She was a question to be answered, and his answer was "I do"

“I’m the son of a queen and mum, today, your prince has found his princess,” these were the heart-warming words of my good friend’s husband in his wedding speech over the weekend. In one of the most moving ceremonies and celebrations I have ever experienced, I was overcome by love and what it means to find the one, not just anyone, but the person who values you so much that he is willing to leave the comfort of his family home and the fun and familiarity among his friends, for a chance to ride the roller coaster of love with his wife.

In a lavish wedding, topped with fireworks at the end of the night, a friend so simple and so pure in her love was told by her husband, “you are so simple and that’s why your family, my family and I wanted to give you the world on this day.” He didn’t mean simple in an offensive way, just that she lives wanting nothing, loves wholeheartedly, acts with honesty and cloaks herself with noble characteristics daily. This is why he fell in love with her. It’s why we all did. 

This was a lesson in getting back to basics. Love in this relationship was honest, forgiving, caring, kind, nurturing and selfless; all the necessary ingredients to a happy marriage. 

The Coptic Orthodox ceremony overflowed with symbolism that I often neglect to pay attention to..this time I did. The couple met at the church door to walk each other down the aisle. This would be their first walk towards a life together. The promises began at the door. 

Arm in arm, the bride stood on the right hand of the groom for from that day forward, she would be his right hand. She would be his strength. The one to lift him up. He would always seek her in that partnership. They would look out for each other, witnesses to each other’s life. The one person in the world who would know and seek every detail of the other’s life and love them regardless. 

People spend too much time focusing on independence, forgetting that love is about doing things together .  While a walk down the aisle required two separate people, the bond of marriage made them one. The only way this was possible was in both of them substituting a selfish love with a selfless one that instead prioritized, the other person's happiness; each bowing down to the needs of the other. 

They were adorned in a King and Queen’s cape, for they were now the masters of their home and they were dressed in crowns to symbolize that elevated status. As each signed off on their promise to love and honour each other for an eternity, they ended the ceremony, bowing before the altar sharing that promise not just with each other but with God. This was the acceptance of their duties to each other, the welcoming of their roles, the submission to each other and the acknowledgment of the blessing they had experienced, in finding one another and being bound to one another for life. 

The vows were Divine, not self written, but instructions to honour and serve, to treat each as royalty, to do their  utmost to love each other, ‘never frowning in the other’s face, and though many of us always laugh at that line, this is one of my favourites.  If we never frown, we never fight and with that peace, there’s no reason that love wouldn’t last. 

I watched the elation in the groom’s face, the worship he had for my friend, the support of their friends and families and the unity that their love created and then I understood, love was a combination of all of these things and it’s an experience I simply cannot wait for.