Two Vows, A Toast, A Family Afair, AND A Slideshow (The Wedding)

1- The Slideshow: First things first! The slideshow, Punam put together in her blog, can give you a taste of the ceremony and reception. Click here to see it!

2- The Vows: Some family and friends, who were unable to make it to the wedding, have asked many details about the wedding (e.g. my aunt called from overseas at least 10 times before, during, and after the wedding). I am going to post the words, Geoff and I, wrote to say to each other as our vows so they feel more included in the ceremony - We truly missed them - this post is especially for them!

I said: Geoffrey, our relationship is so precious, so unique to me that today, in the presence of my family and friends, I choose to honor it with the commitment of marriage. I know, together, our lives are deeper, richer, more loving, more rewarding, more challenging, and more balanced than they ever could be without each other. I intend to nurture our life together, to cherish you as the amazing gift you are to me, to respect you, to have faith in you, to be strong with you, to be gentle with you, to love you and support you through easy days and hard days. You are the most loving and understanding man I have ever met and have already supported me so much! I feel so lucky that we found each other and I joyfully take you as my husband. I love you. I do.

Geoffrey said: Halleh Fathi Seyson, azeezam, jeegaram, my love, my heart. Today I officially proclaim my commitment to you in front of my family and friends. You mean more to me than anybody can imagine. Halleh, I promise to love and care for you through good and bad, through joy and sorrow. I will encourage and inspire you to the best of my ability. I will work by your side to create a wonderful life together. I will try everyday to be worthy of your love. These things I promise to you today, and all the days of our life. Nothing in the world is making me happier than you becoming hamsar-e man, my wife. Dooset daram. Ghorbonet baram. I love you, sweetie – I really do!

3- The Toast: I am also posting the toast, that our dear Jeff Anderson prepared but could not make it - having too much fun ;-P - and kindly posted in my virtual guest book later. Cheers to him and all the dear friends and family who came from near and far to support us. We love you and are so happy to have you as our friends.

Everyone – if I could get your attention. I'd just like to say a few words. My name is Jeff and I’ve been fortunate enough to have known Geoff for the last 32 years. A lot of good times in a lot of different places. Since college it has been harder to get together, but depending on where we’ve lived we manage to do it more or less on a regular, but extended basis. Over the last several years, like everyone else we keep in touch by email. I’ve noticed something funny; in person Geoff is anything but quiet, but in email he tends to use partial sentences and never a paragraph. Except when I ask him how his parents are doing. Then he writes complete paragraphs and I know that is because of how much he cares for his parents.
About two years ago I received an email from Geoff that not only used sentences and paragraphs but it also included a picture of him and this great woman he was seeing. This was followed by several more. In all the time I’ve known him this was something new. So I knew right from the start that Halleh must be something special & that Geoff was smitten. Now, if you'll all join me in raising a glass to our happy couple, Geoff and Halleh. May the joys you share today be the beginning of a lifetime of great happiness and fulfillment. Congratulations.

4- The Family Affair: What made the day very special was the presence, love, and support of (almost) all of our family members.... lots of emotional moments...lots of memories...and lots of paintings from my niece and nephew (my niece probably painted one bride per day for two weeks before the wedding).

Yes, the cake was the product of LOTS of love and help from family and a dear friend, too! It was very sweet! - wish I had a picture from everyone helping before the wedding! More pix will come later!

Our siblings read readings, we had selected, during the ceremony. This was a symbol of how dearly they were part of our wedding (and boy they worked hard before - and even after- the wedding!) One of my favorite readings was an excerpt from Khalili Gibran's Prophet (Chapter 2: Love):

... Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
...
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow ...

(Wedding photos by Punam Bean)

The Wedding Stage!

Shakespeare once said, “All the world is a stage”!

I think the decision to marry Geoff was one of the most, if not THE most, serious decision I ever made in my life. I have to say, thought, when we were preparing for the wedding ceremony and party, I felt we were making a play – it was like the theater, why wouldn’t it be?! A very serious show…but yet a show! And after I actually performed it, from the very depth of my soul and heart and with lots of improvisations, I felt it was a beautiful show!

When we got to the engagement stage, I wasn’t for a wedding ceremony/party but Geoff wanted to have one. He convinced me by, in fact, explaining the actual idea of “marriage”. He said he wanted to “proclaim” his love in front of our family and friends…the private commitment has been already made! Marriage is that social aspect of the commitment; wouldn’t that make the ceremony like a show?! I am not saying this to demote the ceremony and the wedding party...quite contrary, that is the significance of it!

And so we prepared quite a personal ceremony and reception to share “socially” - with our family and friends. The weather could not have been kinder to us, neither could our family and friends! We started the afternoon with a sunny sky, PERFECT for the ceremony on the rooftop! But it didn’t stay the same...times change on the stage! It cooled down but remained nice and pleasant until around the dinner time. Gradually everyone put the jackets on…it was still pleasant enough to have everyone continue dancing. We all danced under the orange sky with the rain clouds noticeable from far away. Our awesome photographer, Punam Bean*, suggested taking pictures with the city’s night view and took absolutely beautiful pictures while a nice breeze was flapping my veil. What great timing…just about 5 minutes later, around 10 PM, we ended the night on the roof with a THUNDERSTORM and RAIN! Could it get more exciting…and romantic?! Life is a metaphor!

*The photos are by Punam and can be found in her blog post.

Virtual Guestbook - Please Leave a Comment!

It is April 6th! There is only 19 days between us and this picture - or something like that!

I don't want to say much on this post; instead I would like to leave this page for family and friends and their words of wisdom, witty comments, silly jokes, and anything else they feel like saying. Looking forward to them!

And the Bachelor Party...

In Denver on March 29th! Since I wasn't there, I can't say much - except that I realized, again, I miss Geoff when he is not around - but you guys can. Was it fun?

The Judge Geoff Show

Last Friday, Geoff had his first performance ever (if we don't count the one in the 6th grade) in the Little Theater of Alexandria. It was a two night performance of Twelve Angry Women - yes, that's "Women" not "Men" - if he can deal with a Persian woman, he can surely handle twelve angry women!

And here is Judge Geoff with his groupies - he makes a wonderful judge:

It is Nowruz!

Today is the first day of spring; it is Nowruz (which means New Day in Farsi)! The vernal equinox took place at 1:48 AM, DC time, and that was exactly when the new Iranian year, 1387, began! As it is said, "May everyday be a New Day (Nowruz) to you"!

I didn’t stay awake for the vernal equinox unlike what I used to do religiously even as a kid. I didn’t cry unlike what I did the first 2 years of my immigration to the States when anything and everything would make me feel nostalgic, let alone the Nowruz! But I did color some eggs, had the fish and rice dish (Sabzi-polo Mahi) at my uncle's last night, paid a pleasant Nowruz visit to Houman today, and smiled when I saw the spring blossoms and smelled Nowruz in the air...

And in case you are wondering what a Nowruz Haft Sin spread looks like, here is a picture from last year:

My Persian friends: Pardon my sarcasm! My American friends: Don’t take it against us!

Geoff is taking a Farsi class. I love his handwriting! It is very exciting to find him learning so quickly in so little time (and so little practice!) And it is very interesting to listen to his take on (and complaints about) the language especially the script. How can you tell between “o”, “v”, “u” while they are all written the same? What about “i” and “y”? How can you guys read the words without writing the vowels? Well, honey, we can!

We are not that straightforward, you know…we just aren’t! We write or say something and imply something else. We do that frequently (that is not to say you never do so)! And, yet, if you know the language, you can read (and hear) between the unwritten vowels. That implied something else is totally understood between the communicator and communicatee!!

*****

I admire Geoff for taking on the challenge of dealing with a “Persian” woman! Dealing with a woman is complicated enough! As a woman, I do admit that women are more complex than men. Here, I am, not only a Woman but also a Persian although my “o”s and “v”s and “u”s haven’t been looking similar enough for quite a while, neither have my “i”s and “y”s!

One More Anniversary!

Delivered by motorcycle under his jacket...

A Must See!

Last week, we went to see Persepolis. The book is quite good (which I haven't finished yet) but I wondered how the flow of the animations would turn out in the movie version. It was beautiful!

The motion picture takes you on a ride of events and emotions....the ride is smooth and pleasant even though the events are bumpy. This is a typical life of a generation born and raised in a revolutionary society, gone through the post revolution turmoil, an eight-year war, and the seemingly never-ending aftermath of the revolution....a generation many of whom end up with an unwanted and yet voluntary exile.

Two seats down from me, my old friend from Iran was sitting. Watching the movie, I had a flashback to years ago when both his parents were in prison and to the day we heard his father was executed.

The movie made me reflect, cry, laugh...it was the story of my generation!

And the winner is ...

It took us a while to make our invitation cards. I drew and designed the layout, Geoff printed them, my mom and Mona helped with putting them together, I put the dried flowers in place, and Geoff did the stamps…and finally, they were done. The invites were ready to be mailed on Monday January 21^st, the Martin Luther king day, a Federal holiday! I dropped them off at the post office that day, anyway, hoping they might be processed the next day and sometime later in the week might make it to our guests – after all, this is Newman's Postal Office (any Seinfeld's fans here?!) we are talking about. BUT, to our big surprise, everyone got them a day or two after!! We just could not believe the efficiency! This is our US Government postal office we are talking about!!

We were happily surprised for the second time last week by receiving the FIRST RSVP, from Jeff Andersen and his wife Ann, on Friday. So, hereby, ladies and gentlemen, we announce: The WINNER is Mr. Andersen...he will be Geoff's BEST man - seriously!

Consider it the "Our Story" Post

It's time to declassify the past - OK, parts of it - don't you think, Geoff, azeezam?! You took a long time to write the email -lots of reedits, I know, you told me later – and I read it many times – yes, I did! You caught me by surprise with your question – sort of - that Thursday night, after the Book Club and made me laugh with your witty answer to mine! When I met you on Saturday that week, I had made up my mind to start "seeing" you!! And, I admit, I jokingly suggested Houman, long before we even met, that he should set us up!

So, here is my full disclosure of the once classified information! Your email to me after our first "date":

On Sunday 3/12/06, Geoffrey N. Brand wrote:

Halleh..
Saturday was beautiful..
Both the day ...and the woman I was with...(note: trying to be poetic)..
My race on Sunday morning went really well.probably due in part to all of the adrenalin I still had in me from Saturday...
44 minutes and 22 seconds..for 8 Kilometers..
I hope your Sunday is / was not too taxing...
So when will I see you again??? No real hurry...(it adds to the anticipation)
Tuesday I have my acting class....(the first real scene rehearsals)
I have no definite plans for Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday(Actually most days after Tuesday)
Geoffrey..

The Same Old Fun Annual Ritual

We are at Geoff’s parents’, sitting by the Christmas tree, opening our gifts. I feel like a child again, happy at mama-bozorg’s*, unwrapping my Nowruz presents.

The feeling was so live that would have easily made me cry, had I not restrained myself! Why don’t we do that annual ritual as seriously as we used to when we were kids – we still love each other, don’t we...and we haven’t changed much, have we?!

And today, sitting in this old and strange, yet very familiar, house that belongs to my new/future family (I can’t deny, it feels strange to say it…is this my family?!), I feel the fluidity of life and love…the extension of their meaning!

Geoff’s dad, being the very sweet himself, asked me many times, if we did this or that in Iran, too! No, I couldn’t tell him we also drank Eggnog, not quite, but we did all “this and that”! Almost 30 years after the Nowruz when Jaleh, Zivar, Houman and I unwrapped presents, I am watching Holley and Willie unwrapping theirs and excited for sleeping over at “mama-bozorg’s” just like we did, decades and oceans away!

Written on 12/27/2007 in Racine, WI

* Mama-bozorg means grandma in Farsi (Persian).

****

Geoff made the paper Santa ornament in the picture above when he was 8 years old! Isn't that cute?! I am so glad his mom kept it! Below, there are some pictures of those days.

And the last one is a picture of "those" days, too - in Tehran not Racine!!

Life is an apple, best eaten peel and all!

Our marriage, to come in just a few months in April, inspired me to put this blog up. I am going to write about life - our life …"life is a jump the size of love" (Sohrab Sepehri, Persian Poet). I will ask Geoff to post any notes he may have, too, as we are planning our wedding.

*****

I think to myself, I read Sohrab Sepehri’s poetry and Geoff lives it!! I come from his land, oceans away from Geoff's, but Geoff is the one who is teaching me, "wherever I fly, mine is the sky!"

Inspired by my companion in life, I chose the title of this weblog a verse by Sohrab Sepehri:

"Life is an apple", I reply, "best eaten peel and all!"