Wedding Season

This time of year, the local paper is filling up with photos of exuberant brides and the stories of their weddings.  We’re close to the start of Wedding Season, the period between Memorial Day and Labor day when most weddings are held.  The event can be a test of bride-groom, mother-daughter and every other relationship.  For churches, it’s a test of their facilities.   How does yours measure up?

Although “regular” practices should guide most decisions about planning a space for worship, weddings and funerals are often more demanding.  Ironically, “regular” practices are subject to greater variation than these special occasions.  Here are some wedding questions to ask (more about funerals later):

1. Where will the wedding party prepare for the ceremony? At one time, people got dressed at home and arrived at the church building “in costume.”  That’s rare today, even for the groomsmen.  Some churches dedicate a “bride’s room”.  We’ve sometimes combined that with a “cry room” where parents can take unhappy little ones. Alternately we’ve located a meeting room or classroom next to a ladies’ restroom, with which it can share a door like those between adjacent hotel rooms.
2. Have you seen the size of that gown? Remember that wedding gowns can require that a bride set up a special ops team for everything from turning corners to going to the bathroom.  Whether you dedicate a room or not, avoid tight spaces.  A wet dress is never pretty.
3. What is the path from the changing room to the worship space? Can the bride pass from one to the other without going through main public spaces?  Traditionally, of course, the bride is hidden away, at least from the groom, until she appears at the end of the aisle.  I’ve seen some churches resort to elaborate temporary screen systems to make this work.
4. Where will the groom hang out before the ceremony? Is there an anteroom, office, or hallway off the beaten path available to the husband- and spiritual-leader-to-be?
5. How will the procession work? The center aisle is a characteristic feature in formal church buildings.  Even in informal settings, wedding planners instinctly set up center aisles.  Baptists and others with similar values have long eliminated the center aisle in a symbolic blow against liturgical imagery and practice.  Whatever your practice, have a plan for moving people in and out of the room.
6. What about the platform? Whether you have a sanctuary, chancel, dais, or other raised area in your worship space or not, there will be a “center” of worship.  How many people will it hold?  How easy is it for people of differing abilities to move on and off the platform?  Some churches justify out-of-the-way ramps because of the rarity of their use, but they’re tough to explain to the bride and groom who can’t approach the altar.
7. Colors? A classic debate is the one that takes place over carpet color.  Usually it’s about whether red or blue is more traditional. Think this is beside the point?  I’ve also heard one about how hard it is to match pink dresses to a particular color.  Consider strictly traditional colors (with which brides have been contending for generations), neutrals, or greens.