preps, the details that reflect shared history and express so much affection and friendship as well as being incredibly beautiful. I'm near to tears writing this; I can't believe that the rest of our lives are going to be made more shiny by having such a beautiful work of art to look at, reminding us not only of our exciting and joyful wedding, but of the even greater joy of having such a dear friend in our lives.