It's either wedding couples simply like the date (being a holiday) or it's the last available date for the month and couples scramble to get married on the last date.
Positive Comment from a Mother-Butler
As I was entering the sacristy, one mother-butler stopped me and said, "You know, you have the voice of those who show the views." I wasn't exactly sure what she meant but I was guessing she was commenting on my speaking voice. After all, she's known me as a commentator for a couple of years now.
So I asked, "Are you referring to documentary programs?" She said, "Yes! You know, like those where they show views of sceneries, landscape and wildlife."
Now it seems clearer. So I verified, "Oh, you mean shows like National Geographic or Discovery Channel? Something like a narrator's voice? Or someone who does the voice-overs on those programs?" And she said "Yes! Yes! That's it! That's the one!"
Of course, I loved her comment and took it as a compliment. Certainly, I'd love to land a job that would be related to narration and voice-overs. I chuckled as I thanked her for the positive feedback.
See, positive feedback is hard to come by in our voluntary roles as Lectors and Commentators. The most that we get are criticisms disguised as "friendly reminders" from the senior or veteran lectors.
Focus on the Script of the Wedding Program
For Sunday masses, my service is usually as Commentator, most of the time. So I've gotten used to parishioners who are mostly knowledgeable with the Holy Mass postures, i.e., when to sit, kneel and stand. Because of this, we Commentators no longer ask them to sit, kneel or stand.
This is not so true though for wedding masses. Comparatively, there are fewer attendees in wedding masses than in Sunday masses. These few attendees don't get the cues from the regular parishioners who know the postures. That is why the script in our wedding program is explicit in asking the wedding mass attendees to sit, kneel or stand.
The problem is... sometimes, I forget.
Sometimes, I forget I'm in a wedding mass and my brain goes on automatic, thinking it's a Sunday mass. And because of that, I don't announce the postures changes. This results in the wedding mass attendees not doing the proper postures of sitting, kneeling and standing as required.
Wedding Mass Attendees Rely on Visual and Aural Cues
This is what I've observed at the wedding masses. Many attendees go through the motions as far as the Holy Mass is concerned. They look at what the others (who presumably are regular churchgoers) are doing, and then follow suit. So, without these visual cues, they remain motionless.
Others still rely on the mass songs for aural cues. So when they hear Holy Holy Holy or Lamb of God, they know they would kneel after that. But after the Papal Visit (new songs added), there are now different versions of the usual traditional mass songs. Now they no longer have the aural cue.
So the trick here, simple as it is, is to remember to stick and focus on the script of the wedding program and announce the change in postures accordingly.
