Weddings- Horror Stories, Humor, Touching Moments

[EqualinHim]

So, a friend of mine is getting married in a few days. Her wedding will be a big, beautiful nuptial mass at our very beautiful parish church. I thought it’d be interesting to share our good experiences, touching moments in the liturgy, funny experiences, and wedding horror stories for all of the Catholic weddings you’ve been to. Did any of those experiences draw you to deeper faith?

So, I’ll start off with my other friend’s eastern, byzantine rite wedding. Father had a reputation of being a traditionalist, but also dispensing advice during his homilies. My friend’s wedding was no exception. I can say “obey your husband” and “marriage is not like army” and it will immediately cause every one of her family members or friends to burst out laughing. The advice was sound, but the frank and straightforward delivery style of the priest was what made it very funny. During the potluck reception, there was a bit of a horrific moment where my pyrex baking dish exploded and sent bits of glass and egg all over the kitchen.

For more mass related humor, I recall the priest at my cousin’s wedding cracking sports jokes during the ceremony.

Honestly, when I went to my friend’s byzantine wedding I was really touched by the crowning part of the liturgy, mostly because of the way the priest showed a lot of care towards them. This was a priest who knew every one of his parishioners by name. Also, the way the liturgy was sung was very beautiful. My friend is of the Roman persuasion, but had to be married in the Byzantine rite because her husband is byzantine. Both of these people have been a steady rock in my faith journey and in the faith journeys of a lot of other people. She’s done social work, worked with teens, and sponsored several people into the church. Hopefully that might include me in the future. He’s an expert at scriptural exegesis and is considering ordination in the Byzantine rite.

My cousin’s wedding was in a Roman rite church and it was kind of through his wedding that, in a roundabout way, I was introduced to the idea of veneration of the Blessed Mother. For part of their wedding, they offered flowers to the blessed mother. I was curious about the practice and why they did it, and that drove me to want to know more about Catholic tradition.

 

[Trishie]

My maternal grandfather was recovering in London from injuries in received Gallipoli, a place that all Australians recognize, when he met a lovely young English girl. They courted, and decided to marry, reception planned and organized.
He had overlooked one piece of paperwork, so the reception was enjoyed two weeks before the wedding.
Not a horror story, but very embarrassing for my grandfather.
He died early, consequent to the shrapnel injuries to his lungs, he had been severely injured, then again as he lay on the beach waiting for the hospital ship
My grandmother never married again, “Angus was always my sweetheart”, she claimed.

A year or so ago, there was an Australia mini-series regarding nurses serving with the Australian navy during the first world war.
A hospital ship episode concerned treatment of young Aussie soldiers for lung injuries, such as my grandfather endured, losing one lung completely, that brought it home, and I cried my heart out, over my grandfather whom my mother dearly loved and whom I never met.

 

[BayCityRickL]

I’m a real boring wallflower. I don’t like the priest telling jokes at any Mass.