I was in a very large church, a cathedral. A wedding was scheduled to take place and I was the person who was to perform the ceremony and marry the bride and groom. I was nervous because I had never done this before and I hadn't had any practice.
The church had already begun to fill with people and the wedding was scheduled to take place at 7:30. I was wearing a long, heavy, black robe which stretched to my ankles. A long red scarf was wrapped around my neck.
There was a definite ceremony which I was supposed to follow, but I was unsure what it was. I tried to practice a little and remember the exact steps I was supposed to go through. I knew that at one point I was supposed to go over to the side and do something with some silver, perhaps dip my hands in water in a silver bowl, but I was uncertain exactly what to do.
Finally a man who knew all the ceremony stepped up and assisted me some. He told me my robe wasn't properly on me. There was a loop in the back of my neck on the robe which the red scarf was supposed to pass through. He helped me arrange it. When he was finished arranging the scarf, it circled around my neck in a loop and fell about to my navel in two folds and then looped back up to my neck. It then looked much better.
The time was rapidly approaching for the marriage to begin and I was still unprepared. Many flowers had been brought into the church and were sitting about. I saw myself in a mirror and I noted how young I looked, perhaps 20 years old. My hair was very short.
The couple being married was also very young. I knew them, but not well.
I realized that music was playing and I saw a young fellow singing into a microphone. The music seemed quite grand. It was 7:15 and I must perform the ceremony in another 15 minutes, but I was still unprepared.
It suddenly occurred to me that I was actually not an ordained minister or priest and that I actually might not be authorized to conduct this ceremony. That might be a way out of my doing it. But then I thought the law would recognize the marriage as valid, even if I wasn't authorized to perform the ceremony. So it didn't matter and I realized I was going to have to go through with it.
I began thinking I might just stand up there and say whatever I felt like saying. Indeed that might be exactly what was expected of me.
The music appeared to have increased in intensity and I realized television screens in the church were showing parts of an opera. The grandeur of the opera seemed to fit the grandeur of the occasion of two people uniting themselves in marriage.
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