It's times like these when you feel that you're pretty much left on your own. This is where you just have to improvise because there's no other warm body (commissioned lector/commentator) to help out.
Fortunately, I have been a wedding mass commentator for three times prior to this wedding. So I know the basics. Now, it's a matter of getting somebody from the entourage to agree on performing the reader's role. It's not as easy as it sounds, because most are hesitant to come up the ambo and proclaim the readings at a very short notice.
When I approached the entourage, I was informed by an elderly person who appeared to be the wedding coordinator, that she has worked with our parish's weddings before. I wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that but I suppose it was to reassure me somehow. When I asked her for a reader, she pointed me to a portly lady she called S.W. and that she was a lector. Well, that somehow gave me sigh of relief. Because with that, I no longer had to orient the reader on when and how to come up to the ambo and deliver the wedding mass readings.
How Hard is it to Pin the Veil?
Everything went on smoothly until it was time for the call-outs for the secondary sponsors to do their assigned tasks in the wedding mass.
Now came the excruciating part. For some strange reason, the girl was taking her too long to put her end of the the wedding veil on the bride. The thumbnail photo shows that the veil goes over the bride's head and then pinned. The veil is draped by the guy sponsor on the groom's shoulder and pinned.
I could think of a few reasons why it took her like eternity to put on the veil.
- She had difficulty holding the pin(s).
- She didn't know where to put the veil, where to put the pin, or both.
- She was just dillydallying in front so the wedding photographer could take more pictures of her.
- A combination or all of the above.
At this point, the guy sponsor for the veil is simply watching and waiting for the girl to finish. I was a bit worried because the officiating priest was about to finish washing his hands.
Just to get things moving and shoo away the Veil sponsors, I called on the Cord sponsors to put on the cord over the veil. This sort of signaled the girl veil sponsor to wrap it up, finished or not finished.
Lessons Learned
Please, if you're assigned a task in the wedding, like that of a veil sponsor, try to practice. At least go through the motions in your head on what exactly you need to do. For the veil girl sponsor, here's a few things she could have done.
- Before the wedding ceremony, take out the veil from its plastic cover and unfold it. This is to gauge the shape and size of the veil.
- Decide, or confer with the bridesmaid or wedding coordinator, which part of the veil goes where.
- Talk with your partner so both of you are in sync on what to do.
- During the ceremony, be ready to unfold the veil while walking towards the couple, while holding the pins with the other hand.
The general advise here is, when assigned a task, try to be organized and systematic. Practice if you have to, and be mindful of the time.
