Gravitas, Huh?
| By Richard ~ November 6th, 2009 ~ Wedding Planning | 1 Comment |
I keep getting asked about the JK Wedding Entrance – what do I think of it? Here goes: I don’t like it. Yes, it’s clever and it’s fun to watch. And for all I know, Jill and Kevin are lovely people. Their entrance, however, trivializes the central theme of a wedding ceremony. It reduces the importance of what is arguably the most important moment in someone’s life. Ceremonies should be beautiful, and they can be fun, but they should also have what I refer to as “gravitas” – serious dignity.
Now, I am not suggesting all pomp and circumstance. I have seen all sorts of wonderful touches at weddings, and invariably they make guests smile. Yet they do so in a way that suggests that the guests are sharing in your happiness. One of my favorite moments – not original, but no less lovely – was when, during the recessional, the Juilliard trained classical musicians switched from classical to the Beatles “All you need is love.” There was nothing incredibly clever or creative about this – it’s been done many times before – but it conveyed with terrific accuracy and dignity the essence of the newly married couple. It was a beautiful moment.
So think long and hard about how you want your ceremony to be remembered by you and your guests (if children are in the cards, they too will want to see your wedding pictures and videos). If you need to be creative, there are many other moments at which to display your outsized personalities. But let’s keep the gravitas in ceremonies.
Jessie of Eclectic Unions
11/6/09
I have to respectfully disagree. I think that the entrance wasn’t disrespectful or taking the wedding ceremony at all lightly – in fact, we don’t get to see any of their ceremony, so we can’t make assumptions of what they did with it. But at the end, where she dances herself down the aisle, and he comes to meet her halfway? There’s emotion, there is seriousness, and there is a quiet dignity of knowing that this is how they wanted to begin their wedding ceremony – with friends, music, and laughter.
There is a place for gravitas in a wedding ceremony, but there is also a place for humor, whimsy, and light. All in equal measure.
Jessie
http://www.Eclectic-Unions.com