I used to attend a lot of weddings and I’m starting to think simple is just way better.

In my teens and 20s I had a mystic view of the wedding. There’s the music, the pomp and circumstance, the big dress the bride only wears once and then goes into a hermetically sealed box after being cleaned. Flowers magically appear along aisles in houses of worship.

Because I was known among friends and family as the person with the video camera and the know-how to use it properly, I shot and edited (with music of course) probably 10 weddings in two years. I was quite weary by the end of one particularly busy summer but I did really love the pageantry of it all.

As I age beyond my 20s and 30s, I tend not to attend as many weddings as I once did. People are already married or they’re getting divorced. For a while I was really kind of disappointed that I don’t get to listen to the loud and bold Mendelsohn’s wedding march on a regular basis. I always got a thrill when the tune would start to play.

This week, one of my Irish dance colleagues got married to her boyfriend of eight years. Rebecca walked into dance class barely two weeks ago and said she was getting married in March. This week, they took vows at the county courthouse.

I’m starting to think that’s the way to do it. ‘Twas simple and lovely.

She looked beautiful. She sent via text message a photo of her and Stuart right before they left for downtown. She looks like the actress Natalie Portman. Her immediate family came from the midwest to be by her side, and within the next few months there will be plenty of parties in two countries to celebrate the couple’s nuptials.

Seriously, I think that’s the way to do it. Keep it simple and lovely.

The best things about my wedding was the getting dressed up and having so many family and friends in one place at one time. It was a dream come true. It was also the last weekend I saw my grandfather Bob alive. He died after a short illness barely six months later. My wedding day was priceless.

But looking back, I didn’t need the first dance, the bouquet tossing, and all the showers and prep leading up to the day. I just enjoyed being around people I love and care about and dancing and having fun. If I were to do it again I might want to do it like Rebecca and Stuart. Simple ceremony and dinner out now, parties with loved ones later.

So, today I salute the lovely new married couple Rebecca and Stuart. They are both mathematicians and thus I titled this story in their honor by using an equation.

I wish you much love and peace.

And thank you for keeping it so stunning and simple.

But gosh do I still love the Mendelsohn wedding march.