Grete & Zach
Behind every wedding, every graduation, every birth, every milestone achievement, every new job, every retirement, every move to a new home, every memorial service…there is a story. And one of the simplest but most significant ways we can honor someone and the threshold they are crossing is to take the time to hear that story.
The picture above is from my daughter’s wedding this summer. The dear friend who officiated the service captured our couple’s love story and we all enjoyed hearing it at their wedding…evoking an especially proud “Whoop!” from the good folks at Liquid Descent where these two met as rafting guides. There were tears and laughter, shouts of joy and moments of reverence – just like life. In this picture, Grete and Zach are listening to each of their parents read a blessing of their marriage. Hanging behind them are prayer flags. Guests wrote their names and a short prayer, blessing, or whatever they wished on a flag and hung it on their wedding bower. The bower was made of aspen poles that her father collected and put in our garage when Grete was two years old. I always wondered what they were there for! But to bring the “story” behind the poles to a happy conclusion, there they were, holding the wishes and blessings of everyone at her wedding.
Ceremonies can be simple or, if you wish, elaborately inclusive of all the details you think should be there, but they should always include a good story. At the next milestone, consider having more than a party. Pause and share the story.