Rings and vows

After the fire had burned down a bit, it was time to bless the rings. These are our rings, being blessed over the fire.Exchanging of rings (the second time - now they are legal AND blessed).
Then we stood back to back - first as all the guests together chanted a blessing for us and then as the folklorists blessed each of us individually. They were burning a small torch of all kinds of dried grasses tied together (kind of like incense) and in front of each of us they "drew" Latvian symbols in the air while saying their own blessings/wishes for us.
Here we are exchanging our vows. I can only remember a bit of what we promised each other (can't wait for the video so I can hear it again), but I just remember thinking how beautiful it was what we were saying, and how right that this was exactly what a husband and wife should be promising one another. You will notice that our hands are tied together - that is with an ethnic belt which my grandmother designed and made for my folk costume. (Ever heard of "tying the knot"? We did this LITERALLY!) So the final vows, I do remember, were that love unites us and love also frees us, and then the belt came off, and they reminded us that while our souls are now bound together we are not physically bound together, reminding us each to keep our own, and that our souls being bound together is much stronger and more lasting than any physical bonds.

Hands down, this is one of my top two favorite photos of the day.
A kiss to seal the deal. :)
This picture may be a bit out of order - I think it is just after she removed the belt and saying how love unites us and love frees us!
And here we are, taking a stroll around as the newlyweds, KB "showing off" his new wife. :) He has this goofy "saimnieks" (farmer) face - including a smile and a nod - that he was making the whole time in the video (he noticed this himself) and we had a big laugh about it... :)