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June 21, 2018 6 min read
We love summer for many reasons—but most of all because it’s the season of LOVE.
“We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals
It don't run in our blood
That kind of lux just ain't for us
We crave a different kind of buzz.”
- “Royals” by Lorde
At its heart, weddings are community events. The community is bestowing best wishes on the couple as they embark on the joyous challenge of building (and sustaining) a life together. As witnesses, the community promises to support and guide them through both good times and bad. Many of us have been part of these communities, cherished witnesses to the love between two people, whether there were two or 200 others alongside us.
One of the most visible demonstrations of this kind of community building through the power of love is a royal wedding. Though dresses designed by Alexander McQueen and crown jewels aren’t in the card for most of us, they embody that community spirit, in which an entire country (even an entire world) turns out to watch, to witness, and to celebrate LOVE.
In fact, we’d argue that the dress, the flowers, and the table assignments are the least important part of these lifelong pacts of partnership. As Lorde says, “we crave a different kind of buzz.” What excites us? If only for an afternoon, it’s an opportunity to leave behind anger and resentment, to forget that nagging sense of pessimism, and to honor that most important emotion: love.
No one could have said it better than Reverend Michael Curry, who delivered a rousing address at Megan and Harry’s wedding last month. He began “Oh there's power—power in love. Not just in its romantic forms, but any form, any shape of love...There's power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There's power in love to show us the way to live.”
Reverend Curry then asked onlookers to imagine a world powered by love:
“Think and imagine a world where love is the way.
Imagine our homes and families where love is the way.
Imagine our neighbourhoods and communities where love is the way.
Imagine our governments and nations where love is the way.
Imagine business and commerce where this love is the way.
Imagine this tired old world where love is the way.
When love is the way - unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive.
When love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.
When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.
When love is the way, poverty will become history.
When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary.
When love is the way, we will lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside, to study war no more.”
And he concluded with a reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who made it his life’s work to emphasize that love for ALL people was the way forward: “Dr King was right: we must discover love - the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world, a new world.”
There’s another important responsibility that comes with wedding attendance beyond serving as a witness: it’s commemorating the occasion with a gift of some kind. It’s easy to get caught up in surfing registries and writing checks, but as we shop for wedding gifts, we like to remember the spirit of the occasion: showing love for the couple and those around us in the community.
If you’re attending a wedding (or six!) this summer, here are some of our favorite gift ideas that will make the lucky couple feel absolutely LOVED—and gives back to the community to boot:
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