What Makes The Perfect Wedding?

What elements make the perfect wedding? Is it the music? The venue? The reception? The food? An open bar? The gown? The couple? Is it any of this? All of this? I spent several hours mulling over these questions on a long, four hour drive home from Houston to Dallas yesterday. Why? Because I served as the Officiant at a wedding in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands on Saturday evening, and the experience remained with me into the next day.

The Woodlands is a lush, green, tony suburb north of Houston. It is known for its golf courses and the sheer number of trees! This wedding was held at the very posh The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center. And, it was a very beautiful setting for a wedding. A large lagoon with three fountains, ducks, geese, herons, the lush, green golf course and surrounding woodlands all served as backdrop.

I have been friends with the parents of the bride and several other of their family members since high school. I knew the bride when she was a young lass at the tender age of 8; now she is 28, all grown up, and getting married! And, I had the honor of providing the officiant duties. Yes, it was my honor and privilege. I met the groom only the day before the wedding. However, I was instantly impressed with his maturity, his grace and his love for this beautiful young woman.

The wedding was beautiful. The gown was amazingly beautiful. The setting was serene and picture-perfect. The crowd was just small enough to still be called intimate, but large enough to add interest to every conversation. The groom was nervous, the Attendants were the perfect assistants and their presence made the ceremony go that much more smoothly. The parents of the bride and the groom were both tearful and joyous simultaneously. The three flower girls were cute as buttons in their matching lilac taffeta gowns, hand-sewn by the bride and her mother.

The food was delicious, and the wine and liquor flowed. The Reception was a blast! As the sun set, and the full moon rose high, we danced and visited and dined. And it was all good.

But, was all that, all those accouterments the reason for this wedding being a perfect wedding?

On that long drive home from Houston, up a mostly lonely stretch of Texas highway, I decided no. It was not the resort setting, or the gown (beautiful as it was), or the food, or the vows which made this wedding perfect. It was the people.

The people. Diverse people from points east and west of Houston; from as far away as Pacifica California, and Albany New York. People young and old, from different walks of life. People heterosexual and homosexual. Yes, it was the people who made this wedding perfect - and it was the Love.

People sharing their love. People feeling their love. People who might be reluctant to love a stranger at any other time, were sharing love. Love was felt, it was shared, it was lifted.

This is what makes a wedding perfect. People and love. I write in celebration of love today - in all its forms. May it always serve to lift and nurture. May it always allow people who are strangers to become friends. May it always be so.