Weddings: What's Really Important?

As a minister’s wife, I have attended more than my share of weddings, and I’ve been privy to much of the behind-the-scenes drama. My husband, Jack, in an attempt to ease the nervous couple, would say, “Something is bound to go wrong; it always does. Most of the time no one sees it but the two of you and me. But the truth is, if I say, ‘Will you?’ and you say ‘I will’ and I say, ‘You are’. Then as long as the marriage license is signed, everything else is superfluous. You’re married.” Though that is true, we have witnessed some interesting situations.

One couple had planned a beautiful wedding. There were nine bridesmaids and nine groomsmen. Flowers and candles were everywhere. The dresses, of the attendants and the bride, were the most beautiful I’d ever seen. The brass quintet completed the fairy-tale scene. The hundreds, in attendance,
were in awe. It was a spectacle to take your breath away.

The bride spent untold hours planning it all, and she wanted to make it last, so she included everything that she had ever seen in any wedding she’d attended. She had read brides’ magazines looking for touching elements that would make the occasion memorable. But, in the end, she didn’t need any outside source to provide that.

The attendants were lined up with a groomsman standing behind each bridesmaid. As one of the songs was sung, by a talented vocalist, one of the bridesmaids collapsed in a dead faint. Thankfully, the groomsman behind her caught her before she hit the floor and carried her from the room. There was an audible gasp from the guests. Someone left the room to attend to her so the groomsman could rejoin the wedding. The ceremony continued, but after another couple of minutes, another bridesmaid passed out. She, too, was removed from the sanctuary. People were looking at one another, with little smiles, this time. The song was now over. The bridal couple knelt, on a bench, and Jack began to lead the congregation in a prayer for the couple. As heads were bowed, a big thump was heard from the front of the church. People raised their heads in time to see a third attendant carried from the room. At this point, everyone broke out in laughter, including the bride and groom. The minister tried to resume the prayer, but snickers could be heard throughout the room.

When the bride and groom were presented to the congregation, before walking down the aisle to exit the church, everyone laughed and cheered. Jack was right. Something had certainly gone wrong, but he did say, “Will you?” They did each say, “I will”. The license was signed, and they were married. The rest was just fodder, for stories, to share for years to come.