A Winter Wedding ...

It wasn't supposed to be, but the wedding I officiated yesterday turned out to be a winter wedding. Ironically this couple originally looked to get married in March, but decided it might be cold and moved the wedding back to the middle of April so it would be warmer. Instead what they got was at least an inch of snowfall and temperatures in the low 30's. It was snowing so hard as the wedding finished that the Limo that was to take them away from the church arrived late because he was driving in a "whiteout". (If you are in a warm weather state call a relative in the northern midwest and ask them what a "whiteout" is. Hint, it has nothing to do with hiding a mistake on a typed page.) Don't get me wrong, they still got married, they still made it to the reception, the bride was still beautiful, the church was full and everything went well. This leads me to some wedding thoughts...

My top reasons people attend a wedding (I am discounting the "I have to because they are related to me" reason.) These are not necessarily in order:

People come to see the bride enter. They come to smile at the ring bearers and flower girls come down the aisle. This reason has the cute factor going for it and people (other than the kids parents) are secretly hoping the young kids will do something unexpected while entering or existing. People come for the kiss and the introduction as Mr. and Mrs. People come for the reception.

People to not come to hear the minister. I learned this one a long time ago and committed to make sure I do not talk too long in a ceremony (that's what Sunday morning sermons are for). I am to guide everyone through a relatively seamless ceremony that culminates in a celebration of a new life beginning together.

I wish more people paid as much attention to the marriage following a wedding as they do for that 30 to 45 minutes on a given Saturday afternoon. By more people I am referring to the audience as well as the bride and groom. If we as friends and family would show the same kind of concern for their marriage as we did for their wedding maybe many of our friends and family would not struggle as much in their marriage nor divorce so easily. (That concludes my rant for today, at the rant I will post for today.)