You're Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through

You're Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through

21st December

Today I’m on the road, heading East, following a star  (sorry a satnav) and when I arrive at the inn I’m hoping there will be room for me to squeeze inside.

You see, today is one of those days when the ceremony I’m leading doesn’t involve a coffin…no, today it is a wedding that has my fullest attention.

Sadly, the antiquated system in England doesn’t afford me the privilege of legally marrying this wonderful couple but, who knows, now we have such a touchy-feely Tory government, maybe they’ll have the nerve to stand up against generations of tradition and change the way things are done. Or maybe not.

Over the years I have had the great pleasure of officiating at several weddings, some of dearly loved friends, and the thing that united all of those ceremonies was the desire of the couples involved to make the wedding day about their commitment to each other and nothing else.

I’ve overseen the exchange of vows & rings in a variety of settings, including a farmyard, a camp site, Sherwood Forest and a leisure centre.

Mrs B and I had a traditional church wedding, but one thing I’m certain of is that the location is not important: church or registrar’s office or forest glade, it matters not. What matters is the commitment to each other and to be able to publicly declare your love for another human being.

It doesn't matter who wants to get married, as Jimmy Somerville sang, there's more to love than boy meets girl...,for love is strange and uncontrolled, it can happen to anyone.

It doesn't matter how much money you spend on the wedding festivities, it matters how much time you spend sharing life and making memories.

It’s not about the piece of paper you sign, it’s about that determination to support each other through good days and bad.

If you find someone to love and to share the journey through life with then, married or not, you are a lucky person.

I’ve been very lucky to have shared 35 years of married life with Mrs B. Goodness knows how she has put up with me, but I don’t think she’ll mind me sharing this with you.

Once, on a holiday to the USA, we walked into a little shop near the Coit Tower in San Francisco. It was there we discovered the work of Robert Sexton, a gifted poet and artist.

We bought books of his poetry plus a drawing on which was written these simple words:

This much I’ll remember, when the rest of life is through, the finest thing I’ve ever done, is simply loving you.

That picture still hangs in our home, a quiet reminder of our commitment of love and support, and my goodness we needed that from each other this year!

Today as I watch two people express their love for each other,  I’ll banish all cynicism from my mind  and simply be hoping that love will see them through all the tomorrows of their life and that they  share many happy years together.