Posted by:
exminion
(
)
Date: January 10, 2019 04:17PM
Messygoop is right! "The most boring and blandest non-peronal ritual ever devised." My daughter ended up in tears, saying, "This was NOT how I imagined my wedding to be." All of her bridesmaids and friends, all of her siblings and the goom's siblings, and her father and uncles were not allowed into the temple to see her married. The heavy sack-cloth veil had made a hopeless mess of her hair, well, you get the idea.
My daughter chose a long-sleeved high neck wedding dress and it was acceptable for the temple. She bought it at one of those Mormon wedding dress stores in West Valley. After the ceremony, it was a wrinkled mess.
My niece's dress, however, did not meet the temple standards, so she had to wear a dickie, with a high collar, and long sleeves, which were put over her dress. These were made of that same "sack-cloth", that is thick, and not at all sheer or attractive. My niece is very petite, and the sleeves were made for a gorilla, and hung over 4 inches below her hands. The dicky was also way too big. Over this conglomeration, was the bulky pleated robe and sash. I overheard my niece and her groom, giggling in the hallway, going into the sealing room. They were making a vow to each other that they would not make eye contact with each other, because they knew they would burst out laughing, if they did. They did look funny! The comedian has a hilarious, expressive face
The "ceremony" is mostly listening to the officiator give a sacrament meeting talk, mostly about the church, and the couple's vows to the church, and their responsibilities to the church, and to have the church at the center of their marriage, and that their home should be dedicated to the church, and they should multiply to grow the church, bla-bla.
Everything was going well, until the bride and groom were directed to kneel at the altar. The bride knelt down on her veil, which pulled it and the head apparatus over her face, the chin-bow got caught, so everything was hanging around her neck. She tried to pull it back up, but there was 4 inches of fabric covering her hands, so she had to pull back the sleeves to uncover her fingers, to finally grasp the veil hat, and pull it back over her face, and back on top of her head. Unfortunately, she accidentally pulled the dicky up, along with the veil and hat, so the dickey was covering her face. In the process, the sleeves had dropped over both hands, again, so she had to get her fingers clear, again. She was all alone, kneeling, and out of access for anyone to help her. The groom was on the other side of the large altar, turning bright red with suppressed laughter, and his eyes were tearing up. When my niece had the dicky over her face, you could hear her suppressing her giggles. I know--you had to be there--but it was such a solemn and ridiculous ritual, and the guests were so serious, wearing bedroom slippers, and sitting stiffly in the lined-up white satin chairs, reflected for eternity in the mirrored walls. Again, you had to be there!! I sat in reverent silence, biting my tongue, and keeping my face frozen, but my diaphragm and breathing was going into spasms, and I kept thinking, "Don't laugh. Oh, please, don't let me laugh!" Finally, the officiator was beginning, and I could wipe the tears from my face, like I was being "emotional."
It wasn't until the couple were asked to hold hands across the altar in the "patriarchal grip" secret handshake, and the groom couldn't find her hand, under the huge sleeve, and immediately afterward the officiator told them to look each other in the eye--that they finally lost it, and started to laugh uncontrollably. I felt sorry for them, they were so embarrassed! I was smothering myself with my handkerchief, and embarrassed that I was the only other person laughing.
The actual ceremony doesn't mention Love or Cherish or anything like that. It focuses on the "covenants" made between the couple and the cult. The couple are sealed "under the New and Everlasting Covenant," which is flat-out polygamy! Look it up!
Most brides, like my daughter and niece, just peel off the temple garb, and walk out in their crumples wedding dress, and messed-up hair, to have their photos taken.