To brother Mark and his wife Eva, their daughters Adele, Alice, and Evelyn.
And to Christian, who married Alice and created two baby girls, Elsa and Sigrid, and to Rasmus, who was to marry Evelyn, so my sister Patrice and I flew there for the occasion.
A tiny bit of background: my brother left Canada, moved to Stockholm to pursue the Swedish woman he met briefly and fell in love with while on vacation in Thailand. He’s been in Sweden a year or two longer than I have been here in Vallarta, so 35+ years. Patrice and I had tickets to visit him over there to celebrate his 60th birthday in May 2020. We all remember what happened in March of that year, so poof! Those plans were gone, along with tickets to the ballet at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.
Mark and Eva flew here when their first baby, Adele, was born. This blond-haired, fairskinned, precocious little girl was the hit of Old Town Vallarta. The cashiers at Rizo’s supermarket would leave their posts and the lines of customers waiting whenever we walked in the front door, pushing the baby carriage. They all wanted to see this little doll from Suecia up close. That was Adele’s first taste of being an adored rock star. (She comes by it honestly, but that’s another family story.)
So now Mark is 65, and we missed that big birthday, too. BUT he told us that his youngest was marrying her high school sweetheart, and did we want to go to the wedding?
I won’t bore you with the months of planning because this is a story of a perfect family that has married two of its three daughters into two other perfect families.
The wedding ceremony took place in a tiny village church in Grasbo about two hours north of Stockholm, where my brother and his family have been restoring a recently purchased country estate for the past year. Evelyn wanted to have the wedding there. And she did.
Mark rebuilt the barn floor and decorated the cavernous space beautifully for the long tables set for 85 for dinner. The bride and groom rode from town on a trailer pulled by a neighbor’s tractor. Everyone screamed with delight as they burst into the yard scattering the well-wishers who didn’t spill a drop of their fine champagne.
Everyone in the wedding party had very specific jobs that kept them busy organizing and planning the details. Each guest received a gift bag, and Patrice and I had a few extra goodies in ours – the bride translated the dinner menu and also the Wedding Quiz that began as a treasure hunt around the estate with clues left here and there. It was a wedding with a LOT going on with the guests that I have never seen the likes of in my life. Two ”Toastmadames” ran the show – and it WAS a show, that kept everybody hopping in the barn long after I fled to bed. I did last eight full hours after the ceremony.
Everything that happened during the wedding was entirely centered around the bride and groom; nothing was trivial or impersonal. Notes were handwritten, name cards were caligraphed by hand, and the lives of the newlyweds were shredded in public with love and laughter by friends and family, and pasted back together with tears of sheer happiness wrapped in so many hugs.
Evy’s big sister Adele sang a gorgeous rendition of, ”Will You Still Love Me When I’m No Longer Beautiful?’ at the church and pumped up the volume with her bandmate accompanying her on guitar at the reception. Dancing went on and on.
Patrice and I were Strangers in a Strange land, to be sure, and were treated with warmth and kindness by everyone we met at the wedding.
It had been 15 years since we – Mark, Eva, and their three girls had been together. A last trip to Canada, a reunion, that included our dad, who has since passed.
To the three men in this sea of lovely, strong women I can say with authority, being the eldest in our family: you have all chosen well. To Christian, who married Alice, a beauty who can bake anything, anytime, and is the father of their two girls, who have made Patrice and me Grand Aunts. And a note here to little Siggy: make sure your toes remember how to make a peace sign so you can wear flip flops on the beach here in Vallarta.
And Rasmus, the groom, who stood at the altar and could not keep his eyes dry for a second during the ceremony, you are so loved by your family and Evy’s. Thank you for letting Patrice and me stay at your apartment and letting us care for your kitty.
And finally, my baby brother Mark: you followed your heart and created a perfect family – three young women who all have their mother Eva’s strength and beauty. You have given them your creativity and calm resolve. Thank you for the walking tours of your city, for Maná and Mozart, for the music outside the Opera House, the coffee, and the pastries. And especially for sharing the love and the family you have created..
With love and tack,
Marcia
