Making it Official

We saw The daVinci Code over the weekend and read some of the Salt Lake Tribune's coverage of the issues surrounding the film. One of the articles mentioned the feast day for Mary Magdalene is on July 22--the day Mike and I are getting married! Given our interest in the Divine Feminine and balanced female/male partnerships, this is a way cool synchronicity.

There has been a hiccup in the planning process. Mom and dad double teamed me a couple of weeks ago to express their STRONG preference to have a Mormon perform the wedding ceremony. They insist it will KILL THEM if I don't.

I made it clear from the beginning that we were not planning a temple wedding because we wanted all our loved ones to attend; we weren't comfortable with the exclusion a temple wedding would impose. The folks weren't happy about it, but seemed to acclimate. Now they're up in arms about the officiant being LDS--as if having a bishop or SP performing a civil ceremony will make it more like an ordinance.

I wasn't able to get them to articulate exactly *why* this is so important to them. They kept saying, "But you're Mormon!" as if this was evidence enough against having my Buddhist monk friend or other non-Mormon do the ceremony. They're shocked that Mike doesn't care who officiates (especially since he was in a bishopric).

I know who mom and dad want me to pick and I'm (perhaps childishly) resisting now that they've made a stink. I don't care about the denomination of the officiant, either. I do care about setting the right, celebratory tone. It IS a celebration and I don't want it to be treated as "less than" because it's a civil ceremony and not a temple wedding.

I don't want the ceremony to turn into a lecture on temple marriage or a recitation of the Proclamation on the Family--something I fear a bishop or SP might slip into. You know how some PH leaders go on "calling autopilot" and say/do things they wouldn't as a civilian?

My friend, Kirsten, suggested a brilliant workaround in the form of our mutual friend, Mark. He's LDS, which should satisfy mom and dad. And he's someone I trust to respect our wishes regarding the ceremony. We're cutting it a bit close, but we should be able to get him deputized in time.