Randy And Anusha's Wedding, Part 4: Love Letters

     ...Continued from yesterday:
     After Anusha and Randy's   Hindu wedding reception, which ended around 1 pm,

​....Tom, Tommy, Claire, Miguel, Theresa, Callie and I headed back to the Hilliard Hampton Inn - the official wedding hotel where we'd decided to book ourselves a couple of rooms - for a few hours of rest before the 4:30 pm Christian wedding.

      Anusha and Randy had booked a big, comfy shuttle bus to transport the guests from the hotel back to the Makoy Center, which Tom, Miguel, Claire, and I hopped,

     This second wedding of the day was held in the lovely lake-side garden outside the Makoy Center.

​     Callie, happy-mugging for the camera. 
    A number of guests changed outfits from the first wedding to the second.  Claire, for example, is now wearing Theresa's Indian tunic from this morning. 

...which Claire loved so much that her sister told told her she could keep it.
   The wedding party had also changed attire from the first wedding.

     The bridesmaids

Parents of the groom

       The handsome groom, arriving with the celebrant, Rev.  Damien King,

​...and, when the moment arrived, the radiant bride entered the garden on the arm of her happy father.

       It was a beautiful and touching ceremony, the heart of which was the reading by Rev. King of two eloquently-written love letters, one by Randy, the other by  Anusha, in which the two expressed, among other things of the heart, their wonder and joy at having found each other from across their different cultures, religions, and nationalities,  a small-town Ohio boy and an Indian girl who's traveled the globe and is fluent in 4 languages.

     After the marriage vows, exchange of rings, and second blessing of the day upon Randy and Anusha as husband and wife, our attention was drawn to the altar to a wooden box upon which was written Anusha and Randy's name and the date.

     This box was a time capsule into which Randy and Anusha placed two more love letters they'd written to each other on their wedding day and which they would open and read on their 5th wedding anniversary.

      After the wedding was over we walked back to the Makoy Center,

...Decked out anew for the second reception of the day.

     We dug into the lovely, yummy  fruit and cheese hors d'oeuvres, socialized, 

...and hit the photo booth while we waited for the bride and groom to arrive, which they eventually did, dancing into the hall. 

​     Tom asked the blessing,

...then we ate.
​         The food was superb.

...as was the company.

    After dinner Randy and Anusha  cut their wedding cake,

    Then led the first dance, starting with a slow dance to Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," 

​....then breaking into a lively Indian dance.

    Next a group of Anusha's friends took to the floor and performed a fast-paced, beautiful traditional Indian folk dance. After a few minutes Anusha jumped in and led the dance, then Randy joined in and the group acted out a dance in which Randy "stole" Anusha from the ladies, then got down on one knee to her.  It was wonderful.
        Then the rest of us joined in the dancing to both American and Indian music,  

...taking a break to dive into the ocean of delicious cake, 

...until the evening came to an end,that was just the beginning of another happily ever after.