FROM AMBER FREDA


In case you didn't know,
Anthony and I got hitched!!

Actually, "hitched" is far too coarse a term
for what was a truly beautiful ceremony ...

We were married on the ocean at Fire Island at
noon on June 22, 2003. Anthony's parents,
Elaine and Tony Freda, were kind enough to open
their beautiful home to us and our immediate
families, for a very small, intimate ceremony.

Anthony and I wrote our own vows -- I remember
looking up while we were reading them to see the
entire room in tears! It was a very sentimental
moment and one we will always remember with
a sense of joy mingled with awe at the seriousness
of the journey on which we were about to embark,
arm in arm...

It meant so much to us both to see all of our families
together, sharing in love, food, dance, drink, and
conversation. Seeing my mom dancing with her
father nearly made my cry -- or seeing my dad's
wife Gaylene and my mom hugging each other as
they bonded and became great friends over the
weekend -- and seeing Gaylene and Christine
click instantly -- and seeing how beautiful the
Freda's house looked for the first time after Anthony's
mom and dad worked so hard -- bringing dishes out
every weekend on the ferry for months beforehand,
the sight of Anthony and his father bicycling in the
pouring rain on Saturday to buy flowers to make
sure the deck would be full of blooming things the
day of the ceremony -- and the beautiful bouquet
of yellow roses and burgundy calla lilies that Christine
put together for me, and all of the personal touches of
warmth and beauty that Elaine added to the table (the
lovely lace tablecloths, the fresh flowers, the sea shell
favors), I could go on and on....

So many great memories -- We can't thank our families
enough for pulling through for us and loving and supporting
us so much!!!! Our parents are already getting excited about
having a party / reunion in Texas next Spring -- a BBQ / Cajun
crawfish extravaganza -- Texas style!! Should be fun!

We are still working on putting together some photos / getting
some enlargements / cropping a few of the best ones -- so as
soon as we have those I will e-mail a few out for everyone to
see..

Also in the news, Anthony is going to be on CNN tomorrow,
July 1 at around 12:30 eastern time -- it's a live interview
featuring him as a New York artist involved in the Public
Art project that has local artists painting the outside of
portable bathrooms -- it's a functional art project for
tourists and locals alike and each one has a 24-hour
guard assigned to it to make sure none of these pieces
are vandalized and/or damaged in any way..

So, if you get a chance, tune in!!

I taught another one of my Houseplants series of classes
at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens last weekend -- it was
the best one yet and I even had students coming up
to me afterward saying they wanted to take more classes
with me in the future -- pretty cool stuff!! Also, it looks
like I will also be teaching classes at the Bronx Botanic
Gardens starting this fall...

Hope ya'll are doin' great!! Have a wonderful summer!!
We're going to take our honeymoon in Cancun in
January -- can't wait!!

Ciao,
Amber Freda