Wow, What a Wedding

"I'm off to a very special wedding," I excitedly declared last week to anyone who would listen. "My aunt is getting married, and the happy couple are both in their 70s." The response was the same every time — "Good for them!"

It's always so heart-warming when a couple find love in later life, and I can assure you that this couple are very much in love. I know it can work out really well too, as my step-mum remarried (after dad's death) when she was 72. Nine years later, they're still going strong. I wish the same – and more – for Sarah and Alan.

This would be my first experience of a Quaker wedding.  It was very different to the Anglican ones I'm used to, but I was most impressed by its simplicity and sincerity. Quaker weddings take place in the context of a Meeting for Worship. The room fell silent for a few minutes before, unprompted, Alan and Sarah stood and made their marriage vows to each other. Then, for the next hour or so, anyone at the meeting could offer words of encouragement or congratulation, as the spirit moved them.  After about 20 minutes, I felt moved to stand up myself, and say something like:

"Friends, it has been my privilege to be close to Sarah over the last few years of her journey through life; from Sarah wondering... to Sarah seeking... to Sarah in love. Today that journey takes on a new dimension.  My hope and prayer is that their love for each other will grow and grow, and that the Divine Assistance upon which they have called in their vows will be theirs for the whole of their lives together."

One nice touch is that, at the end of the Meeting, everyone signs the wedding certificate as witnesses.  This, we were told, has its origins in the days when Quakers often found themselves imprisoned for their beliefs, but hopefully a few souls would remain at large to affirm the validity of the marriage!

More conventionally, that evening 23 of us gathered at a salubrious hotel for the Reception. I shared a table with S-, two good friends of Sarah's who have become my friends too over the last few years, and three members of Sarah's family.  There were no long speeches, no cards and telegrams to read; just good food, good company and a couple who depart for their honeymoon with all our love.