The lake’s famous “zephyr” was in full bloom. Not a mere gentle breeze, this zephyr was blustery. The groom and his mom and friends came early to construct an arch by the water. I watched carefully so I could tell someone else how to do it. They used PVC pipe: Two long, straight sections about six feet long, and one angled PVC that joined and arched at the top. They all fit together. To make sure the pipe stayed in the ground in the blustery wind, they hammered two sturdy metal straight pipes into the ground first. These were about twenty-four inches long, and it was brilliant the way the PVC pipe fitted right over them. They had brought some beautiful purple fabric and lots of zip ties to cover the white PVC pipes. Voila! A purple arch was born! They used wires and zip ties to attach beautiful braided tassles and some silk flowers to each side of the arch. They brought some other lovely fabric as the runner, and we kept it from blowing away by covering the sides of the runner with lots of sand. They’d brought some pretty white chairs, and we had quite the stunning, instant wedding scene!
The bridesmaids wore beautiful one-shoulder dresses that swayed perfectly in the breeze. (Thankfully, as they began their procession, it was not so much a wind as a sturdy breeze.) The light changed, as if by magic, when we first saw the bride approach: From normal daylight to that glorious, peachy, Tahoe-sunset light that is most radiant at Nevada Beach. Her entire face was blazing with peach-colored love and bliss.
Part of the ceremony included a “Fight Box,” and it was my first time including a Fight Box in a ceremony. This couple had a copy of the beautiful vows they’d written for each other inside the wooden box with a bottle of wine. They both hammered the box shut at the ceremony at the same time. The idea is that, somewhere down the line in their life together, should they ever fight, they will open the box and be reminded of their vows to each other, and what it’s really all about. It’s a great concept!
Happiness to all!
Pamela Camille, Reverend
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