April 9, 2007
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This morning I was at my Woman's Club department meeting, and the guest speaker was Emmitt Smith.
No, not that Emmitt Smith!
This one's not an ex-football jock, but a renowned organist, who told tales of his years as organist for weddings held at TCU's Robert Carr chapel. A couple of his stories concerned mishaps with "unity candles", for which he has no affection at all, and said some pastors refuse to permit them (the mental image of a bridal couple's lit candles erupting from their spring-loaded containers and shooting into the air will be with me for quite some time to come).
What with the overwe'ening desire for all things new, and now that unity candles have become ubiquitous, there are new "unity" symbols on the horizon. Unity sand, for instance, where the bride and groom - and also their parents and/or any children from previous relationships - simultaneously pour sand from individual vials into a larger vase or bottle.
Sounds messy.
Mr. Smith also mentioned having recently seen a "unity salt" ceremony.
Poking around on the net, it appears there's also something called a "rose ceremony", but I'm not sure what it entails.
What happened to tradition, that's what I want to know.
A Las Vegas wedding chapel with an Elvis impersonator's not good enough any more?
Comments (6)
We had the unity candle at our wedding, but at that time it was pretty much tradition at my church, and I was all for having a traditional wedding.
Until I got my first look at the wedding service in the BCP, I had no idea that there were actual real traditions that real people really did, as far as what was said in the service. I'd only ever heard, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony..." in movies and had no idea that that was Real. My pastor wrote the vows for each couple he married and I can not even remember them. Sometimes I wish we could get married again so we could have the Real Traditional service.
Is the rose ceremony a reference to the Roman Catholic custom (don't know how widespread) of placing a rose before a shrine to the BVM during the ceremony, as a sort of "goodbye to virginity?" I've seen that done in the only RC wedding I've been to in memory (not counting the one(s) I was carried to very young.)
It was mentioned on a site discussing the unity sand ceremony, so I'm thinking not.
I think the rose ceremony is where the bride and groom give each of their mothers (or maternal substitute) in thanks for raising their beloved.
Corny. Sappy. People-centered.
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Okay, I'm no fan of DIY add-on frills in weddings (we insisted on using the normal OPC form for our wedding, though I doubt the pastor would really have given us much choice), but thanking your beloved's mother for being there to bring up your beloved is corny and sappy? I dunno....seems sort of...proper, though maybe not in the context of the wedding ceremony.
Ha! Just wait till Jason hands you a rose on The Day....you'll melt like milk chocolate in a toddler's hand.
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