MessagesofLove_PreperationoftheBride

Welcome to The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Women's Ministries Website

Women’s Ministries Programs

Theme:

“Messages of Love”

Preparation of the Bride

A Mock Wedding

Jan Harwell

June – Fellowship 2008

Wedding dresses by Bridalane Gowns

Decorations and Refreshments

Decorate using items associated with a wedding—flowers, wedding bells, white doves. Cover the tables with white lace tablecloths. Serve wedding cake, punch and mint cups wrapped

with netting and tied with ribbon.

Program Ideas

This program centers around the preparation of a bride for her wedding. Invite the women to come dressed for a wedding. If one of your women is getting married, she could be your bride. If not, select the bride by drawing a name from a hat.

The Advice Column

Give the women three minutes to write down their advice for the bride to be. Include such things as who to include on their invitation list, the wedding colors, how much money to spend, how to avoid disputes before the wedding and after. And most important of all, how to have a God–honoring marriage. Collect the papers and read the advice.

The Wedding Dress

Ask the women to bring a photograph of their children or grandchildren’s wedding. Provide bridal magazines to compare how wedding dresses have changed over the years.

Picture Time

Using a Polaroid camera, have someone act as the photographer and take pictures of all participating in the program. Have the bride pose for pictures while she cuts the wedding cake.

Bridal Fashion Show

Ask the women to bring their wedding dresses for a fashion show. Have them model their dress, if they can still wear it.

All Made Up

Cover the bride with a large towel. Have her sit at a table where you have placed a selection of makeup products. Ask her bridesmaid to apply her makeup by sitting behind her and acting as her hands.

Getting Dressed

Divide the women into two or three groups. Using white tissue paper, white streamers, toilet paper, tape and pipe cleaners ask them to create a head piece/veil, the wedding dress and the wedding bouquet for the bride.

How Well Do You Know the Bride?

Answer the following questions the way you think the bride would answer them. Have the bride record her answers. The winner is the player who guesses the largest number of the bride’s answers.

1. Would you prefer a traditional wedding veil or a wreath of flowers?

2. What type of car would you like to drive—a sedan or a mini van?

3. You are having a sit–down–dinner for your wedding reception. Would you prefer to serve steak or chicken?

4. For a fun date, would you like to go hiking or bowling?

5. Would you prefer a dog or a cat for your family pet?

6. For a romantic meal, would you like to go to a Mexican or French restaurant?

7. Do you prefer to order from a menu or go to a buffet?

8 Do you like romance or action movies?

9. Would you like to live in the city or in the country?

10. Would you prefer a quiet evening reading a book or watching T.V.?

11. Which would you choose—Coke or Pepsi?

12. Where would you like to go on your honeymoon—Niagara Falls or Los Angeles?

Devotions

The Wedding of the Lamb

It is not unusual for a bride–to–be to be consumed by wedding preparations. Most young, unmarried women have an idea of what their dream wedding will be like. They want their dress, hair and makeup to be perfect for their husband–to–be.

Revelation 19:7 states, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” In this verse the bride is the Church—those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and Jesus, the Lamb, is the bridegroom. In John 2:29 John the Baptist described Jesus as the Bridegroom coming for the bride. Paul in writing to the Corinthians tells them, “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him” (2 Cor. 11:2). We, the Church, should be preparing ourselves for the Lord’s return, as a bride for her husband–to–be, so that we will be ready when He comes.

“What did the bride wear?” is one of the usual questions asked after a wedding. The Lamb’s bride is dressed in Christ’s righteousness. “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25–27). The bride has made herself

ready for the public ceremony but she has not done this on her own. The Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, has made this possible by His sacrifice on the cross.

At a wedding it is customary to focus attention on the bride, but in the wedding of the Lamb, it is the Bridegroom who receives the honor! “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!” (Rev. 19:7). If we stop and reflect for a moment, we have much to rejoice about and many reasons for which to give God glory.