Random wedding
Aug. 30th, 2003 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livThe most bizarre thing happened to me today. I was walking to shul with my parents, and we decided to take a short cut through Downing. Now, it turned out that there was a wedding party going on in the college. And we saw someone we know from shul among the guests, so we stopped to say hello to her. What was she doing at this wedding? Well, of all people, it was her son getting married!
So this friend of ours insists that we stay for the wedding. That was... unexpected. It was my first ever civil wedding, and what really struck me was just how much of the church service has been carried over into the civil context. Some of it seems quite inappropriate there. But the couple were suitably sweet, the groom had that 'can't stop grinning' expression, and they read a Spanish love poem (the bride being Mexican), and that sweet Marlowe piece Come live with me and be my love.
Although I had never in fact met the groom, I do know his younger sister slightly from Oxford, so it was nice to see her. There also ended up being loads of people at the wedding whom I know, including![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jacquic whom I hadn't seen in person for a while. And the sister of a very good friend of mine from school, HFL. And loads of people who know people who know me; definitely a good day for sixdegrees. And the groom's sister introduced me to a really interesting person who was talking extremely intelligently about higher education, folk dancing, linguistics and a bunch of other interesting things (what is it about short, talkative women with ridiculously long hair?). I must try and see if I can get her email address from the groom's sister.
So this friend of ours insists that we stay for the wedding. That was... unexpected. It was my first ever civil wedding, and what really struck me was just how much of the church service has been carried over into the civil context. Some of it seems quite inappropriate there. But the couple were suitably sweet, the groom had that 'can't stop grinning' expression, and they read a Spanish love poem (the bride being Mexican), and that sweet Marlowe piece Come live with me and be my love.
Although I had never in fact met the groom, I do know his younger sister slightly from Oxford, so it was nice to see her. There also ended up being loads of people at the wedding whom I know, including
jacquic whom I hadn't seen in person for a while. And the sister of a very good friend of mine from school, HFL. And loads of people who know people who know me; definitely a good day for sixdegrees. And the groom's sister introduced me to a really interesting person who was talking extremely intelligently about higher education, folk dancing, linguistics and a bunch of other interesting things (what is it about short, talkative women with ridiculously long hair?). I must try and see if I can get her email address from the groom's sister.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-30 04:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-30 05:44 pm (UTC)Interesting; as far as I'm concerned weddings are generally like that.
This one wasn't, in principle, but largely because it's a mixed marriage; had it been a Jewish wedding then it would have been expected that everyone from the (Jewish) community would be at least at the ceremony. This particular couple actually had a closed guest list, but the mother just happened to invite us on the spur of the moment. Which was indeed very sweet!
Anyway, there was a definite public element to it; they read out that bit about if anyone has a just impediment. And things like publishing the banns (they aren't called that any more, but the equivalent, the notice has to go in a public registry office for three weeks before the wedding). So in a sense the concept of civil marriage in this country seems to have retained the community aspect you'd expect from established church weddings.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-30 04:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-05 06:13 pm (UTC)livredor - was the short chatty knowledgeable woman - named B? our age? blonde hair?
just wondering...
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-10 10:43 pm (UTC)was the short chatty knowledgeable woman - named B? our age? blonde hair?
The last two, yes, but her name begins with J (and I don't even know her surname so I couldn't help you even if I weren't trying to be discreet). Her most obvious distinguishing feature apart from the very long hair is that she has an amazingly deep voice and a a fairly marked local accent. It's possible that your sister knows her.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-05 06:17 pm (UTC)that was from me - HFL
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-30 05:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-30 05:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-03 12:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Oxford J-soc used to do a bagel brunch once a term, they'd bring up bagels from Golders Green to feed the cravings of all those poor London Jews exiled to the provinces. Apart from the general goodness of bagels, I met the love of my life at such an event.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-11 10:27 am (UTC)