Weddings

I recently attended my niece’s wedding outside of Houston. It was a beautiful affair at a wedding and reception facility of southern plantation style. The wedding package was all-inclusive with flowers, photography, a cathedral with twin staircases, cake, music, dining area, and dance floor. The entire event was perfect including a gorgeous bride and extremely handsome groom.

I’m guessing there were about 300 people at the sit down buffet dinner and dance following the ceremony. Several photos were taken of the bridal party along with all other attending family members. This consisted of three separate shots: the bride’s father’s family, the bride’s mother’s family, and the groom’s parent’s family.



As I was leaving, close to midnight, I was thinking about the many weddings in other branches of the family and the differences. Most were self-catered receptions to make them affordable. Being part of the family, I was automatically involved in the post wedding clean up that included washing dishes in church kitchens, setting up chairs for the next day’s event or putting them away after the reception. It took a good deal of time packing up the leftover food and carting the gifts to the parent’s home after the couple had left for the honeymoon. Sharing the work wasn’t thought of as a chore and family bonding was strengthened.

No matter which way your resources go, there is no guarantee that the marriage will last, even with all the best wishes and prayers of family and friends.