Recently, I related the near-fiasco I “created” just before my son’s wedding ceremony got underway. I was in charge of preparing for communion, so thirty minutes before the start time, I set up the juice and bread on little tables behind each section of chairs. Two glasses of grape juice and two baskets of bread were placed on each table.
Only, we needed to set up additional chairs, so I moved the table back several feet behind the last row, made sure it was secure on solid ground, and walked over and did the same on the other side. When I turned around, the first table had fallen over, the grape juice spilled, and the baskets were on the ground. Thankfully, we had more grape juice, and several helpers pitched in to get things in order. But I felt so bad about that table falling.
I thought the table fell because I left it on uneven ground, but as I told that story to our prayer meeting crowd, someone who was there made my day when he said, “It wasn’t you. Someone else bumped into the table and knocked it over.”
No kidding! What a relief! I was freed up by an eye witness account!
However, it was I who gave the scripture reader the wrong scripture in my daughter’s wedding. The ceremony was flowing along beautifully when I cued the bride’s friend to stand and read scripture. My daughter looked puzzled as the scripture was being read, and it didn’t sound quite right.
Instead of giving her Ruth 1:16, which talks about strong commitment, I mistakenly gave her Ruth 1:17, which reads, “Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” That verse read by itself didn’t quite fit.
At the end of one ceremony, after leading the couple to commit their vows, exchange their rings, and light their unity candle, I came to the climactic moment in which I pronounced them husband and wife, and I declared, “What man has joined together, let not God separate . . .” or something totally backwards. I caught myself and corrected the statement, but the congregation and the couple got a good laugh at my expense.
Sharing these memorable moments spurred some interesting anecdotes witnessed by others:
In one wedding, the groom kneeled to pray and, unknown to him, someone had written “H-E-L-P” on the bottom of his shoes.
Just before one ceremony, someone accidently threw the garter in the trash. The maid of honor went on a hunt, and discovered that the trash bag was placed with other trash bags. Which one should she go through?
On top of that, the church had hosted a spaghetti dinner the night before. The brave lady went through the leftovers until she found the garter, just in the nick of time. She was truly a maid of honor.
One wedding party used The Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit” as the bride’s entrance song. Another used “Send in the Clowns” for the entrance of the wedding party. One used “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64?” for the recessional.
Of course, kids are cute, but they can disrupt a wedding if not cooperative. I saw the video of one entrance in which the ring bearer got almost completely down the aisle, but then chickened out, and turned and ran back down the aisle and out the door.
On another occasion, the ceremony was almost over when the ring bearer announced that he had to go to the bathroom.
Several years ago, the bride and groom lit their unity candle, and blew out the side candles. Only, the bride was still wearing her veil, and blew her veil right into the fire. Her veil lit up. Forget the hairdo. They hurried to remove her veil before there was serious damage.
No matter how much planning and rehearsing you do, it seems that every wedding will have some snafu that makes a lasting memory.
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Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Ga. The church family gathers at 352 McDonough Road, just past the department of drivers’ services building, and invites you to join them this Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. Visit them on the web at www.mcdonoughroad.org.
