This Story's Pages: August 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I am so lucky. The past few months are hard to put into words; they have been so filled with love that the heart feels full and overflowing.

After months of planning, the time finally came to travel to France for Pierre’s and I’s wedding. It started to feel real when we met Pierre’s family in Paris and then my family arrived. We were all so happy to be together again. We travelled to La Buisse in the South of France for final preparations. By Thursday, many of our friends and family had arrived and the fun part started. It was so nice to see people again, to catch up, to share some stories, and just to be in the company of loved ones. We had so many special moments, from the little laughs while assembling wedding programs, to eating too much cheese, and the life of moments of seeing my dad read his thank you card, and wearing my mom’s wedding dress for the rehearsal dinner. On Saturday, after a very relaxed morning, we started to get ready. It was fun to have my sisters and my best friends with me, helping to keep me smiling during hair and makeup, and making me feel like a princess with their support. Before we knew it, the time had arrived. Walking down to the tent and chupa with my parents was very emotional, seeing all the faces of our friends and family and Pierre waiting for me in the front. There is something so special about so many friends and families gathering to celebrate our union. It is more than just seeing people again, it is a unique feeling of all the love and support we have in our life, combined, in one magical moment in time, and together it is more than the sums of its parts. We just felt so loved, and on a day that celebrates our love, we were so thankful for this magical feeling. I often feel gratitude for all the love I have in my life, but the wedding was more than that, it was a celebration of love and its complete acceptance. The ceremony was wonderful. I loved listening to our family and friends read the poems and prayers that mean so much to us, and to share that moment with Pierre. Our vows felt really special, to share with each other, in the presence of so many was really special. At the same time, despite sharing the wedding with everyone, parts of it felt very personal. There were moments when I looked into Pierre’s eyes and it was just the two of us. After the ceremony, we got a quiet moment at the house, and looked out and everyone having cocktails and getting ready for dinner, and we felt so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our life. The dinner and party were so much fun. It was really amazing to see our families and friends all meet each other and discuss issues and dance and sing together. We danced until 4 am, and eventually Pierre got thrown in the pool by his brothers. The best part, is that even with the wedding through, I still feel the luckiest person in the world, for being married to my best friend and all that we have ahead of us.

From France we went to Israel. We enjoyed a few days in Jerusalem, a nice trip to the dead sea, and seeing lots of family. We had another nice wedding celebration for my Israeli family who could not attend. My parents were amazing at planning it all on their own. The best part was dancing with my grandfather, who has been refusing to go on walks, but somehow managed to dance with half the girls in the family.

After a few short weeks in Uganda, Pierre and I traveled to South Africa for the World Cup. The atmosphere was great with people all over the world coming to support their teams and the love of the game. We went to a few games; I supported Ghana all the way, and had a few football disappointments along the way. We also got to take a trip to the Drakenberg Mountains, a beautiful area in South Africa. In the morning, with the sun light on the red mountains, a cool breeze, and a warm hug from Pierre, I just felt like the entire world is in my heart, like I have everything I need and I am everywhere I want to be. We also visited Lesotho for a few hours, a mountainous and beautiful country we hope to get back to some day.

Now, after another wonderful trip to Switzerland for Edouard’s and Anna’s wedding, we are back home and looking forward to returning to our life here.

Thank you for being in my life.

Inbal

Pictures from our wedding in France