I was on the lookout for that Guinea, I must admit.

Can you blame me? Just that morning, pre-wedding, I had received this photo in an email from the bride herself. She offered no comment beyond the image, a wildly tempting preview of the magnificent afternoon to come.

What more was there to say?

Ages-old silver, newly polished. A cavalcade of double old-fashioneds (in-waiting). A scotch bar, for heaven’s sake. And there in front—quiet, soft, beautiful—a feather so lovely, so indigenous, it could have gone practically unnoticed. A mere prop.

But no.

This feather had been found that wedding morning, a love offering from Ginny and Gus—the Guinea Fowl couple who months ago laid claim to the brick walls and copper roof and side garden of this Perfectly Charleston home. A beautiful feather, a blessing for the bride, a reminder of love and promises and grace.

it is rather magnificent, isn’t it?

That night at the wedding’s reception, thoughtful, gracious Bonnie (our hostess and one of my newest dear old friends), took time to share with me the remarkable story of Ginny and Gus coming to live with them on Lamboll Street; how these two are committed to each other for life; how Gus fretted when Ginny, the victim of an apparent owl attack, went missing. But she made her way back home, back to Gus, back to this family who loves her so.

My heart ached in the mere telling. I told Bonnie of our Eagle babies, now grown and gone. And of their parents—still here in the neighborhood, although less a part of our daily lives as they build a new nest farther back in the woods, far beyond our view.

In no time it seemed, it was time to go. We were headed for the porch door when Bonnie stopped me to ask, in her quiet and unassuming way:

Would you like to have one of the feathers?

My heart nearly stopped. My sweet husband looked at me and grinned, knowing how much this kind gesture meant.

 I think I may have one tucked away in this drawer, she said. 

What a powerful reminder the entire celebration had been of the things that matter most: Love. Commitment. Friendship. Family. Compassion. Kindness.

A very special wedding, indeed.