Week 145: Weddings and Accidents

[SeaMyst]

We haven't had a Question of the Week in awhile, but I read something on Facebook that irked me. Thus, the perfect opportunity for a QoW.

First, read the story here: Couple Says "I Do" at Hospital.

For those who don't wish to read it, the wedding party (just a few hours before the ceremony) were on their way to have pre-ceremony pictures taken. The 14 member party were aboard a limo-bus. They were hit by an SUV at an intersection. The bus flipped. A groomsman died at the scene. Everyone else went to one of two local hospitals. While there, and after getting everyone patched up, the couple decided to go through with the wedding, right there in the hospital. The ER nurses put together cookies and punch in a nearby conference room, one's husband found a replacement tux for the groom, two security guards from the hospital picked up the best man and the rings from the other hospital, several nurses used hydrogen peroxide to get blood stains out of the dresses...and so forth. They dedicated their reception to prayer for the fallen groomsman.

I found the story touching. The comment made by the person who posted this link stated, "Sad but would you get married after this?" Since I know this person, I know the sentiment behind that question, and that's why I'm bent.

The question of the week, therefore, is ...

1. Did these people do something "wrong" or "crass" by having an impromptu wedding right there in the hospital?
2. What emotions did the story pull out of you, if any?
3. If this had happened to your wedding party on your wedding day, would you have gotten married anyway?

[ChainLightning]

1. Did these people do something "wrong" or "crass" by having an impromptu wedding right there in the hospital?

Hell, I don't think so. Crass? Way strong of an emotion to have against somebody's union or timing therein. 'Strange but true', maybe. A little unconventional, for certain. Wrong? No. Is getting married at the bottom of a swimming pool in full scuba gear wrong? Or at a drive-thru chapel? No and no. What a couple wants is what they want. It's not my place to say if it's right or wrong.

2. What emotions did the story pull out of you, if any?

I found it touching. The hospital staff that all pulled together, a rabbit out of a hat, really, to make it happen? The couple, and indeed everyone involved, honoring the groomsman? Very sweet. That part makes me think he was still present for his role. He certainly didn't "die for nothing".

3. If this had happened to your wedding party on your wedding day, would you have gotten married anyway?

I can't honestly say. I just don't know. I would be seriously in doubt but then again... when everything else is nothing but pain, you have to find what little, if any, joy there is, wherever it may be hiding. So, I could see going on with it. Just as easily as I could see postponing it.