Last June, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in a very intimate ceremony. My mom had been anticipating this date for the last 2 years. She envisioned a big celebration where family and friends would join them to honor a life of love, community and service.
As a side note, my mom is the oldest of 16 siblings, and my dad is the youngest of 10. Any simple birthday or gathering turns out to be at least a party of 50 people. Thus, for their wedding anniversary, we were nervously anticipating 200 people or more, and this was only counting family and the closest of friends.
Enter the Covid era. Up until early April, my mom was still hoping for their big celebration, despite all the events unfolding that were threatening their plans. Soon enough it was clear that things wouldn’t happen the way she wanted.
My parents are devout Catholics. Having a priest celebrating their ceremony was a huge deal. Luckily, their community priest agreed to come to their home and celebrate the service in the garden. Only my brother, my sister, their spouses and their children were part of the service, apart from a couple of longtime neighbors, whom they’ve shared quarantine time anyway.
If I could name one positive thing that Covid has brought us, it is the fact that this ceremony turned out the way it did: a small vs a big Mexican wedding. The atmosphere that surrounded the day, the kind gestures of love that my parents gave and received, and the ease of just celebrating with family while sharing food and enjoying each other’s company, was an unparalleled experience.
Besides being grateful for my parents, my family, and the example of commitment and loyalty that I’ve received, this celebration made me remember what a wedding is all about. Of course, we know it is about love and the people at the altar. However, we quite often forget that and get trapped into all sorts of little lies, such as aligning to ideas or practices that don’t mean anything to you, or adopting trends and traditions that no longer apply to you.
I believe that, as we move on with weddings, during and after the pandemic, we’ll be asked, both as wedding professionals and as clients, to seek and create meaning. To bring together all those people, traditions and things that actually add value to you and make you feel larger than life.
Also, the word “celebration” will take a whole new meaning. Love and community are not small things, and even if the number of guests is small, the actual celebration will be bigger than ever. That is my wish for you.
Share this story
