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