Together with their families

Virginia Joan Aparo
and
Mark Wesley Barker

invite you to share in the joy and
celebration of their marriage on
Saturday the sixteenth of July
two thousand eleven
at eleven-thirty in the morning at

Concord Friends Meetinghouse
11 Oxbow Pond Road
Canterbury, NH  03224

* Potluck reception immediately
following

About Our Wedding

General Information

The wedding ceremony and reception will be held at Concord Friends Meetinghouse.

We ask that you give ample time to arrive for the ceremony.

The dress code is casual, comfortable.

There will be a potluck reception after the meeting at the meetinghouse.  Please co-ordinate with Greg and Ruth Heath, Clerks@ConcordFriendsMeeting.org, with your dish.  Don’t worry if you are unable to bring a dish, but be sure to bring yourself.

No wedding gifts please; just donations to such charities as Share Our Strength, CARE, Habitat for Humanity, American Friends Service Committee, or Concord Friends Meeting.

About The Ceremony

We have chosen to be married 'after the manner of Friends' under the care of Concord Friends Meeting.  Since this may be unfamiliar to some, we hope this explanation will help you understand and participate as fully as you wish.

From its beginning, the Religious Society of Friends has stressed the conviction that marriage is a binding relationship entered into in the presence of God and of witnessing Friends.  Before this public commitment is made on the day of the wedding, the proposed marriage must have received the approval of the monthly meeting, which is given after careful consideration by an appointed 'clearness committee'.

The wedding itself is a meeting for worship, held after the manner of Friends, within which the marriage takes place.  The attendees gather for silent worship; at the start of the ceremony, we will take our places in front of our family and friends.   In giving ourselves to each other, we eliminate the custom of the bride being given away by her father.  No third person pronounces us man and wife because Friends believe that God alone can create such a union and give it significance.  Neither a bridal party nor an exchange of rings is necessary to Friends' procedure, although we will exchange rings.

In an atmosphere of quiet and reverence during the period of worship, we will rise.  Taking each other by the hand, we make our promises, first Mark and then Virginia, using the following words:

 “In the presence of God and before these friends, I take thee, Virginia Joan Aparo (Mark Wesley Barker), to be my wife (husband), promising, with Divine assistance, to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband (wife) as long as we both shall live.”

After that, we will sign the Marriage Certificate and it will be read aloud.  The meeting continues in silent waiting upon God while our family and friends may, as they feel inspired, offer their messages and thoughts to the couple and the rest of the group.

Those present are asked to sign the certificate as witnesses to the marriage.  A copy of the certificate is made for the records of Concord Monthly Meeting, and the legal requirements are completed by a committee appointed by the Meeting.

At the close of the ceremony, you will shake hands with your neighbors, signalling that the Meeting for Worship has concluded.  As you exit, you will be invited to sign the Marriage Certificate as a witness to the marriage promises.  Those who come together for a Quaker wedding do so not only to celebrate but also to witness the union of the bride and groom.  As witnesses, those in attendance at the wedding undertake a commitment of their own, to support the bride and groom through times of hardship as well as joy; and when necessary, to hold them accountable for the promises they have made to each other.  The Marriage Certificate documents the promises of the marrying couple and signatures of witnesses thereunto. 

The Marriage Certificate will be framed and displayed as a cherished possession, recalling the reverent attitude of worship with which the marriage began and the company of loving family and friends who took part in it.  Many Quaker marriage certificates, handed down from generation to generation, have proved to be valuable historical records.

For more information about Quaker weddings as well as some relevant locations, please check out these links:

Pamphlet on Quaker Marriage from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting : http://www.pym.org/resources/quaker-marriage

Marriage procedures of New England Yearly Meeting : http://neym.org/fponline/throughmeeting.html

Quaker wedding article in Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker_wedding

New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated that pertain to Friends’ manner of marriage : Title XLIII, Domestic Relations, Chapter 457, Marriages, Solemnization of Marriage, Section 457:37

Map to the home of Mark and Virginia, 10 Prospect St., Boscawen, NH

Map to Concord Friends Meetinghouse, 11 Oxbow Pond Road, Canterbury, NH

Nearby hotels and B&Bs :

Google Search for "B&Bs near Boscawen"
Daniel Webster Motor Lodge
Concord Best Western