on sacred moments, the divine, beauty, and kate's wedding.

The attitude of Kate's wedding day was one of excitement, anticipation, and joy. We were all tasked with certain responsibilities—and in a good rhythm of getting things done. The chatter was high. We were all filled with excitement and nervousness. Some of us were gathered in the bride’s room a couple hours before the ceremony when the time came for Kate to put on her wedding gown.

If you have never been present during the time of putting a wedding gown on a bride, you should know that it is one of the most exciting and stressful moments of the day. It requires several people and a lot of hands to delicately help the bride into her gown with out ruining her hair or makeup, without snagging a bead or thread, and without wrinkling or stepping on the gown. Every woman in the room simultaneously gives her opinion at an unusual level of volume about how it should be done. If you listen closely, you can even hear the muffled cries of the bride (coming from within the gown), who always seems to be momentarily forgotten or at least becomes temporarily less important than her gown.

As this whole scenario was taking place, I watched and snapped photos of the chaos.

And then: the great moment came when Kate was finally in her gown. It was the most amazing thing. Only moments ago she was my ordinary friend—but is instantly transformed.

Just like that, she is a bride.

No one expresses it, but everyone knows it: this moment is sacred. Only seconds before, we were laughing and shouting, but now our tones are gentle. There are tears in our eyes, and we all look on at Kate’s beauty. Her presence is radiant. We speak softly; some of us whisper. We don’t know how to say it, but our voices reflect that we know this moment is sacred, and in our whispers we are responding with humility. There is a heightened sense of the divine.

She was an ordinary girl.

But now, she is a bride.