When I was a little kid in the central part of rural Alberta, it was a big deal to get invited to weddings, funerals, anniversaries and those sorts of things because it was a social occasion where a lot of people were there. Even lots of kids. And, of course, compared to the technological progress that we have made in the last number of years, things were pretty simple then.
But you know what?
The public address systems in those days never broke down. Never. Not once.
You know why?
Because there wasn’t one to break down.
There was no electricity to run one. No speakers to amplify the human voice. No switches to work or not work. No microphones to position in the right or wrong place.
We were at a wedding this past weekend, and it wasn’t a huge affair, but big enough that it would certainly be a challenge to have everyone hear the bride and groom say their vows and go through the important words of a marriage commitment. So the ones who planned and paid for it all did what they thought was the right thing to do; they hired professionals from the industry who would deliver what they thought was a perfect service, one that everyone would hear, one that everyone would know was the perfect beginning to a long and happy marriage.
A wedding, after all, is all about words, all about spoken words that are based on the contemplative promises of two people; voices are not raised at a wedding; they are usually quiet, meaningful words that the participants are speaking with more hope and expectation than any words they might have ever uttered in their lives.
And so, the venue for the ceremony is very important, the wedding fashions are important, the music, if there is any, is important, but nothing is more important than the sound system.
And which one is most likely to fail? Of course, the sound system.
Sound systems are very important at sports events, at music concerts, at auction sales and a host of other things. But how often do we get to hear a young bride and a young groom commit themselves to each other in an arrangement that we always hope is close to a lifetime?
How often do we get to hear a bride and groom say those phrases that mean so much? Ones like ‘to have and to hold,’ or ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health?’ Phrases that have probably been part of marriage ceremonies for centuries.
So it’s phrases like those above, and then there is the iconic set of words ‘till death do us part’ that are only used in marriage ceremonies. I mean, have you ever heard them anywhere else? Not likely. You might want to say them to your banker, your doctor, or especially to your lawyer, but you don’t. You only say those words in marriage ceremonies.
And if you are going to say them only on those few occasions in life, and if that occasion was so important that you had people drive long distances, take time off work, reschedule surgeries and send kids to opposite family grandparents, wouldn’t it be nice if people could hear you say them?
So at the wedding we were at, there was the sound professional who would surely deliver on all those kinds of expectations.
Except he didn’t.
As the bride and groom were repeating their vows, the sound burst through the assembled family and friends like a distant thunderstorm, mostly not at all, but loudly on occasion. It was often difficult to determine if the bride was promising to ‘have and to hold’ her handsome groom or the photographer who was circling the gathering repeatedly and, thankfully, doing the job that she was hired to do.
So that was the sound system at the wedding itself.
But then there’s the wedding reception. You know the dinner, the breaking of bread that goes along with important occasions. And, of course, you know who is also there, don’t you? Certainly, the sound system guy or gal, with all of their good or, not so good, equipment.
And at the wedding we were at, the sound system guy who had failed so miserably at the ceremony must have had a conscience. He must have wanted to make amends for his failure at the ceremony by turning up the volume at the reception, and he did so. He turned it up to where it was so loud that people couldn’t hear anybody three feet away.
The bad part of it all is that a bride and groom can make every effort, and spend serious money, to get good results, which aren’t always there.
So if you are planning on making promises to a fiancé at a wedding ceremony, choose your flower provider well, choose your photographer well, and choose your ceremony officiant well. But choose your sound professional very, very well.
They are much more important than we usually realize.
