 The wedding pictured above was one of the most memorable to me, because their ceremony was for two people whom I had known Betts Huntley, my brother, framed the picture in the canopy surrounded by the natural world. He caught the beauty of the bride, who looms out onto the pool, and he put the groom hidden in the shadows, where many grooms feel at weddings. The wedding is described in the “decades” by clicking “Christine Dietrich” |
Want to go to a wedding with me? During the spring semester of 2007, I was granted a gift of time by the University of Redlands to reflect and write about weddings; so I went to at least one hundred.
Most of the weddings on this CD were ones I performed, or acted out another role, as bridegroom, a best man, a camera bearer, a stable boy, or a “crasher.” A few I visited in a space ship that defied both distance and time. The film “Wedding Crashers” was an oblique inspiration, for often I felt as puzzled as the priest in that film. Dr. Martin Luther King's last sermon was a more direct inspiration as I read it again in January 2007, the first pages when he travels with the Almighty looking for a place and a century in which to work.
There are weddings on the CD which took places in churches, on mountains, by beaches, and in homes. Some of the weddings led to anniversaries of fifty, twenty or ten years. One led to a marriage when ended two hours later at the reception. The most recent wedding was in August 2006 and the next, at least, for me is planned for 7/7/07. Some of the weddings did not last as long as the vows promised, for sometimes paths diverged for lovers who promised to stay “together forever." The comments herein are never intended to be judgmental of what happened after ceremonies concluded. Usually, I tried to tell all who came to me for advice that in ancient times for Babylonians or Jews, Muslims or Christians, however joyful a wedding might be, there was always a possibility of an end. By contrast, I read that some Japanese expected to be together for two lives, not one; the first was to prepare for the second; or the second was to complete what did not take place in the first. But which life and which marriage were they living, I wondered!
In any case, you can read my stories and dozens by generous folks who wanted to contribute to my reflections. In one sense this project was a test of memory for an aging professor who was invited to share a special day in the lives of many. Thank you all.
Hereafter, for the rest of my life I will enjoy reading about what I remembered and was told in 2007, but the comments and pictures are mine, no one else should be blamed and none of us attacked by lawyers in a court, for anything herein can be corrected or removed. The CD is a gift with no financial rewards to me or anyone who contributed; all the rewards are spiritual or intangible, at least, for me, but my readers are encouraged to help me improve what you find here or to send me your story. If so, I am available as follows:
bill_huntley@redlands.edu. |
