I just finished officiating a wedding at Liberty. This time last year I'd never officiated a wedding - in fact, this time last year I still wasn't ordained yet. But since that time, actually since Labor Day weekend of last year, I've officiated twelve weddings. I felt like I'd gotten the hang of these and have been enjoying them for the most part. This, like nearly half of them that I've officiated at Liberty, included a guest minister. While it was only his 2nd wedding, he was great. I, on the other hand, officiating number twelve here... was a little off...
During the rehearsal, both times we ran through it, I talked about the "Declaration of Intent" - the I Do vows, saying something to the effect of "after hearing all this about marriage, are you sure you want to get married?" - that is, of course, nothing close to what I normally say. But it's the rehearsal, and I'm trying to be light-hearted. However, when we got to that point in the ceremony, instead of saying "...I now ask you to affirm your desire to enter into this covenant:" - I rambled on and included a question, something to the effect of "are you able...?" - I was mortified. In fact, it even confused the groom into saying I do early. Yikes.
For me, it's another reminder that preparation is key - but not just any preparation, it has to be the RIGHT preparation. Because what you practice is what you'll end up... well, practicing when it comes right down to it. So, I'm off to practice a bit for Sunday's worship service...
No comments:
Post a Comment