an open letter to a hurricane

Dear Irene,
Kindly back off. Leave New York airports alone-
We have a wedding this week
and don't have time for you, or any other natural disasters for that matter.
Sincerely,
Y.



photo : MCT via Ynet

Mr. and Mrs.

A few pictures, not many words.

We wake up at 4:00, and catch a taxi in the dark...
by the time we walk through the terminal, the sun is just rising.




Sooner than we know it, we're already landing in Larnaca.





We stop to get ready, I wear my green dress and H. has new wedding shoes.We drive through old narrow alleys, and arrive at the town hall. A few couples are waiting , pacing back and forth, signing papers. Some men are wearing shiny white suits , other couples look tired, dragging suitcases behind them.

Then it's our turn. The officiant is festive, and wears a large gold medal around his neck. Wagner's wedding march plays in loops - almost making me run for the door, but I don't.



We solemnly swear a few things,
and sign a few papers.

And that's it! after promising to love each other in happiness and in happiness*, we are officially married ! We stop by a blue door to take some pictures



Then we drive to Nicosia and get the coveted Apostille stamps, making everything extra-official.

To Be Continued....

* Turns out we both misheard the officiant. We were supposed to promise "in happiness and in UN-happiness"... but blissfully chose to ignore the chance that we will ever be unhappy.

off we go

Notarized and translated Certificates-of-Singleness : check!
Passports : check!
Festive wedding shoes : check!

Photo Essay to follow....

Cyprus Bound or: If at first you don't succeed...or: Mission Civil Marriage - Phase Two

Exactly one week from today we will hop on a plane to Larnaca , say I do, and come back at night with a shiny new marriage certificate in hand! All of this has been rather spontaneous but necessary. Despite the deep friendship we forged with Frau D. at the Leipzig municipality and her undeniable concern for our happiness and well being, HQ rejected our request and sent us on a scavenger hunt for more documents and translations. At this point, we decided to cut our losses and try our luck with the Greek. As expected, they are a just a little bit more relaxed.You basically have to show up- which does seem like a reasonable requirement,and prove that you are single-and now that we are experts in all things notarized/authorized/appostilled this is a piece of cake. Speaking of cake-This is also fun because I get to have my cake and eat it too
i.e I get to elope, and have a real wedding.
win-win.
Sappho looks on thoughtfully....




*In full disclosure,the first photo above may be a somewhat glorified portrayal of the whole experience as I understand that the Town Hall ceremony does take place over a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

counting down

One month from today folks, one month. For some reason, this came as a surprise to me this morning, and I find it both exciting and terrifying at the same time. We have deteriorated to the point of excel charts, but Good Things are happening, and Stuff is getting done. It did occur to me that things could be a little simpler, but the fact that we seem to be physically incapable of doing anything in a normal, mainstream fashion has it's consequences. So I find myself doing research on industrial cooling fans into the night, or waking up at the crack of dawn to take pictures in an olive grove...
This week is proving to be exceptionally fruitful .Sparks are flying and little miracles are happening. Our rings are being cast ,we have a photographer, and veil and flower research is being done by my lovely mother who should be sainted for all of her wedding mitzvas. What?
you're confused? - you didn't know that sainthood and mitzva-doing go together?

The countdown begins!


Beautiful nesting rings by Blanca Monros Gomez