A Campus Life Club event and now Youth Group event I have run here in Gisborne, New Zealand, about 3 times now over the past 15 years, is “The Wedding”.
We run a full mock Wedding with the ceremony, photos, a simplified wedding supper and a dance to finish. Students play all the roles of Bride, Groom, Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, the Parents etc. We interview the participants in their role as we progress and they may throw out some of their secret thoughts of what they think of this marriage, which will later make for some interesting discussion points later. eg Mother of the Bride says “I cant wait for the little grandchildren to come along”. Or the groom might say “If it doen’t work out there is always divorce, isn’t there?”.
The young people love it and during the informal Wedding Breakfast we run a discussion on marriage and what the young people think of it. I follow it up with a programme that will look further at issues of relationships and seeking to stay pure before marriage, issues involved in living together and what God has to say about it all.
It’s an event that will get the kids parents interested and involved in the programme in little ways too, eg. driving the bridal party to the church, supper preparations, etc.
Trust this may spark some further creative thoughts on this theme.