We went to another wedding this past week-end. This time it was a 30-something couple -- neither of whom I would have picked for the other -- and who appear to be exceptionally well-matched. That should give you some understanding of my matchmaking skills.
This wedding made me think of a wedding I was part of a long, long time ago. That marriage paired the daughter of a small-church pastor and the son of a politically-connected family. The church was absolutely full that day, and afterward, in a very traditional move, the entire bridal party were requested to stand in the receiving line. Do you remember those? Everyone there dutifully filed through the line and shook each bridesmaid's hand and each groomsman's hand before even getting to the stars of that day's show - the bride and groom. Interestingly enough, each guest seemed to feel it necessary to tell me - a lowly bride's maid - how he or she was connected to the couple. There were a very few college friends, a very few people who seemed to curry favor with the groom's family, and a few parishioners. What I never anticipated was how many were there because of the bride's mom. It wasn't that she held social power or was a maven of high society. As person after person after person came through the line that day, he or she would tell us how the bride's mom had introduced her to Jesus. "She loved me when I most needed it." "She showed me that Jesus loves me!" "She was the first person who taught me about the love of Christ." That receiving line and those testimonies went on for nearly an hour.
7 comments:
What a wonderful tribute!
The question at the end should surely make us all think...
That question could make one think enough to not have a receiving line:)
I am with Woody on this one.
I am positive though, all good would be said about you.
Well being the anti-social sort I am I cannot imagine a long line up of people paying tribute like that. Admirable, no question, but not enviable, for me the views of my nearest and dearest friends and family are all that really matter. So now I have to think about what they might say :-)
Oh those all-inclusive receiving lines bring back the memories....you will be lovingly referred to. Except by students who end sentences in prepositions....
I skipped the receiving line at our wedding, I plan on talking my daughter into doing the same ;)
Good question. For our wedding (March), we had the guests stay in their seats, and Mark and I greeted them at their pews. That way, they got to relax while they waited and didn't talk to the attendants unless they wanted to go back and say hi.
I liked this post.
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