I just fired off a quick note to an remarkable bride-to-be, and wanted to share it with y’all, because it’s such an exceptional moment.
When a wedding elopement is booked at Timberwolf Creek, the bride receives -among other things- a copy of the traditional wedding vows that we usually use here, plus some additional readings that have become popular over time. She is encouraged to share these with her fiance’ and, together, craft a ceremony that is meaningful to them. They are welcome to add, delete, edit, or toss the whole thing out and replace it with another. About half the time, the bride sends a note that they want the ceremony ‘as is’. (It’s a pretty nice ceremony.) Now and then, I get a letter asking to replace the opening reading or the closing prayer with one provided by the wedding couple. But the rest are another matter.
The reason that I ask for the vows a couple of weeks before the wedding isn’t because I need time to format, print, and rehearse. (That only takes a few minutes.) It’s because it takes a good deal of time to rewrite the things I’ve been given, or to ask for clarity for the notes that say, “Something like this,” and “Make this include our children.” Voila! I am an author! Still, my favorites are the greeting cards -the ones that rhyme. When you pick up that pretty card in the store, with its engraved and foiled cover, on lovely paper, and open to read the endearing sentiment, please… people… read it aloud before you decide to include it in your ceremony. If you find yourself rocking back and forth and using your best Cat in the Hat voice, reminiscing about Dr. Seuss and animal cookies, you might want to rethink this particular selection.
With that, here’s the note to my April bride…
I might just sit down and have a little cry. You sent me the whole ceremony. Nowhere in there does it say ‘I take thee [BRIDE]’ or State-Your-Name. You haven’t added little notes that say, “Pick one of these,” or, “Make it sound something like this.” There is no rhyming Helen Steiner-Rice greeting card text… which is lovely in the greeting card, but reading it aloud sounds exactly like a Dr. Seuss book, and sorely tempts me to point out –during the ceremony- that I do not like green eggs and ham. You haven’t sent me a love letter to read, written in the first person, which I must either re-write in the third person, or risk sounding like I’m trying to run off with your fiance’. You sent your wedding ceremony, just how you wanted it to be, word for word. That is just such a rare and wonderful thing!! You Rock.
Thank you, thank you!
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