The forecast was rain.  The place was an ancient Pictish cave by the wild Moray Firth coast, about 1/2 hour away from our home.  The day was the 13th of October, 5 years to the day we entered our relationship.  We watched the weather closely.  There was no sign of rain at 8 am, when we had to make the final decision about the location.  Will we go for the wild coast, or do we choose the safer option of a sheltered woodland site?
 
The rain was holding back.  We looked at each other; we knew what we wanted.  Judith, our celebrant turned up punctually at 8.00.  'It is the cave!' we said.  She was concerned, as we were for the guests slipping on the wet rocks.  But she trusted us, and a decision was made.  Our two sons, Kevin and Ocean, as well as my friend and maid of honour, Swan, accompanied us to the cave to set up the space and receive our guests. 
 
I saw Ocean outside the cave, looking to the sea with an expression of amazement and joy!  'They are dolphines,' he said.  I looked to where he was pointing.  They were a pod, jumping!  Our guests arrived one by one as I spotted the dolphines.  
 
Our vows had 4 dimensions.  Alan and I gradually crafted them over weeks of conversation, reflection, adding and deleting words.  We vowed to support one another in our persoanl growth, our planetary service, on our spiritual paths.  We vowed to have patience and compassion for our blind or unconscious selves to become known and loved.  Just as we finished saying our vows, a sweet and gentle rain sealed our marriage as Judith pronounced us husband and wife.  Then every one at once had to rush to escape the incoming tide.  There, there, they were again.  The dolphines were now swimming in the opposite direction, accompanying our guests from the sea as everyone lined up to climb the rope ladder back to higher grounds.  Then the rain came.  It poured mightily as our guests scattered the seed-balls we had prepared as part of our ceremony to regenrate a burned out landscape scarred by fires this last autumn.  
 
Part II of our wedding day was made possible by the generous support of our friends in the community who cooked the meal for our guests as a gift to us.  The rain did not cease for the rest of the evening.  Our plans to have a storytelling fire outdoors was changed to having a beautiful storytelling space indoors, filled with late autumn flowers, gifted to us by a generous friend who has been tending her flower garden for years.  Stories, songs, and dances blossomed in our community space, as our guests one, by one, contributed their gifts and shared their talents.  Our married life started with wild blessings from nature and continued with generous gifts of service, flowers, songs, and stories from our friends and community.  We spent a beautiful honeymoon on the islands of Orkney when we had a rainbow greeting us every day.  
 

There are only two feelings.  Love and fear.
There are only two languages.  Love and fear.
There are only two activities.  Love and fear.
There are only two motives, two procedures, two frameworks, two results.  Love and fear.
Love and fear.

A Common Prayer, Leunig

The Soil Alchemy, a project to transform our food waste to compost in Northern Iran, is on my mind.
This quote by Leunig sums up my experience with our project.