Perspective From the Front

I recently was part of a wedding for a young man that I coached around 13 years ago. I was honored by their request for me to perform the wedding ceremony as the officiant. An interesting thing happened as the bride began to walk down the aisle. For the first time during a wedding, I was drawn to the parents of the groom. I watched as they would both turn and look at the beautiful bride as she made her way down the aisle towards her future husband. They would then glance at their handsome son, who was oblivious to all that was around him as he was locked onto his approaching bride.
 
The faces of the groom’s parents, filled with joy and emotion, moved back and forth between the bride and their son.
 
This wasn’t the first wedding ceremony that I had attended as I just turned 53 years old. I had been part of many weddings as a young man, before and after my own wedding. Then the next phase of weddings came along as the kids you coached, and your kids’ friends came to the age of getting married.
 
This also wasn’t the first I had performed as an officiant. My experience with weddings has gone from watching, to being part of the wedding party to being the one performing the wedding.
 
Until this moment, I had always viewed the wedding from the perspective of the bride and groom. It was their day! I could relate to this having gone through it, albeit almost 30 years ago. 
 
It was a new perspective for me. You saw the pride they had in their son. You saw the excitement in anticipation of gaining a daughter. You could see that they were soaking in every moment of the evening. As I reflect, I’m sure their minds were bouncing between what was happening around them and then into the future of what life has in store for the newlyweds and the family as a whole.
 
I am a sentimental man. At every wedding that I have performed as an officiant, I had to fight back emotions as I watched the groom, fighting back their own emotions, as they witnessed their future walking towards them in stunning beauty, step by step. I know this because that is my memory of seeing my bride way back when.
 
I don’t know what changed my perspective at this specific wedding. I had performed weddings for couples that are my son's age before, and even within the last year. But this time, my perspective changed. My appreciation for this major life event changed. My understanding of the degrees of impact of such an event on multiple lives changed.
 
This wedding served as a great reminder about how perspectives can change depending upon where you are sitting. The view as a wedding guest is different than being part of the wedding party. The perspective is different when you are a groomsman versus when you are the groom. And the perspective is different when you are the officiant performing the service. What I learned at this recent wedding, is even when you are still at the front, your perspective can change when you are open to being changed. When you are open to grow in mind and spirit. When you are open to expanding your perspective Beyond Today.

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