Wedding Albums “Funny-Dressed Man”
If you think your wedding album’s sole purpose is to be opened only on your anniversary, after consuming a few drinks, to have a good laugh over how efficient the aging process is, then think again. Because, buried in the pages of those two-dimensional 8 x 10 inch glossies is a three-dimensional, real life textbook, ready at anytime to introduce your offspring to some of our culture’s most revered institutions: marriage, religion, friends, children, family, tradition, and social graces. So pull up a child and share these riches—and yourself.
Here was MY side of the conversation, as I shared our wedding album with my four-year-old.
“Yeah, that really is Mommy and me. These pictures were taken the day we got married. Well, getting married is kind of like you wanting to hang out with a special friend, all the time, and no one else. Why? Well, it’s kind of like Daddy being a battery, and Mommy being a battery operated toy; we work a lot better together than we do apart.”
“That man dressed in a funny way is a minister. He is here on behalf of God to make sure Mommy and Daddy are right for each other, and he gives us permission to hang around together forever, no matter what happens.”
“All these people are here because they’re our friends. They make having fun in life, a lot more fun and they make being sad, a lot less sad.”
“No, you’re not in that big crowd of people. One reason we got married, however, was to prepare for you, and that very night we started practicing real hard.”
“Many of those people are your family. They are related to you, and have all given a part of themselves to you. See, you kind of have Aunt Patty’s eyes.”
“No, Mommy is not throwing away the flowers. That’s a tradition. Well, even though it seems silly, we do it because it is a way to make this day feel complete, like it all really happened, I guess.”
“You’re right, everyone does look pretty. It’s a day when all the people are at their best. They look their best, act their best, have their best table manners, and are the most polite they can be.”
“What? It all sounded great, until now?”
Rex Bowlby is the father of two boys. He is the author of the book, Why Would I Want the Toy, When I Can Have the Box? (101 Ways to Make the Most of Your Children, With the Least from Your Wallet*) *For parents with children ages 3-8. He lives in Los Angeles, California, USA.