A most unusual wedding

One of the most unusual weddings David performed was at Epiphany. Picutre first the setting. The church was two storeys and the shape was round. The altar was in the middle of the top storey, and the audience sat in a circle facing him. Behind David and to one side was the organ and coir. At one time, David had gotten prints from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts that hung on the circular walls but on this day the walls were empty.

As the congregation entered the church, a cascade of helium balloons was released and slowly drifted to the very top of the room, high above the altar.

As the organ played, the bridesmaids appeared from the basement. There was no long aisle for them to process down so they made their way through the midst of the audience. Their attire was interesting – no two were alike. The bride had instructed her maids to dress however they like. One was in what appeared to be a traditional bridesmaid’s dress, the second was in informal clothes, and the third was in a Sunday dress with a very large matching hat.

Then the bride and groom appeared from the lower level. I can’t remember what the bride wore, but it must have been traditional. Gale, the bride, was artistic, and the only girl in a family with three brothers. She found the groom in the anti-Viet Name protests. Her oldest borther had already moved to Canada to avoid the draft.

The wedding proceeded with the liturgy for a traditional Methodist wedding service, until David asked for the ring to symbolize the union. Imagine his surprise (and the surprise of the entire congregation) when Gale handed him a ceramic hamburger that she had made in a ceramic class. With unimaginable poise and as much dignity as he could muster, David took the hambruger, opened the top, and there was the ring!

Following the service, everyone went downstaiurs to the wedding reception, with a large wedding cake topped with more ceramics made by Gale – this time, a bridge and groom.