Fun & Famous

THE WEDDING PART THREE

by Marion Pauw

You would think that it is already over with all the wedding happenings, but no. We continued for another day. Since we only married with a small group in Mallorca and we really enjoyed having a glass of champagne with all our other friends and acquaintances, we organized another gathering at Nel's place on the Amstelveld. Chris and I met each other at Nel, and it is around the corner from our new house, so a perfect spot.

And because this is Amayzine and you are generally fashion girls (I always think I am not one myself, but considering I have clothes shipped from LA and Casablanca, I might be a bit more than I want to admit), I will start by telling you what I wore. I wanted something bridal, but still nice and casual. So I ordered a white sweater dress from James Perse in Los Angeles that fortunately arrived on time and fit well. Underneath, I wore white Vans sneakers. And to make it a bit more bridal, I cut my veil and put on a tiara (also from the Albert Cuyp, the paradise for every bride). This way, I truly lived out every bridal fantasy I could think of, and that’s why I can now grow old, fat, and wrinkly as a satisfied person. Oh, did I mention it looked really cool too?

I wanted something bridal, but still nice and casual.

At Nel, Hugo and his wife Annelies were already waiting for us with a wonderful wedding cake they had made for us. Hugo has ALS. Just unbearable, that disease. He was once a healthy alpha male with a flourishing career until he received the diagnosis of ALS a year and a half ago. Now he is partly in a wheelchair and has to watch as all his bodily functions slowly but surely decline. Since Chris and I have it so incredibly good in every way, we thought instead of gifts to ask our guests to make a donation to the Foundation Friends of Hugo. The beautiful thing is that nearly 4500 euros have already been raised for him. With that money, he can for example record the speech computer he will need when he can no longer speak. A comforting thought is that his children can still hear his own voice and not some random computer voice.

Then followed a kind of avalanche of wonderful people who all came to congratulate us. Colleagues of Chris, my friend Eva who flew in from London with her husband Ashley, my friends Malon and Irene whom I have known since I was respectively fourteen and twelve... Former colleague Frank, aunt Corry, and cousin Inge... And now I am skipping a whole bunch of people and I just hope I am not offending anyone. It was once again overwhelming and I realized again what a wealth it is to have such lovely people around us.

I completely understand why people usually go on their honeymoon right after their wedding. You just need it!

And now I am finally completely done with the wedding. I am taking it a bit easy because it has been quite an exhausting ordeal overall. I feel a deep fatigue down to my bones and my liver has also had a tough time, so I am detoxing a bit. I completely understand why people usually go on their honeymoon right after their wedding. You just need it!

I am starting work very slowly. Together with Susan Smit, I am writing a book about heartbreak, Hotel Hartzeer, and for that, I need to read a lot. So I spend many hours with the dog next to me and a book on my lap.

I assume that after all this wedding chaos, you are also ready for normal life again. Next week I will start writing nice pieces about Kombucha, connective tissue massages, and saying goodbye. At the editorial office. Because I haven't been there for weeks.