masquerading as marriage

There is a wedding chapel down the street, and apparently you can still book a “hallowedding” this month.

You can book a “ghost bride séance” as well, with a “certified minister” on site to keep it, you know, official.

Walk-ins are welcome, but the package includes a medium to tell your future and a spooky carriage ride through Horton. Frankly I’ve lived in Horton for almost 30 years and the spookiest thing I’ve seen yet this wedding chapel, where you can get married “anyplace, anytime, anyway.”

You’d think we were in Vegas.

It is, unfortunately, a national trend—a “fall classic” that offers a whole new way for couples to say “I boo.” It’s great fun—just put your bridal party in costume and exchange your veil for a witch’s hat.

Martha Stewart’s wedding site assures you a Hallowedding can be “surprisingly chic.” Glamorous and refined, even.

There is probably one thing it can’t be, however. That would be sacred. There is something missing here, and it’s not just traditional vows.

It’s missing the point.

Marriage is difficult enough these days without recognizing from the beginning that we seek to solemnize a covenant—one in which couples bind themselves before God and witnesses.

A traditional wedding puts God, not ghouls, on the invitation list. He is asked to bless and sustain the covenant, and it is made sacred by His presence.

Family and friends witness this, as they have for literally thousands of years. They encourage the couple to keep this promise by the very act of being there—and through a life time of relationship.

These expectations and these vows reflect biblical truths—the leaving and cleaving designed from the first of Genesis. And everywhere the ancient marks of covenant are evident—a shared meal, a solemn promise, a celebration of permanence and progeny.

Shouldn’t every wedding take this seriously?

I’m not saying a wedding shouldn’t be fun. But it ought also to be sobering, reminding married couples of their own vows, pointing singles to something bigger than themselves.

You can’t quite get there with a masquerade party.

Reverence is required.