This past Sunday I attended the wedding for an international friend of mine where I realized the true meaning of wedding celebrations. I have always been to big weddings that people have spent lots of money on, but this wedding was different because my friend was on a very tight budget but it did not seem to matter...
The small but intimate ceremony took place in an old church that required little decoration because it was so full of character. The pastor performed, who performed the marriage ceremony, was a very good friend of the bride and groom, almost like their father. There were not many people in attendance due to the fact that the married couple are both originally from a different country so they have no family here. However the friends that were there, some with such close relationships to the couple that they were practically family and others with just great friendships that the couple felt right at home. I did not know some of the people in the church that afternoon but still felt connected to them through our joy for this bride and groom.
The bride wore a used dress given to her by a close friend yet she looked so beautiful as if the dress were made especially for her. The groom was handsomely dressed in a new suit he had bought himself for this occasion and many more to come. The simple gold rings still represented the eternal love the couple had for each other even if they were not full of diamonds and rubies. The vows included the struggles and stories of the bride and groom which became tearful as the pastor and couple began to cry.
The ceremony was followed by a welcoming reception of cake and coffee in a humbly decorated church hall. Friends served coffee and a neighbor had baked a magnificent wedding cake with three tiers of chocolate cake decorated to a T as if it were a cake from a catalog. A professional photographer that happened to be a friend took pictures of the couple and their guests throughout the afternoon celebration. The small party of friends and closeness felt among the guests made the event feel as if everyone was apart of this big family. Everyone helped in their own way making the celebration one created by those enjoying it.
Weddings do not have to be big, extravagant parties that cost thousands of dollars and host hundreds of guests in order to mean something. The simplicity and genuine feelings of the wedding this past Sunday was not muddled up in the materialistic nature of most weddings; therefore, it conveyed the true meaning of marriage and love. Rather than focusing on the color scheme picked out, the age of the couple, or the sound of the orchestra, the focus of the entire day was on the coming together of these two people that wanted to spend their lives together making it all the more special. I now can say I have a better sense, not complete but better sense, of what marriage is all about and why people make that big leap into the next chapter of their lives.
Congratulations Alejandro and Liedy! May you live a happy life together, Always!
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