Garden Weddings

What’s with garden weddings? There seems to be a growing popularity for wedding ceremonies in romantic set-ups like gardens and beachfronts. Local celebrities Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto were recently wed in born-again rites in Tagaytay. If I remember correctly, G Toengi got wed to her American boyfriend in a beachside ceremony. I’m sure these couples only wanted this life-changing event to be especially memorable, so they took pains to make it romantic, something that will be on everyone’s lips for years to come and would make fantastic photo albums and videos.

I’m just wondering though. Are garden set-ups really the appropriate setting for a wedding? We must not forget that this all-too-important sacrament (yes, it’s a covenant with God) involves not just the couple, but God Himself too. It’ not like the main attraction of the show is the couple and that God is just an accessory.

The purpose of the entire thing is to formally ask God to bless the union, and that hardly qualifies as romantic, don’t you think? You know, sort of like the pamamanhikan, or the formal request of the guy to the girl’s parents for her hand in marriage. In this case, the proper way to do it, has always been to go to the girl’s house and formally inform her parents of prospective couples’ intentions. Similarly, asking God to bless the union requires that you do the appropriate thing: ask God formally in His house, that is, in the church where he is worshipped and glorified.

For Catholics, this is pretty obvious, since we believe in the physical presence of Christ through the Eucharist. Thus, it goes without saying that you go to Church to seek His spiritual blessings because He is really present there, in flesh and blood, through the Eucharist (when he mentioned during the Last Supper that the bread broken and shared with his apostles “… is my body” and the wine “…is the cup of my blood”, he was not talking metaphorically).

For Protestants, I do not know. They interpret the Gospel of John differently. Ergo, there’s no need to hold the ceremony inside a building, when you may as well hold it outside where you can be in touch with nature, God’s most beautiful and scenic creations.

Whatever your views are, the ceremonies should remain solemn and dignified. You can be as romantic as you want during the reception and afterwards. But during the ceremony, remember that God is still the centre of attention.

Don’t get yourself fired up. This is just my view. I certainly want to be married. I just want to do it in the most appropriate way.