Best Of MetaFilter

Playing with cameras by magicmonkey (cc by)

MeFite yeolcoatl offers a suggestion about how to politely and respectfully tell people to put away their cameras during a wedding ceremony.

Since I study tea ceremony, I talked about the idea of ichi-go ichi-e (one time one meeting): the idea that this moment with these people will never happen again, and that that the moment should be experienced, because the feeling of looking at pictures you can have over and over again, but the feeling of being in this moment cannot ever be recaptured. I mentioned the professional photographers and that we could trust these experts to do their job, and then I asked them to put away their cameras and turn off their cellphones and invited them to share the experience of the moment with the bride and groom.

Married in Seattle by City of Seattle (cc by)

Various MeFites talk about their experiences being at Seattle's City Hall for the first day of gay marriages in Washington State.

No two groups were alike, except in the near-universal joy and and love that was palpably infectious all day.

I was also really impressed by how well-organized it was. We were pretty much running ahead of schedule all day, and it was clear that the mayor's staff had made this a labor of love, and really wanted to make sure each couple had a special day.

Made me so happy to be alive at this point in history, and proud to live in a city like Seattle.