The Newlyweds

newlyweds
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

Happy newlyweds angling for the getaway car... we were blessed with sunshine during our ceremony though at the break of day the decks at the Bavarian were still slick with rain. By the time of the indoor reception, it had started HAILING outside following a toast by one of our guests wishing us many children. A definite message from the buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Cutting the cake

Cutting the cake
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

We totally didn't know what we were doing during the cakecutting. Debbe de Taos from the Taos BBQ Co. made our bride's (almond cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting, yum!) and groom's (devil's food cake with cinnamon and cream cheese frosting and choco horns) cake. We had enough cake for 100 people, though only 50 people came!

Rehearsing kata offerings

DSCF0034
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

On Friday afternoon, we did the dry run through instructing our group what to expect. This is a shot of my mother and older brother going thru the motions of offering katas while Kort helps to explain the ritual.

The Mountain of Burnt Offerings

DSCN0031
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

Lama Chodrak brought the fire pit, wood, and various offerings for the fire ceremony which lasted about 15 minutes total. Initially the fire pit had been placed in between the wedding party and the audience, but was later moved to behind the bridesmaids. As I stood facing Kort, I could see the puffs of smoke floating over my head. The bridesmaids got one powerful purification! Thankfully, it smelled beautifully of a clean sharp pinon scent.

fire offering

fire offering
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

Kort making an offering by placing food over the fire.

Homegrown programs

Homegrown programs
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

Kort and I designed the programs for the wedding using Photoshop Illustrator and thru the great vendor connections thru my ad agency job which scored us gorgeous papers which would have cost us a fortune. We duplicated the basic format from Chris Rizzo's poem pamphlet of Geof Huth's poem - it is a 4 fold brochure, with vellum cover over a metallic paper. Inside the program, we explained the various symbols used throughout our ceremony - the cranes, kata scarves, mantras, flowers, etc. The image coming thru the cover is a painting of the Taos Ski Valley. The programs were hung on rope strung from 2 pine trees near the entrance of the meadow - guests were invited to take a program before entering the space.

Hanging cranes

Hanging cranes
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

Kort and the groomsmen got up early on Saturday morning to prepare the site in the Ski Valley lands just behind the Bavarian Lodge. This involved attaching metal hooks to the strands of cranes which had been prestrung in Dallas by Kort, Chip, and Ellen, and then hanging them from the pine trees in the meadow. My first glimpse of these decorations was an absolute delight. The preparation had so much been in the spirit of love and offering, that this work set the tone of the entire ceremony.

August 6, 2005

Lama Chodrak
Originally uploaded by shinyu32.

This is Lama Karma Chodrak of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is standing next to a shrine set up with symbols of the Buddha's body, speech, and mind and several plates of offerings for the fire ceremony which he performed for our wedding.

The origami cranes in the background were hand folded by my mother, who made approximately 600 birds for our special day.

Double Happiness

Kort and I are leaving for New Mexico for our wedding on Saturday.
No blogging planned again until August 16, when lots of photos
and Costa Rica updates will be posted.

the fashion seen