A small wedding can only pretend that I love you.

Qixi Festival couldn't help writing about the only wedding he had ever attended. Although more than half a year has passed, I still feel moved every time I look back on it.

the hero of the wedding is my former colleague Eric, who is also my best friend in the company. He worked side by side for two years. The day he left, he sent me downstairs and sent a message saying that he went to the bathroom and cried, and I cried too. Eric, from Kenya, finished fifth in the country that year and won the full prize at Princeton. He is one of the most Elegant people I have ever met. If we have to sum up the gains of more than two years of work, sincerely adhere to neither humble nor arrogant, these are what I have learned from him. He knew that I would write a blog, so once I asked him, can you write about your wedding? He sent me a collection of wedding photos directly, saying Help yourself.

I remember when we were taking part in a hackathon in New York, and at dinner, he suddenly said, "I want to propose to Mary in December." Most boys of this age in our group stay away from talking about getting married and having children, except for Eric. He put Mary's handiwork on his desk, and after a meeting in New York, Eric would immediately take the day's train back to Washington instead of staying one more night to go to the bar. They raised a stray kitten together and guessed its birthday. When I was pregnant, he seriously asked me what I should pay attention to, and said that when Mary was pregnant, he must also quit beer and sushi, so that she wouldn't be greedy. Although he was nervous when he said he proposed, I knew Mary would say yes.

two months later, the front desk of the company sent me a marriage proposal ring. No big naked diamond, no blue box, simple packaging, he opened it and pointed to me: in the middle is the famous ruby of Mary's hometown of Canada, surrounded by our most famous sapphire in Kenya. I specially asked for someone to make it. The ring is ugly, but I think Mary is the happiest girl in the world. From then on, I began to look forward to their wedding silently.

I received an invitation a month before the wedding, and the email said:

We don't have a gift list. You can donate to KenSAP if you like because with this organization, children of ordinary Kenyan families like me can come to the United States to receive a better education, or you can make a gadget by hand and give it to us, anything.

Kansas is a program launched by Dr. Boit, a professor at Kenyatta University in Kenya, and John Manners, a semi-retired journalist, to train the best students from Kenya to attend SAT at the best universities in the United States. Eric graduated from this program and successfully applied for the full prize of Purin. And most of his best men, who graduated from the program, applied to schools like Harvard Yale. In the project, he not only gained the opportunity to study in the United States but also made good friends who accompanied him all his life. Thinking about the source of drinking water, Eric said the best wedding gift he could think of was to help KenSAP raise money for charity.

is arguably the strongest academic lineup in Kenya.

the wedding venue was chosen the Old City Hall in Fairfax, Virginia. By the time we arrived, everyone was almost seated, and the ceremony was arranged in the library upstairs. In addition to the original bookshelves of the library, there is only one door made of Kenyan dye, fresh and beautiful.

the bride's entrance does not have gorgeous lights and powerful stereos. A simple piano, played by their mutual friends, has a fresh and smooth tune. The whole site was covered with the setting sun of a winter afternoon, which became a gentle and natural light. After the best man and bridesmaid slowly came in with the music, the bride took her father by the hand. Mary is already very good-looking, and it was even more beautiful than a day under Eric's eyes and wedding dress.

then I quietly asked Eric if the wedding dress was so beautiful! It was too expensive!

Eric poked his head out of the code and said, hey! Guess

me: 3000?

Eric: divided by 20.

Mary bought wedding dresses and shoes in a second-hand store. Mary has been working for a non-profit organization since he and Eric got engaged. He likes to tidy up the house by hand. It's not surprising that you can make such a beautiful dress with 150 dollars.

like all Western-style weddings we have seen, Father blabla said that Eric choked up several times when they said their vows, and Mary smiled and flushed his eyes and reached out to wipe his tears. 'Eric is the warmest person I know. We've been through a lot of happy and unhappy things together, and I'm very lucky to be married to you, 'Mary said when he held up the wine. Then he turned around, made a deep bow to Eric's family, and said sincerely: thank you, Eric's father, mother, brothers, and sisters, because of you, I have a family on the other side of the ocean. When we got here, everyone's eyes were a little red.

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Eric said that I grew up in Kenya. When I first came to the United States, I thought it was a compliment to praise others for being fat. I rarely touched a computer, and I never knew how big the world was. You are like a miracle in my life, let me know more abundant love and beauty.

then Eric's mother stood up, holding the shawl she had knitted for the two of them. The music played. Her mother sang the Kenyan songs of her childhood and brought gifts to the two of them. Everyone applauded the music.

We tasted authentic Kenyan food for dinner, accompanied by wooden cutlery from Kenya.

dinner

Kenyan food

Super cute baby next to the table

it's a pity that little AA was only over two months old at that time, and we couldn't keep it. In the end, I missed the last first dance. But the emotion left by the first three hours has been enough to spread through the winter.

after that, I often think, what is the best wedding, the best day?

I like the wedding of Eric and Mary. It's simple, it doesn't show off, it doesn't go to a lot of trouble, it's a memorable day on a normal day. We entertain our friends to dinner, get together and listen to our stories. Then dance in the winter night, close to the ear, and say, Thank you for the rest of your life.

I like such a small wedding, nothing but pretending that I love you.