It was not the presence of Hollywood celebrities, which made this wedding so special. It was not the romantic scenery of Los Cabos, Mexico. What made the wedding of my old Barcelona buddy JK and his Meredith such an unforgettable event for all of us was their profound emotional transparency.
For me, this emotional openness climaxed in JK’s vow to Meredith – a three-minute tribute to great public speaking. With calm pacing, wonderful pauses, a great choice of descriptive words and no notes in his hands – JK spoke about his life threatening open heart surgery nine years before.
Face to face with Meredith, deeply looking into her eyes he shared with us the two heart conditions he’d been facing ever since. When he’s nervous his heart would physically respond with irregular beats. On the other hand, when he’s happy his heart would respond with a warm, glowing flow of emotions spreading throughout his entire body – to every tip and to every toe. JK continued explaining that in that very moment, sharing the most emotional moment of his life that glowing feeling of purest happiness was stronger than ever before. The bride cried, the crowd cried, I cried.
Three lessons learned
- Share feelings coming from the deepest bottom of your heart – whether it’s a wedding vow or an inspirational business talk. John Ford said that, “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.”
- Never use notes! Heartily messages, just like any other message, don’t go with notes. By the way, at the bottom of your heart it’s dark; you couldn’t read your notes anyway.
- Struggle, perseverance, love – these are great ingredients to tell a great story. Not only in Hollywood movies, but also in a wedding vow.
To Meredith and JK – ¡¡¡vivan los novios!!!