"Weddings"
Author's Note
Simply some recollections of mine.
I have conducted many wedding ceremonies.
One I did not conduct was because of this.
Once a young couple had an appointment with me to discuss marriage. We chatted about it, and it came up that the young man's father was a Presbyterian minister. I asked him why he did not go to his father to get married. He replied that his father was very strict, and he was afraid to go to him because he was not sure of himself. He then asked if I thought he should marry. I told him I was not about to decide whether or not he should marry. I was strict too. He should go off, and they should think hard about this some more ... and then he should go to his father.
One marriage ceremony I did conduct went this way.
Actually it was not quite a ceremony.
I knew the couple. they came to me and said, "You know us well. We want to be married but not plan the words and ceremony ahead of time. Let us just meet in the Warner Room, the church parlor, and you will make it happen." It was a hippie kind of thing to do, but I agreed.
The couple arrived at the Warner Room at the appointed time along with fifteen friends. Then they waited for me to start. I talked a while about marriage and love and commitment.
In Delaware, a couple must be asked if they intend to marry and reply that they do before the minister. That is the legal question. Upon answering yes, they may be pronounced husband and wife.
I proceeded to the question this way. "I know that you want to be married because you told me so," I said. "Oh, yes," they answered. That took care of the legal part.
Some more talk, and then I asked if they had a gift for each other. "Yes," they said. "We have rings."
They exchanged rings.
At that point I asked whether or not they wished to make promises to each other.
"Quite so."
They talked one to the other about loving until death would part them, about taking care of each other in sickness and health, and so on.
At that point, I said, "Well I think you have done it. You have married each other ... so all I need to say is that yes, indeed, you are wife and husband!"
Someone then popped a cork on the champagne. Everyone had a drink, and the couple left for their honeymoon.
THE MARRIAGE LASTED THREE WEEKS. ALAS.
jake wrote
When I first read this, I was kind of hoping Bob would give us some wisdom at the end, but maybe it's better to leave the analysis unexpressed. The more you get to know Bob and read his stuff, the more something like this speaks for itself.
Posted on Mon, Apr 28, 2008