Wedding Memories

Saturday evening I officiated at a wedding. Several months ago a delightful young couple asked to be married in our sanctuary, but neither Ken nor Scarlett could be present. Therefore, I was pressed into service. I usually avoid being involved with weddings unless they are to include someone who is near and dear to me. However, I agreed to marry them. We did the usual pre-wedding counseling and reviewed the wedding vows. Terry, the wedding director, made sure that everything was in order for the day. All seemed to be ready. However, when I arrived at the church, I was told we had a problem. This was not what I wanted to hear. We had a bridegroom that was overly anxious and had probably celebrated the occasion a little too much. For the next hour we reviewed our possibilities as to how we could preserve this wedding. He wanted to proceed and we outlined several changes that we might make during the ceremony, if needed. By this time, I am not sure who was more nervous, the groom or the minister. However, all went well. It was a beautiful wedding and I trust that the bride and groom are now enjoying their honeymoon. I think I will return to my usual roles of ministry.

The involvement in any wedding causes me to remember my own wedding and weddings of my sons. Fortunately, these are pleasant memories and ones I like to recall. However, I am really concerned about the failure of so many marriages and wonder if weddings contribute to this. For months the bride and groom overly plan every detail of the day and spend lavishly on every aspect of the wedding. Often they create a fantasy wedding that does not prepare them for the reality of a less than perfect marriage. How can we not feed this cultural phenomenon of extravgant weddings, but rather encourage thoughtful preparation for marriage?