Weddings and Community

Why are wedding days such a big deal? I often ponder the question. There are a lot of ceremonies, but none of them as big as a wedding.

But then, what does a wedding symbolize? The creation of a family. And what is a family? The cornerstone of society, the basis for community, the context of the individual. Without the family, society ceases to exist and disappears into the ominous shadow of Government.

Marriage may seem like a private agreement between two individuals, or for a Christian, between two individuals and God. But it is more than that -- it is an agreement between the couple and the community. The couple is promising to perpetuate society and to take part in the community. Community is promising to provide a setting in which the couple can raise the family.

Then as Louis de Bonald said, the marriage covenant is between not only the man and the woman, but also between the unborn child(ren). The family exists for the child; the child exists because of the family.

Weddings, as much as they have been overblown and exaggerated, are a big deal because they are a chance for the community to share in the marriage. They are a chance for the couple to participate in the community. It is a seal between man and wife and society, for better or for worse.