Funny things happen at weddings. People try to be so formal, with their formal attire, classical music, and everything just so. The problem is, formal implies ‘perfect’, and we know we’re not perfect, so the whole wedding thing makes everyone nervous. So, when something funny happens, its hilarious to everyone. And those are the marriage memories no one forgets.
I was once doing a wedding ceremony where the bride and groom were lighting a unity candle. When the groom went to blow out the single candle, he inhaled and set his mustache on fire! He patted it out right away and everyone got a good chuckle. But the platform smelled light burning hair.
A friend of mine was officiating at a wedding when a similar thing happened with the bride. She lifted her veil to blow out her candle, and when she pulled the candle in under her veil, a big hole suddenly melted in the veil. I’ll bet there were a few giggles at that one, as well.
What’s your favorite wedding memory?
Tags: fire, humor, wedding
Two years ago I was officiating at a wedding in another church. We had gone through our wedding plans twice at the rehearsal so everyone knew exactly what to expect and what the sequence was. The groom was a quiet, laid back guy but the bride was bubbling with excitement. She just couldn’t wait to get the show on the road. She was the eager beaver at each stage of the ceremony, racing with her vows, leading with the unity candle.
While I was leading them through the ceremony, I was smiling inside at her vivacious personality. So, when we got to the part when I should say, “Now you may kiss the bride…”, I stopped and just silently stood there. They were staring at each other expectantly, like a dog with a treat on its nose, for a couple of long seconds. Everyone began to lean forward a bit trying to help me say it. Finally, they both looked at me, and then I said, “Now…you may kiss the bride”. The kiss commenced, everyone chuckled, and the wedding was history.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen at a wedding?
Tags: humor, patience, wedding
Once I was performing a wedding when a comical thing happened. A young ring bearer had noticed prior to the service that the rings were tied loosely to the pillow he was to carry. Trying to help, he retied the rings a little tighter. During the ceremony, when the best man tried to untie the rings, he found they were in tight knots. Always prepared to do whatever is necessary, I had to interrupt the wedding to ask for a pocketknife so we could continue. It broke the monotony of a boring wedding with a good chuckle all around, and left the bride and groom with a wedding memory of a lifetime.
The little guy was only trying to help. But the help he offered backfired. Sometimes we get in the way of what God wants to do by trying to fix the problem ourselves. Getting ahead of God is a common problem we all share.
When was the last time you tried to fix something or someone and it backfired?
Tags: humor, wedding