My Best Friends Wedding - a true story

The Alter

What happens when you combine sincerity, sweetness, compassion, passion, a zest for life and a true unending, unconditional love? You get Sayeh and Avesta, a couple that couldn't have been written together better in any play or movie; a love that couldn't be described by any of the best writers (or bloggers) and a romance that not even the most romantic could have dreamt up.  Simply because, their love exceeds and extends past what any one of us attending their wedding have ever known.

I've known Sayeh since high school and even then she was the kind of friend and person you wanted to know; sweet, thoughtful and always up for a good time. We were the three musketeers (Sayeh, Helena and myself), all of us good students, unique in our own ways and like most teenagers, just trying to find our way. I still can't believe it's been 10 years since high school and although a lot of time has passed and we're all in very different stages in our lives, I still see us as those 16 year-olds. 

Bridal Shower (Derby Theme)

High School w/Friend Jordan

August 28th, 2010 marked a new stage in Sayeh's life, she married the love of her life and best friend, Avesta Rasouli - becoming no longer just Sayeh a girlfriend and fiancee, but Mrs. Sayeh Rasouli. I have never seen her happier. She and Avesta met nine years ago in a classic case of, 'hey I have this guy I want to introduce you to!' and they have been inseparable since (minus a 29 minute break up some years before). Friends and family will tell you that they are the perfect match for each other, they compliment each others strengths and support each others weaknesses. They are what all love affairs are made of and what even the most cynical will tell you they secretly envision for themselves. I can attest to this.  

Father, Sayeh and Mother of the Bride

 Being at the their wedding, watching the ceremony and just being a witness to such magic was both terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. I felt as if for the first time I was witnessing what true love is and also realizing that I myself have never known it.  I believe there are two types of love, emotional love and unconditional - we all strive to give and hopefully receive the latter but so often it is the emotional love that guides us. Emotional love can change depending on circumstances, situations and sometimes even moods; but unconditional is just that, no explanation needed.  I cried....I cried like all young, single women do at weddings and wondered if I'd ever find myself here one day. The cynic in me said, 'unlikely', 'maybe', the hopeful in me said, 'abso-freakin-lootly if you want it and go after it'.

You see, I realized last night that love is not easy or easily earned (very much like trust). It took Sayeh and Avesta a bit to get there, but they started out as friends and the love evolved into so much more. They are lovers, companions and the bestest of friends. I believe that is something we all want. Nine years is a long time but then it's not, unfortunately it's longer than most marriages these days and yet my friends have just now reached that point. It's easy to walk away when you're "just dating" but when you're married and have that contract, things are different. I commend and admire Sayeh and Avesta for truly putting in the time, the energy, the commitment every single day to being together and accepting nothing less from each other at the same time. They have shown me what real, true love is and every single one of us in that room last night felt it. We were embraced by it and overwhelmed.

Exchanging Vows

The first Kiss as Mr and Mrs

I know this post may seem a little heavier and definitely more personal than usual, but I have a feeling there are a lot of you out there who feel the same. Who may still be that 16 year old just looking for their way: in life, in a career, in love; and perhaps you're with someone right now or you yearn to be, I just want to share with you what I learned.

Love takes work, it doesn't come easy and even when it seems to (love at first site) there is still that daily commitment and the promise of unconditional love.  Love is not picky or choosing what you'll accept in that person but taking the person entirely. Love is when you're dancing in a room of 300 people and the only person you see is the one holding you. Love is even holding your daughter and realizing that although she will always be your baby she is now a wife and trusting that you did good by her. But lastly love is such a powerful force that when you're around it, when you're in its presence, you know it without a doubt and all you can do is sit back and try and breathe.

Father Daughter Dance

To Sayeh and Avesta if you're reading this I want you to know; I am so honored to have been a guest at your wedding. To have seen and experienced such loveliness. Thank you for showing me the answer to the question I've asked all my life, "how will I know it's love, that it's real?". Thank you for filling my heart with so much love last night that I thought it would burst and lastly thank you for such beautiful memories and a dream of one day knowing I can have that too. I love you guys and I wish you all the continued happiness in this world and beyond.

“May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true!”

See you soon! :-)

Sayeh and Avesta
http://www.sayehandavesta.wedsite.com/