This past Saturday we had the privilege of attending the wedding of one of my favorite nephews. Congratulations Jake and Sarah. It has been fun watching this relationship grow and mature over the past few years. They make an awesome couple and it is going to be fun to see what God has in store for them in the future. We are so glad to have you as part of the family Sarah, even if you are a Cardinal's fan.
The wedding was beautiful, perfect weather, a spectacular church out in the country. Complete with a handsome groom and beautiful bride. An entourage of good looking groomsmen and pretty bridesmaids. The cutest flower girl and ring bearer you could imagine. (Sorry they were, even if they are my great niece and nephew.) Way to go Adelyn and Hayden. Throw in bright colored flowers, wonderful singing, and the support of lots of family and friends. A perfect wedding.
Though there are always those few little things that make each wedding special. Getting everyone there on time, the flower girl who got cold feet and tears, and the "get away" bus running out of gas. And I noticed something during the ceremony, that I thought was just a sweet gesture, but after thinking about it, I thought maybe it was one of those cute wedding glitches,
The priests said at the end of the ceremony there are times for applauding and this is one of those. Please applaud with me as I introduce for the first time Jake and Sarah Buhnerkempe. As they turned around the bride and groom squeezed in a kiss. I thought how sweet, then I realized, oh no he missed saying you may kiss the bride.
So, I decided to do some research on "you may kiss the bride". One of the sites I looked at said that not all catholic weddings include the kiss. I don't know if that was the case in this particular instance, or if it just got skipped, but I love that Sarah and Jake made sure it got in there.
I started researching to find out where the tradition of kissing the bride began. Before researching, I thought it was just a way of sealing the marriage agreement, you know the saying "sealed with a kiss". Some do trace the tradition to ancient Rome, whereby the exchange of a kiss signified the completion of a contract. And yes marriage is a contract between two people, but more importantly marriage is a covenant between those two people and God. See Rob I do listen to your sermons.
But I did learn something new from my research. (Even in the second half of life there is still room for learning. Maybe more room because the older you get, the less you realize you know.) What I did find out, was that many people hold to the belief that the kiss symbolizes the exchange of souls between the bride and groom. Binding them together forever. Which fulfills the scriptures in Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:6-9 "that the two shall become one flesh".
So, good job Jake and Sarah on getting the kiss in. I am sure that your two souls will abide happily ever after. Thanks again for letting us share in your special day. We loved it.
Thanks for reading.
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