This Spring and Summer has been full of weddings! Is it love that makes the world go round or is it Someone Else? Yes, it is the Triune God who is in control. Yes, yes. Anywhoooo, back to weddings. In May, I, a middle aged faun, was a bridesmaid in a wedding. The couple met online and it wasn’t too long before they were engaged then married. They met on a reformed internet info. group. The Lord was glorified as these servants covenanted together to be husband and wife and to serve the Lord together. They even sang a beautiful duet together during the service. There was congegational singing of a psalm, also. My family was able to assist with the congregational singing by playing stringed instruments: guitar, cello, viola, violin. There was a pianist, too.
After that wedding, is was time to prepare for my son’s wedding to his sweetheart. Their courtship lasted 16 months and it was God – glorifying. As mother of the groom, my responsibilities were quite different than being a bridesmaid. And, I did some special things to bond with my daughter in law. Once the engagement happened and was announced (March 30, 2006), I began a special keepsake journal – letters to my (then future) daughter in law. I wrote what my responses were to the engagement, the unfolding wedding plans, the details, the bridesmaids, the colors of the wedding, etc. By writing these letters I was able to process what was happening! My son was getting MARRIED! Wow!
God had blessed him with a godly woman and he was going to become the head of a new covenant home! My husband and I had prayed about the provision of a godly spouse since before his birth. Seeing the answered prayer come to fruition was truly a blessing, a gift from God. (By the way, in case you wondered, the wedding colors were lilac and silver, there were 8 bridesmaids (one being a junior bridesmaid), a flower girl, a ring bearer, 4 musicians playing piano, guitar, flute and violin, Scripture passages were read from Ephesians 5, a fantastic message was given, ……) Oh my!! The message made it clear that the couple not only leaves mother and father and cleaves to eachother, they also become a new entity, a new family.
Planning a rehearsal dinner 11 hours away from where the wedding occurred was not as hard as it sounds. The young couple made an initial list of possible venues. I made several calls to narrow the options to 3. Then, we discovered their first choice venue was going to be closed that night so we went to the next option. We received menus in the mail, chose 3 entrees (a chicken, a fish, and a beef option), planned a program for the rehearsal dinner and made a seating plan. We also had considered preparing food in the church kitchen for the dinner, but it did not seem practical, coming from a distance. So, all in all, the rehearsal dinner went very well.