On Friday 16th August 2019 the extended families of my (Leapling) niece, Rebecca, and her fiancé, Marc, gathered under a beautiful pavilion with a countryside view at King’s Croft Hotel in Pontefract. Rain fell like a soft blessing and the service was friendly and profound, as it should be when two people commit to each other in public in front of family and friends.
Weddings unite. All our eyes were bathed in filters of happiness. All our ears were treated to wishes and hopes, desires and dreams for the couple and for each other. We had a wonderful feast of food and drink. All our hugs and kisses, dance moves – fast and slow – smiles and tears of joy and nostalgia reminded each person of other occasions, other people, including those who were absent and were missed, and other situations. You can’t help contemplate your own life when you see someone embarking on a new phase of theirs.
Why is marriage still a desirable rite of passage? Before the year 1184, religious leaders in England had nothing to do with weddings and the ceremony itself was only allowed inside churches in the 16th Century. For most of human history, the joining of two people together has been a secular affair, from the pagan woodland ceremonies (using the four elements of Air, Earth, Fire and Water) to the community handfasting represented onstage in Shakespeare plays like As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale. But throughout history, in every country in the world, in very different settings and buildings, following customs and rituals as varied as the people on the planet, humans still want couples to succeed when they join together formally.
I've always loved being a member of an extended family catching up at get-togethers. And it’s always fascinating to get a glimpse into the work and leisure lives of the couple being married. I can honestly say it was a day where goodwill was palpable, where love was, indeed, all around and in the air.
The father of the bride, my beloved brother Chris, gave a speech from the bottom of his Little House on the Prairie heart. Did he blub a bit? Yes he did. Did I love him all the more? Yes I did. Aaron read the following, the final line of which provides the title of this post, though I’ve always thought (probably the form tutor in me) that every day is a fresh day, a new day, the day it all starts again….
Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest in anyone's life
You'll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as husband and wife.
It's a brand new beginning, the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although they'll be times when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure
You'll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken
So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It's the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper ‘I do'
And with luck all your hopes and your dreams can be real
May success find its way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts
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