Our wedding: the ceremony at the abbey church
Our church wedding took place at the Park Abbey closeby where we live. It's my parish church and both Jan and I love to walk around the abbey grounds.
I've enjoyed this wedding service most because it was totally "our" service. From all the compliments I've received that day or the days after, I am most pleased when people say they loved our wedding service. After all: the dress, the flowers, the food, the pictures....are all services we've purchased from people/businesses who are doing their job. Our only accomplishment is chosing those professionals who fitted our wishes and budget and communicate with them.
For the wedding service, it's a little different. Here we've been carefully reading a lot of texts, songs, ...comparing, chosing and then rewriting things to find our service. It was very important to me that what we created was meaningful and in line with our thoughts and feelings. It wasn't that easy since we both have quite an opposite view on religion...as opposite as an atheist and a Christian are I guess :p. We wanted this to be reflected: on one hand it had to be a catholic wedding, on the other hand we didn't want Jan to pretend anything or take part in prayers and liturgic traditions he didn't support. So we chose for a "word" ceremony without the sacrament of the Eucharist (something which is actually more and more stimulated by the Church so it seems!). After all in the catholic tradition the sacrament of marriage is performed by the couple itself while expressing their wedding vows, whereas the priest and the community is only witnessing this. Fortunately the priest stimulated us to personalise and we made-up a service that I'm quite proud off.
I'm also quite happy that a lot of people were present in church. I had feared beforehand that a lot of our relatives & friends who were invited to the evening dinner would not have come early to attend the church service. I guess in some countries attending a wedding is a day-event by definition due to the big distances, but in Belgium it can often be combined with lots of other activities. Since we are more and more a secular society , many people only show up for the reception or evening dinner without going to the church service. I think that's a pity since you go to a party to celebrate an event you haven't bothered to attend. But my fear had been ungrounded as a lot of friends and family were in the church after all, which was so great to have them with us!
Our arrival at the abbey in our "London" taxi
Caminhando, the choir I am a member off, brightened the service with their songs and I had fun singing along :)
Jan and I welcoming everybody
Reading our self-written vows to each other
Exchanging the rings
The Church has now pronounced us husband and wife.
Distributing self-made candy brochettes to the children present after the church service, while greeting everybody coming out of the church.
I've enjoyed this wedding service most because it was totally "our" service. From all the compliments I've received that day or the days after, I am most pleased when people say they loved our wedding service. After all: the dress, the flowers, the food, the pictures....are all services we've purchased from people/businesses who are doing their job. Our only accomplishment is chosing those professionals who fitted our wishes and budget and communicate with them.
For the wedding service, it's a little different. Here we've been carefully reading a lot of texts, songs, ...comparing, chosing and then rewriting things to find our service. It was very important to me that what we created was meaningful and in line with our thoughts and feelings. It wasn't that easy since we both have quite an opposite view on religion...as opposite as an atheist and a Christian are I guess :p. We wanted this to be reflected: on one hand it had to be a catholic wedding, on the other hand we didn't want Jan to pretend anything or take part in prayers and liturgic traditions he didn't support. So we chose for a "word" ceremony without the sacrament of the Eucharist (something which is actually more and more stimulated by the Church so it seems!). After all in the catholic tradition the sacrament of marriage is performed by the couple itself while expressing their wedding vows, whereas the priest and the community is only witnessing this. Fortunately the priest stimulated us to personalise and we made-up a service that I'm quite proud off.
I'm also quite happy that a lot of people were present in church. I had feared beforehand that a lot of our relatives & friends who were invited to the evening dinner would not have come early to attend the church service. I guess in some countries attending a wedding is a day-event by definition due to the big distances, but in Belgium it can often be combined with lots of other activities. Since we are more and more a secular society , many people only show up for the reception or evening dinner without going to the church service. I think that's a pity since you go to a party to celebrate an event you haven't bothered to attend. But my fear had been ungrounded as a lot of friends and family were in the church after all, which was so great to have them with us!
Our arrival at the abbey in our "London" taxi
Caminhando, the choir I am a member off, brightened the service with their songs and I had fun singing along :)
Jan and I welcoming everybody
Reading our self-written vows to each other
Exchanging the rings
The Church has now pronounced us husband and wife.
Distributing self-made candy brochettes to the children present after the church service, while greeting everybody coming out of the church.
Comments
Hans and I are basically piecing a service together as well, although I'm really lapsed in my religion, so it'll be pretty much non religious except for breaking the glass at the end (Jewish tradition) and I might try to throw a Jewish reading in if I can find one without the word "god" in it.
The pictures, again, look lovely, and I'm sure it was a beautiful ceremony.
People here do not show up for the reception rather than the wedding - etiquette here would be to show up for the service and NOT the reception if you couldn't do both for some reason.