orchid, Santa Barbara
I’ve gained a new appreciation for flowers recently.
My friends Chris and Jacques (who kindly hosted my wedding at their house) asked me about my vision for the day. After describing the grilled chicken and vegetables, the taste of the wine, the sound of musical instruments, the parade we would lead to the wedding site, our first dance (complete with a short but sweet break dancing routine) and the chuppah we would be married under, they asked curiously, “And what am I smelling?” and waved their hands towards their nose.
It was a sense I hadn’t even considered. Even when I thought of the flowers, I had only considered them visually.
They explained that if you find an unusual scent, every time your guests smell that flower, they will be reminded of the beauty and magic of that day. “We’ll import plumeria and tuberose from Hawaii!” they suggested, “and string leis to hang from the trees.”
The day before the wedding, we sat on the floor of their house with dental floss and fat needles and strung bloom after bloom of plumeria, the scent wafting from the large cold box they were shipped in. The experience of making these leis became a sacred part of our day. It felt sensual, ritualistic, and ancient.
When we looked out at our family and friends’ faces (beaming) framed in these flowers (by this time strung around their necks) it made us joyous, and every time we hugged someone, we drank in the scent.
It’s true. Forevermore, this smell will always be magic to us.
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Sounds delicious. We had roses and stephanotis and all the usual wedding-y flowers – but once the day was done, the florist dried my bouquet and all the leftover flowers that were salvageable – and made gorgeous wreaths for my parents and for Nate and I. They won’t obviously last forever – but they’re a wonderful reminder of our day…
we had christmas-esque berries and greenery for our traditional roses-stephanotis-hydrangea bouquets. your wedding sounded wonderful. i’m still imagining the beauty of it all.
Aloha andrea and Congradulations!
What an awesome description of your special day.
As I read this I remembered my own wedding bouguet of pink tulips and tuberose and how I carried the flowers all the way to Kauai on our honeymoon. Once again, 2 years later upon relocating to the island, “I got leid” by my husband with plumeria. When you get off the plane on Kauai (The Garden Island), especially this time of the year, the first sense that hits you is the outrageous smell of tropical flowers.
Once again, when my daughter was born 8 years ago this week, the birthing room was filled with the smell of Tuberose, Pikake, Gardenia and Plumeria. It was truly heaven sent as well as my baby girl. so, thanks for the sweet reminder and I am sure yours will be a forever sensual reminder for you as well. Very Cool!
What a beautiful post!! Congrats again on the wedding!
One of my favorite memories of our wedding (three months ago)…when I made it to the front of the church and was standing with my man and all of friends and family I could smell roses all around me, the flowers my girls were holding, the roses decorating the pulpit. I hadn’t thought about it before, I just wanted it to all look good. But it smelled wonderful and it was almost sensory overload…the violin music, the heat of the nearby candles, the feel of my husband’s sweaty hand in mine and the smell of the flowers. 🙂
the other day my daughter(13) came up behind me and put an apple blossom under my nose while I was washing the dishes..my eyes rolled back in my head, my knees buckled and ecstasy touched the back of my brain..WOW the power of smell!
I can almost “drink in” the wonderful aroma of your wedding flowers. Thank you for your wonderful description, and sharing more of the magic of your special day.
Andrea and Matt
CONGRATS how wonderful to find the same star in the sky 😉 much happiness!!!
Perceptions do not limit reality.
If you would be unloved and forgotten, be reasonable.