Do Fairytales Come True?

Do Fairytales Come True?

Do fairytales really come true?  If I were to ask my 8-year-old granddaughter she would probably say without hesitation, yes!   Because she is a bit precocious she might even say, “Of course fairytales come true, don't you remember the wedding?!”  As I look at an enchanting photograph of her taken just over a year and a half ago I can see why she would say that fairytales do indeed come true.

In the forefront of the photograph, she stands with her back to the camera drinking in all that she is seeing.  The back of her white net flower girl dress is adorned with a perfectly tied bow.  Her hair is pulled up in a childish ponytail and around her head she wears a sparkling ribbon headband laden with white silk flowers and tied in a bow at the base of her neck.  She is staring intently at the scene in front of her. Her jaw line reveals that she is mesmerized.  She is lost completely in this moment.   In her mind what she sees is magical -- a fairytale come true. 

In the background twinkling lights that look like perfectly spaced stars dot the lush green foliage.  Sparkling tree limbs can just barely be seen in between all the fine greenery.  As dusk approaches, the last of the light peeks through the branches letting us know night is about to fall. 

Under the umbrella of the trees, as if under the spell of this magical fairytale setting, a newly married couple stands in an embrace.  The couple’s arms are gently wrapped around each other.  They are poised for their first dance as husband and wife.  The bride in her exquisitely airy gown has her back to the camera.  Long flowing blonde hair gently curls down her back to her waist.  This is the beautiful princess the child sees -- so much like Cinderella at the ball with her prince charming.  The groom gazes lovingly directly into the eyes of his new bride.  A smile graces his face revealing a dimple.  I can almost hear his gentle whisper, “I love you, my bride.”

I see two very different steady but intent gazes -- the groom to his new bride and the child to the bride and groom.  The groom, eyes locked on his new bride, sees only her.  He is unaware of anything going on around him.  The child’s steady focus is only on the couple.    I sense that the child is projecting herself on to the image of the beautiful bride.  She is perhaps imagining that she will one day be dancing with her own prince charming on her wedding day.

The couple is completely unaware of the child and the affect the moment is having on her. They are in their own fairytale world.  The child, unaware of anything but the couple, is in a fantasy of her own making. 

Most girls have a very vivid dream of their wedding day.  They imagine what it will be like, whom they will marry and what they will wear.  Little girls pretend to be a bride.  This child is no different.  She dresses up in a bridal costume, wandering through the house humming “Here Comes the Bride”.  “Grandma,” she asks, “Do you have any flowers for me to carry?”  Of course Grandma has flowers.  “Grandma”, “Can you put a veil on me?”  Of course Grandma can and does.  “Grandma”, she says, “stand over there so I can throw the bouquet.” as she quickly turns around and hurls the fake flowers through the room and over the dividing wall just barely missing a vase. 

The serenity of this charming photo is in direct contrast to the hectic and stressful pre-wedding days and hours.  “What do you mean the flowers aren’t arranged on the tables yet? The wedding starts in 20 minutes!”  I say in a not so nice voice.  And yet, when looking at this photo all I remember is the magic of the moment.  It is sort of like labor pains, once a mother sees that newborn baby, all the pain is forgotten.  Now, I only remember my beautiful daughter walking down the aisle with her father.  I remember seeing tears in her eyes as her dad gives her hand to the man who will now love and cherish her for the rest of her life.  I remember that my baby is no longer my baby.  My daughter is a grown woman fulfilling her own happy ever after.

Do fairytales come true?  For this young girl, a fairytale came true on August 25, 2012 at the wedding of her Aunt and Uncle.  She watched it happen, she participated in it and she memorized it all.   This simple photo of a little girl watching and drinking in the love and beauty of this newly married couple offers the possibility of forever after, happy endings and dreams coming true. 

         Fairytale weddings are a part of the here and now -- vividly etched in our minds and hearts. There is also an eternal forever after, the eternal happy ending, the eternal dream come true and it is called heaven.   The final fairytale come true awaits.



"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you."  John 14: 2