Wedding Bells
by Sarah Baker
At North Central High School, on Friday, February 27, students performed a mock wedding as part of Ms. Hayes' Adult Responsibility class. The bride was Celia Allen, the groom, Stanley "Duke" Neville. The minister was Randy Fontenot, the best man, Mark Prince, and the bridesmaid was Racquel Clayton.
The wedding was planned by the whole class, with everyone participating in some way. Invitations were sent out, the gown, tux, and rings selected, a photographer was enlisted, and even a video camera was obtained to record the event. All of the catering for the reception -- even the baking and decorating of the wedding cake -- was done entirely by the students. The only hitch in the whole agenda occurred during the ceremony itself. As in every bride's worst nightmare, the groom, Tyronne Labostrie, never showed up. Fortunately, the bride wasn't too picky, and the best man ended up substituting for the original groom. The reception afterwards was acted out right down to the tradition of the bride and groom feeding each other slices of the wedding cake.
The final opinion of the wedding guests matched that of the bride: "It's a lot of hard work," she said, adding with a decisive nod, "I'm never getting married!"
The event was the final assignment of a chapter on Marriage Relationships. Students learned about spouse selection, the importance of compatibility, becoming and being engaged, success statistics, the legal requirements, different kinds of marriages, and the honeymoon. Having learned about one of the most important and frightening experiences in life, Ms. Hayes' students are now entering the next chapter, one dealing with another equally important and frightening event: Parenthood.