Twelve years ago, my husband and I had a somewhat untraditional wedding. We rented a large inn for the weekend and invited our close friends and family to come celebrate and help us create the perfect weekend. One friend helped me buy all the food, and my aunt cooked it. My mom made the flower bouquets; my dad brought the champagne. One friend performed the ceremony, and another took over 1,000 photos. Two talented friends made all the music. Bringing us into married life was truly a community effort, so we wanted our special day to reflect all who made it happen.
I knew I didn’t want to walk down the aisle to the traditional “Here Comes the Bride.” I wanted a song that was about more than my soon-to-be husband and I—I wanted it to be about all the people gathered to celebrate our important day, as well as those who came before us and those who couldn’t attend. I wanted a song that spoke of love and grace.
My friends Trish and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, the duo The River’s Voice based here in Iowa, performed all the music during our wedding weekend. Their song “Welcome to This Circle” beautifully captures that we do not all come from the same background, nor are we all on the same journey, but we are all welcomed and loved. It was the perfect song to walk down the aisle at our wedding. (Listen here.)
Welcome to This Circle
Welcome to this circle where love and grace abound.
We honor your journey and wherever you are bound.
We will walk beside you, encourage you on your way,
Celebrate your spirit and hold you as we pray.There is love for one like you.
There is grace enough to see you through.
And wherever you have walked,
Whatever path you choose,
May you know there is love for one like you.— Trish and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, The River’s Voice, Unfolding
Several years after our wedding, we moved to Iowa and I began working at Prairiewoods, where we talk a lot about “the wider We,” or expanding our understanding of who we include and who we exclude. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but the way we approached our wedding was all about the wider We. It was about utilizing each person’s gifts and accepting them wherever they were. It was about the community of people that was surrounding us and promising to love us through every part of our journey.
I invite you to consider these questions:
Does our We include only those who look like us, those who think like us?
Does it include only those who worship God or vote like we do?
Does our We include only those who are on the same journey as we are, aimed at the same life goals?
Does it include just humans, or do we include our animal- and plant-kin, too?
Who are we welcoming into our circle? Who might we be excluding?
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator