Wedding Blessings

We went to a wedding tonight. My niece, Amanda, was the Maid of Honor. Her boyfriend, Alex, was a groomsman. The bride is a close friend of Amanda's, the groom a close friend of Alex's. Amanda and Alex introduced them and, after Amanda's accident, they began dating.

The bride also was our Pediatrician's nurse for many years, so we got invited to the wedding. We were very happy that these two "found" each other and that we could be there to witness the beginning of a new, happier life together for them.

At the reception, which was lovely but very small, Deanna looked around at the meager crowd of about 55.

"When I get married," she whispered to me, "I want a BIG wedding!"

I snickered. No choice there. As a matter of fact, I'm so used to weddings with 10 attendants on each side and hundreds of guests that this small, unassuming crowd was a little odd for me, as well.

On the way home (the wedding was in a neighboring town about an hour's drive away), my mother was commenting on the small crowd.

"I'm used to weddings where you invite ALL your friends and family," she said.

"Mom," I explained, "I think that WAS all their friends and family."

She looked shocked. We've lived in the same place for so many years and have so many dear friends that it's hard to imagine life with only a few friends. Just my family alone would probably be more people than attended this entire wedding.

Thinking back about those conversations and the small group that gathered to dance, toast, and celebrate, I found myself wondering how we always manage to pull off huge wedding receptions. Don and I expected 300 people at our wedding (the capacity at the church where we held it) and there were many people standing in the aisles and back of the church. We fed all our guests a full meal and didn't hire a caterer. We had friends that helped cook and other friends that helped serve, decorate, etc. All I did was ask for help and provide the menu and money to purchase the groceries.

I'm quite sure Deanna's wedding will be an Event, as was ours and as are most of the weddings we attended. It's not that the measure of a marriage OR the assessment of a nice wedding is how many people attend. But, somehow, it just seems more joyous with large crowds. As I was walking down the aisle, I was struck by the fact that ALL those people had shown up just to see Don and I commit ourselves to each other and to celebrate a love long-sought and finally achieved. I was overcome and zig-zagged down the aisle, greeting people on both sides. I realized, after the fact, how strange that was, but I was overcome with the faces I saw, standing there, watching me process up the aisle, and realizing that all those people had come just for me and Don. What a blessing!

Tonight, I'll pray for Kellie and Bobo ( a nickname - his real name's Jerry) that their marriage will reflect all the joy that would have been represented by a group of 500 gathered in that little church. They both have struggled to find the "right" one and it seems they finally succeeded. And that's no small task.

The really important thing, I think, is not how many people were there, but that THEY were there, and God was there. After all, that's all it really takes for a good marriage.