The Story of a Wedding

A monumental honor  in my life is being asked to perform a marriage ceremony between two loving people.  Recently I did just that. 

As an InterFaith Minister - embracing all spiritual paths, affiliated with no one religion -  I built a ceremony specifically to suit their interests.  Sitting in a coffee shop, we leafed through books until we'd chosen songs, poems and vows that perfectly represented them and their heritages.  I was asked not to use the word "God".  They were delighted to replace it with "Life" and "Love".  We created a ceremony focused on emotion.

The wedding took place on a rock outcropping above a green valley, beneath a towering mountain.  Before people arrived, I stood under the gazebo, breathing.  In this next hour, I would represent the sacredness of living and loving, to them.  I, myself, was briefly their altar.  The bride and groom were casualties of religion gone bad, but their souls were alive with awe for creation.  In this coming hour, I needed to represent the closeness of sacred mystery and the vastness of the universe, for them. 

I swept the gazebo free of crumbled granite, red rock dust, cigarette butts.  Nobody brought a broom, so I borrowed a windshield brush from a guest's car.  With each broom stroke, I asked for Love to seat itself into that gazebo.  I asked for balance and harmony to bless the marriage, and the spot where we gathered to unite two lives.  I asked for angels to grace their marriage forever.  I invited all the Love of the universe to join us and celebrate the trust and hope being enacted today.  Still silently inviting, I took my ministerial stole from its box and placed it carefully over my shoulders.

The moment when a bride walks down the aisle, beaming joy, is a private and sacred thing.  As minister, I received that radiant joy every time she met my eyes, listening.  The groom met my eyes with a tear-wet face.  It was hard to contain the intensity of emotion without bursting! The brilliance of their love washed us all clean.  Family and friends alike were moved to tears.

I was sorry when it was over.  They thanked me repeatedly for contributing to their most important day.  In truth, they gave me as much as I gave them!  I have work that requires me to step into sacred consciousness, when invited.  They asked me, gave me that hour in the light. 

Now they pass through my mind every so often.   I wonder how their new life is going, with a little twinge of pride for my part in it.  They likely have no idea how much they matter to me, for that shining moment we had together.

© Copyright 2006 bonnie willow. Last update: 8/23/2006; 10:07:27 PM.