I saw this story today on page 2 of the Washington Post style section. I can’t recall if it said it was a “first,” but I immediately thought of you. I guess what made this “newsworthy” is that the video went “viral” on YouTube and got thousands of views.
That story makes MSNBC look very lazy in their “news” reporting. It’s extremely presumptuous for them to assume that these people were the first to ever do this – besides you, Opal, I know of one other couple who recently did this too.
No offense to Opal or anything, but, sheesh, WHY? Can’t it wait? Are these the same people that tweet/FB update/test while driving, so that no one is out of the loop for a second?
…
Because it’s funny?
Because they want to?
Because they can?
You might as well ask why anyone wears a veil, or shoves cake in the spouse’s face, or goes to church, or performs any other tradition or off-beat action while getting married.
a) It’s not tradition, and I sincerely hope it never is.
b) I’m sure that if you went to a play and the actors were tweeting (and it wasn’t part of the script, of course) you might feel a little cheezed. Similar thing.
c) Isn’t it kind of a slap in the face to everyone else except the couple? I mean isn’t it bad etiquette to take a cell call/do a tweet in the middle of a conversation with someone else?
I’m wondering why no one has tweeted/FB updated during their wedding night … :dubious:
Well, I guess someone had to come in with the “how dare people do something cute and funny at their wedding” moaning. Just surprised it wasn’t who I expected.
The problem is, that to a lot of people, it is quite rude. It comes across as snubbing the audience, as your anonymous friends on Facebook are apparently more important than the people in the room with you. Just like any piece of humor, you’ve got to do it right. Make them wait a second too long, and it can get ugly.
I take it that most people didn’t dislike it in Opal’s case. So how did you do it? Did the officiator say something like “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now update your Facebook status and kiss the bride.” Because that would’ve been hilarious!
The GirlChild* was updating her facebook page right up until the nurse said “OK, it’s time to push”. Then she handed the phone to hubby, with instructions to keep everyone updated. (He ignored her instructions until after the pushin’ was done, being more interested in supporting his wife and seeing his baby than updating their friends.)
*Someday I’ll have to stop calling her that, won’t I?
In one case, or a handful of cases, this is very cute and funny. Congrats for being that geeky, and i would suggest sending in a correction to MSNBC; they may update their story :).
Though this is funny as a "new thing,"if it becomes a widespread tradition I may quietly sob for the future of our species.
I’m with you. I know when we got married, the computer was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to get him out of the church and into our hotel room as fast as possible!
Opal, being a Doper, might have handled it humourously, and BigT’s hypothetical I’d approve of, and would find funny. (Or heck, maybe I was in a snarkier mood on Friday when I posted my previous comments). But having not seen either case personally, I can’t comment.
Other than switching the genders around (although my wife was probably thinking the same thing), this was definitely the overarching thing in my mind from the second the “I now pronounce you man and wife” was uttered.
Buh- buh- but it’s a cutesy story, so research is unnecessary! Oh well. At least the story doesn’t start “Think no couple has ever updated their Facebook page from the altar? Think again!”
I guess it could be considered “cute and funny”, although if I was at a wedding and the couple did it I wouldn’t find it either. I’d probably find it somewhat rude to the guests, inappropriate and self-involved. But hearing about it after the fact about people I have no personal relationship with doesn’t really make me feel one way or another about them. My opinion of MSNBC, however, has dropped a bit, along the lines of “was it really necessary to report on that?”
It didn’t occur to mr_and_mrs_bro_mcl to Facebook from the altar when they got married this September. However, the subject of Facebook came up at the reception, and when they realized I could access Facebook from my phone, the MC (a good friend of ours) dragged me up to the mike and had me update their relationship status to “married.”
We had a very unorthodox wedding, though. You have to understand the whole context. Our ringbearer was my Roomba. We juggled together instead of doing a unity candle. We played Rock Band II at the reception. It was intended to be a fun and entertaining wedding, not just a solemn and dull ceremony. It’s quite possible to pledge yourself to someone and express your love for them and be silly at the same time.
When I get the full wedding DVD I plan on putting parts of it online for those of my family and friends who weren’t able to make it to Ohio, and I’ll post it here too for anyone interested.
I love the comments here about how self involved the couple is. Guys, it’s their wedding- a big party to celebrate them with their favorite music, their favorite food, their favorite colors, their friends, on and on.
Obviously, hosts have an obligation to look for the comfort of their guests, but the whole point of a wedding is to reflect the two people getting married and what they enjoy.
If the folks getting married are big ol’ nerds and wear Star Trek costumes in the ceremony, is that being self involved and rude to the guests? What if they do it in Klingon? Yes, because then the guests can’t understand? Alright, what if they are Catholic and do mass in Latin?
I suppose my point is, where is the line between self involved and just. . . a wedding? As I see it, the bride and groom can throw the party how they like because they are paying for it- so long as the party is comfortable and the basic needs of their guests are met, they aren’t doing anything wrong.
