Chapter 30 - The Preparation
The weeks leading up to the wedding were a whirlwind of joyous preparation. We decided not to rent a grand venue or invite hundreds of distant acquaintances. We wanted the ceremony to reflect who we were: simple, grounded, and surrounded by nature.
We chose the beach right in front of our house.
May you like
My mother designed the floral arrangements, utilizing wild coastal flowers—sea lavender, beach roses, and dune grass. Lily took her role as the flower girl with absolute, adorable seriousness, practicing her petal-throwing technique in the living room for hours.
I spent my evenings building the wedding arch out of driftwood I had collected from the shoreline. I sanded the grey, weathered wood until it was smooth, binding the pieces together with heavy nautical rope. It wasn't perfectly symmetrical, and it certainly wasn't bought from a luxury catalog. But it was strong, resilient, and shaped by the ocean—just like us.
