Weddings in Our Lives

Today I was surrounded by brides! 

Now I'm not normally surrounded by brides, but today was a very busy day at the Columbus Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I work there each Friday.

As I assisted these beautiful, nervous brides throughout the day, I saw many emotions - fear, joy, apprehension, relief.  I think I saw it all.  But, I also took some time to look at the faces of the their friends and family members.  So many loved ones had gathered to wish the young couples the best of luck and share in their day.

As we were driving home, I thought about these lovely young brides and wondered about some of the brides in my own ancestry.  It made me wonder about their wedding days...

Could they have been just a young Kentucky couple like my parents, Chester and Ida Stevens Clemens,  who went to the Justice of the Peace one morning?  Neither of their parents joined them.  Dad always told the story about battery acid spilling into his eyes the day they were married.  They flushed them out, but they continued to water the rest of the day.  The Justice of the Peace kept reassuring him that marriage really wasn't going to be that bad!

Were they a young couple married for just a very short time before husband left for war?  My husband's parents, Orson and Shirley Rhoades Lauritzen, certainly fit into this category.

Did the bride wear a beautiful wedding dress that became a cherished heirloom?  Was anyone else able to wear it?  Could it have been made into a blessing or christening gown for descendants to wear?  Were they married with no one in attendance, or did family and friends join them? 

We may never know the answers to come of those questions.  But on this day where I have been involved in not just one wedding, but five, I couldn't help but wonder about the many weddings that would have been days our ancestors would have also cherished.

Just like my own...