Being a priest for more than twenty years, I believed I have seen it all — fainting bridesmaids, grooms forgetting their wows, and even in-laws getting into a fight in the middle of the ceremony — but I guess I was wrong.
The wedding that I was about to perform that Sunday started just like any other, with plenty of guests all dressed up for the occasion, a cheerful groom, and a church decorated with the most beautiful flowers.
As the music played softly, the bride entered the church gracefully, but something about her stiff smile was off. At first, I thought she was just too nervous or maybe too excited for her big day, but my instinct told me there was more to the story. Instead of focusing on her future husband, she looked at me, her eyes silently pleading for something.
The ceremony started and I asked the bride and the groom for their vows, and while the groom handed them right away, the bride seemed hesitant. Eventually, she handed me a folded piece of paper, and there, in the middle of the written promises for her future husband, she wrote something that shocked me.
As I unfolded the paper, I saw the words, “Please help me,” scrawled again and again between the lines of the bride’s vows.
When I looked at the bride, she was trembling and barely breathing, but her eyes were full of hope.
I wasn’t sure what to do. What I knew, however, was that the wedding shouldn’t proceed. So when it came to the part where I asked if anyone objects the union and no one said anything, I said “Well, since no one else objects, I do.”
The church went completely silent.
I told the bride to get to the office while I asked the guests to be patient.
It was then that the bride burst down in tears and confessed that the marriage was arranged. It was her parents who forced her to marry the groom whom she barely knew.
I returned inside the church and told everyone present that the wedding was canceled. “You can all go home now. There won’t be a wedding.”
With the help of a local support group, the bride, Leslie, found safety and began a new chapter of her life. Weeks later, the church received a small bouquet of white lilies and a handwritten note that read: “Thank you for seeing me.“
That moment stays with me forever. One thing about weddings is that although they are meant to be all about love and joy— sometimes, they’re also about protection, courage, and the chance to help someone who cannot speak their truth out loud.
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