It was a beautiful wedding. The words, the music, and the people had all been selected by Stephen and Pleuntje as a reflection of them and their new life together. The service was in the Iona Abbey, a 13th Century Abbey - the site of where St. Columba brought Christianity to Scotland and where generations of Scottish Kings are buried. Not too shabby.The reception started with tea and scones in the Village Hall with Irish folk musicians filling the air with lovely sounds. A delicious meal was enjoyed by all and a few speeches were shared. In an attempt to work off our dinner, everyone helped clear the tables and chairs to make room for the dance floor. We were then led through a traditional Scottish Ceilidh. The dances were interspersed with skits, songs, and movies. The creativity and thought that went into what people shared was really incredible. After we were all tuckered out from the Ceilidh a disco began and those who still had the legs and the stamina for more dancing carried on until they collapsed.
The wedding and the reception blended the Canadian, Dutch and African traditions seamlessly. All those in attendance seemed to be caught up in the magic of the day. It was really a wedding like no other. It really felt like a community was formed by all those in attendance. Instead of spending a few hours with the other wedding guests as you would at any other wedding, we spent a weekend with the other guests. We had a chance to make new friends, to rekindle old friendships and to enjoy the warmth of family. I had joked prior to the wedding that I always knew my brother would find a way to make gortex the official clothing of his wedding and the Scottish climate was perfect for that. Yet, I had never really considered that he would also create a wedding based on the principles and ideas of community building that we learned all those years ago in YLTP and camp and which he has never stopped using. Just further evidence that this was the perfect wedding for Stephen, which is as exactly as it should be – gortex, community and sheep poop. The holy trinity of Stephen!
