And they say Blacks don't marry...HA!
Introducing Tom Thumb Weddings (Yes this is very real!!)
"Do you promise to take Nakia to the movies?" the 10-year-old minister, Gregory Armond, asked the bridegroom, Lenox Mitchell. "Do you promise to buy her popcorn and bonbons if she wants them?"
Then he turned to the bride, Nakia Ray: "Do you promise to let Lenox play Nintendo in peace? Do you promise to push him in the swing when you are in the park?"
Gregory concluded the ceremony by announcing to the guests that "Nakia and Lenox have vowed to be kind to each other and share their childhood as friends."
Although the 10-year-old couple will probably not abide by most of the vows, the Tom Thumb "wedding" was an opportunity for them and 22 other Brooklyn children, ages 1 to 13, to have fun and be different. Different because, unlike in other mock weddings held nationwide, the children dressed up in African fabric and were very proud to show their cultural heritage. Importance of Friendship
"A Tom Thumb wedding is a way to give children a sense of what a real wedding is like," said LaRaine Webb, a member of Cadman Congregational Memorial Church in Brooklyn, where the ceremony took place last Saturday.
But, more than that, it is an opportunity to teach them about the importance of friendship and of making promises, said Rosalyn Johnson, a member of Ruth Chapter No. 3, the Order of the Eastern Star, which sponsored the program under her direction.Then he turned to the bride, Nakia Ray: "Do you promise to let Lenox play Nintendo in peace? Do you promise to push him in the swing when you are in the park?"
Gregory concluded the ceremony by announcing to the guests that "Nakia and Lenox have vowed to be kind to each other and share their childhood as friends."
Although the 10-year-old couple will probably not abide by most of the vows, the Tom Thumb "wedding" was an opportunity for them and 22 other Brooklyn children, ages 1 to 13, to have fun and be different. Different because, unlike in other mock weddings held nationwide, the children dressed up in African fabric and were very proud to show their cultural heritage. Importance of Friendship
"A Tom Thumb wedding is a way to give children a sense of what a real wedding is like," said LaRaine Webb, a member of Cadman Congregational Memorial Church in Brooklyn, where the ceremony took place last Saturday.
"Besides, it gives the children something to do; it keeps them off the streets," said Mrs. Johnson, who wrote the vows in what she called "kids' language."
Besides the ceremony, the program included a children's fashion show, an African dance performed by a girl and two boys and a reception with a chocolate wedding cake. The children also received certificates and trophies as mementos. Guests bought tickets at the door, and proceeds went to the Ruth Chapter.
The weddings are named for Tom Thumb, a dwarf in P. T. Barnum's circus, who married Lavinia Warren in an elaborate ceremony in Manhattan in 1863. Churches and various organizations later held Tom Thumb weddings as youth activities or fund raisers.
"People wanted to find a constructive way to teach children religious values," said William T. Lee Jr., a deacon at the First Baptist Bute Church in Norfolk, Va. The Real Meaning?
Tom Thumb weddings virtually disappeared in the 1970's and 80's, but are now coming back. Mrs. Johnson first initiated the idea in her neighborhood three years ago as a way to raise funds.
Mama said if you don't have anything nice to say....
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