You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
As Tom Petty’s tender ballad, “Wildflowers,” wafted through the gentle evening breeze, Ali and Emily welcomed me and her father to the dance floor at their wedding reception on our sloping front lawn.
Could there be a more lyrical wedding anthem for this young couple? In glorious bloom in the spring, wildflowers symbolize love and harmony. And flowers of all kinds were in abundance at their May wedding — from a cascading arch to centerpiece vases brimming with brightly colored daisies, roses, delphinium, lisianthus and huckleberry.
Ali wanted their wedding to take place at his childhood home that sits on seven largely wooded acres. Scattered patches of wildflowers grow naturally along the trails bordered by towering trees.
“This is sacred ground,” he said and ordered a post to erect a street sign, “Rizvi Road,” at the end of the driveway.
The signpost welcomed 180 guests from around the country, England, Canada and Guatemala to what Ali dubbed “the public wedding” — a sequel to the couple’s small, private Muslim ceremony at Lake Michigan last summer.
The countryside venue did not disappoint. Against the tapestry of sun-dappled woods, Ali and Emily exchanged heartfelt wedding vows.
“When we first started talking about writing our vows, you said, ‘I’ve been writing my vows since I met you.’ I hope we can continue to talk to each other with as much kindness and love as we do today for the rest of our lives,” said Emily, who made an indelible impression on Ali when she walked in late to their first social work class in graduate school at NYU.
“It wasn’t just your late entrance that caught my eye, but the truly genuine way you express yourself and connect with those around you,” he said in his vows. “You approach every moment, person and thing with a gentle kindness and a present heart.”
Ali also made “quite an entrance and impression” on Emily’s mother and sister when he first met them at a picnic on a hot July day at Washington Square Park in New York’s Greenwich Village.
“We all know how much Ali thrives in the heat,” quipped Paula, Emily’s mother, at the reception. “Despite knowing that he would be a sweaty mess and nervous wreck, Ali did show up and I knew instantly that Ali was a keeper. He was charming, real and so very likable. It was clear to me that he was anxious to meet me because Emily already meant the world to him.”
That was 1,778 days ago, Paula told us, and, evidenced by the couple’s words to each other on this late spring afternoon, they had only grown closer.
“I love how you pick flowers from our garden and give them to me in a mason jar with a smile on your face,” she told him quietly at the ceremony officiated by Ali’s brother, Qasim.
“I love the way you make me feel confident and comfortable in everything I do. I love the way a casual meal on the porch with you feels like we’re celebrating at a fancy restaurant because you make every moment together special,” she said as I struggled to hold back tears, so stirred by the man he had become.
Ali promised Emily he would “always listen, truly hear you and respect you.” And, in an untraditional twist, he vowed to twirl and whirl with her in the kitchen.
“A cherished, late mentor once shared his secret to a lifelong happy marriage, saying, ‘Every day I dance with my wife in the kitchen.’ Today, Emily, I promise to always dance with you in the kitchen — through challenges and celebrations, in laughter and in tears,” he said.
After exchanging rings and sharing a kiss, the two walked down the aisle to cheers and the joyful refrain of The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.”
Later, after family photos, they held hands and spontaneously skipped down the front lawn to the reception tent where guests were sipping specialty cocktails and enjoying samosas from an Indian buffet. Another jubilant cheer erupted.
Two weddings. One marriage. For Ali and Emily, all they need is love, the kind that blooms as freely as wildflowers.
(Photo by Danielle Stark of Moments Captured)
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