A Temporary Madness.

Tonight I will attend the wedding rehearsal of my lovely friends, Debbie and Andrew.  They met at Primary school and finally got together twenty five years later (How romantic is that??), so to say I am thrilled that they are now happily settled in a scrumptious little house around the corner is an understatement. Some things are just meant to be… 

At the wedding, I will be doing a reading from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin: a reading that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it:

" Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes & then subsides. And
when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether
your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you
should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness,
it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is
just being "in love" which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over
when being in love has burned away, & this is both an art & a fortunate
accident. Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other
underground, & when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches,
they find that they are one tree & not two…"

And in terms of pure joy, this will no doubt be the marriage of the year, especially if the happy couple pay heed to the advice offered by Mary Woodman,  in my cute little vinage tome on Wedding Etiquette:

Morals For The Married:

It takes two to make a quarrel.

Both husband and wife should never be angry at the same time.

Don’t talk "at" one another in front of friends.

Don’t belittle one anothers past-times.

Don’t squabble over the in-law relations. Take them for granted.

Don’t forget his or her birthday.

Don’t imagine that your point of view is the only one.