Glimpses – NEUTRAL GROUND WEDDING by Diane Findlay

NEUTRAL GROUND WEDDING by Diane Findlay, submitted October 26, 2022

During our early years as Bahá’ís, serving on the LSA of Cedar Rapids, we had a very interesting experience. It was sometime between 1976 and 1980. A young couple approached the Assembly asking to have a Bahá’í wedding. She was Christian and he was a Hindu, they explained, and they saw the choice of a Bahá’í wedding as “neutral ground!” I wish I remembered their names—I only remember that the groom’s first name was Vijay, which I recalled clearly when we met Cindy and Vijay Reddy a few years ago.

The couple complied with Bahá’í marriage laws and Bob and I had the privilege of being representatives of the LSA in officiating at their lovely, simple wedding. What I remember most is members of both of their families expressing love and support and delight in their marriage, but apprehension and the need for reassurance that the marriage was, indeed, legal! It was, of course.

I don’t know how often couples who are not enrolled Bahá’ís seek to have Bahá’í weddings, but it was a sweet and unifying experience.