Amish Wedding

Most Amish weddings take place from late October through December, after the autumn harvest.  Traditionally, the days for weddings are Tuesdays and Thursdays, so there is time in between to prepare for and clean up after each ceremony.

A wedding is a particularly joyous occasion, for two baptized members of the church are joining in marriage, continuing the faith, and starting a new family together.  While parents do not select who their children will marry, approval must be given, and the deacon usually acts as the go-between.  At a church service after fall communion, the couples planning to marry are “published,” announced in front of the congregation.  But much preparation, mainly by the bride’s parents has already begun, including the planting in early summer of several hundred stalks of celery, an important part of any Lancaster Amish wedding feast.

The church service itself, held in home of the bride’s parents, is similar to the regular Sunday service.  But the focus is on the serious step of marriage, for in the Amish church, there is no divorce.

The meal itself is a feast indeed, including “roast,” a mixture of bread filling and chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, apple sauce, and creamed celery.  Some leafy celery stalks are also put in jars to decorate the table.  Among the desserts are pies, doughnuts, fruit, and pudding.  There are usually several wedding cakes, some made by the women, but often one from a bakery as well.  They are usually eaten later in the day.  It will take several seatings to feed 200, 300, or more guests.

After spending the night at the bride’s home, the newlyweds awake the next day to begin helping with the clean-up from the day before.  The couple will spend upcoming weekends visiting relatives.  Sometimes five or six houses are visited between a Friday and Sunday night.  Wedding gifts are usually given to them at this time.  By the spring, the couple is usually ready to set up housekeeping in a home of their own.