My Big Fat Bahá'í Wedding

OK, well not exactly my wedding, but I was a guest. ;-)

Some dear friends of ours down in Aracaju got married this past weekend and we were fortunate enough to be able to attend. This was a real production! I'm estimating around 350 guests (maybe 400) in a lavishly decorated hall complete with spiral staircase and rolled-out red carpet. The service itself was elaborate, consisting of prayers in no less than four languages, chants in at least two, songs from a live band, readings on the nature of Bahá'í marriage, talks, a video presentation, the WORKS. There was even a belly-dancer! Anyway, despite the fact that the couple made clear this was not a typical Bahá'í wedding (making clear, in fact, that there is no typical Bahá'í wedding) and that a couple may structure their wedding in whatever way is pleasing to them as long as they include the reading of the verse, "we will all, verily, abide by the Will of God," one guest was still moved to ask my wife, "when your brother got married a couple of years ago, why didn't he have a Bahá'í wedding?" Sigh.

Anyway, congratulations to F and G!