This weekend I’m doing my first wedding for some former students. I’ve known the groom since he was 12 and I’ve known the bride since she was a senior in high school. Officiating weddings is one of the best parts about being a pastor. It’s even more special this time around because the couple has been a part of my life for so many years.
Since I’ve been thinking about weddings lately, here are a few of my favorite nerdy weddings.
Worf and Dax
I didn’t see Worf and Dax’s wedding until long after DS9 went off the air. I liked DS9 but didn’t keep up with it on a weekly basis. So when I finally got around to watching the entire series I knew that Worf eventually made his way to the station and that he and Dax had a little something something going on. I liked the relationship between Worf and Dax; it showed a softer side to Worf’s character and added another layer of strength to Dax’s character. It was a bit of a bummer that their marriage only lasted 16 episodes as, (SPOILER ALERT) Jadzia Dax dies at the end of season 6. Even though their relationship began with some mating outside of marriage, they had a healthy relationship in which they learned from each other’s differences and maximized each other’s strengths.
Anakin and Padme
This is one of the creepiest weddings in nerdom, not because it was instrumental in creating Darth Vader, but because of Anakin’s creepy prosthetic hand. Luke’s prosthetic hand in Empire looked a lot more realistic than the 1978-Cylon hand that Anakin got. I did like that Anakin and Padme’s ceremony was an intimate affair on Naboo, with only the droids as witnesses. And while their wedding was instrumental in Anakin turning to the Dark Side, it also led to Luke, Leia and the original trilogy.
Cyclops and Jean Grey
I recently listened to an hour of sports talk devoted to cartoon crushes. That hour of radio made me feel better about myself for having a crush on a fictional character as a child. My biggest fictional crush was Jean Grey, one of my favorite X-Men. After a tumultuous life of dying, coming back as an all-powerful cosmic force, dying again and coming back again, Jean was finally ready to settle down. Even though she’d always had feelings for Wolverine, she married her truth love, Scott Summers, Cyclops (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my cartoon crush married someone named Scott). I wasn’t devastated when Jean married Scott because, by the time I was 13, I knew things would never work between Jean and myself. After Jean died again, though, I was a little shocked that Scott ran so quickly to the arms of another woman, the morally questionable Emma Frost; I would have never done that to Jean. We’ll see what happens with Scott and Emma, though, with the rumors of Jean’s return.
Every real wedding I’ve been to has been better than any of these nerdy weddings, with the exception of maybe one. Marriage is a great picture of Christ’s relationship with the church as well as the triune relationship itself. I’m honored to be a part of the wedding this weekend and I certainly hope it turns out better than any of the ones above.
What nerdy weddings would you have liked to attend?
As Alex Ross paints it, the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm was pretty star-studded. In addition to Marvel’s glorious collection of characters (heroes and non-heroes!), I notice all four Beatles scattered through the church and Rob and Laura Petrie, from the Dick van Dyke Show!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BdcmT3P8blQ/TQfkZCe5iAI/AAAAAAAAAXI/1tMkuJJ1n8w/s1600/Mr%252BFantastic_Invisible%252BWoman_Wedding.JPG
And Amy and Rory’s wedding was pretty darn special too. The party’s on when a TARDIS crashes your reception!
I haven’t made it to that season of Doctor Who yet. Whomp whomp.
oooh! Sorry for the spoilers!
That’s ok. I think we’re past the statute of limitations.
Aragorn and Arwen in “Return of the King.” I can only imagine an Elven wedding ceremony is a real thing of beauty.
And don’t worry about fictional crushes. I crused on Kirstie Alley’s Saavik from STAR TREK II for quite a bit (remember how she appeared in 1982!)
At least Saavik was played by a real person. Jean Grey was a drawing. :/