Love is Not a Singular Act

It seems to me that eloping is a selfish act.  Sure, it's economical.  Sure, it avoids family hassles. Sure, it's quick and easy.  But it denies the reality that no couple gets married in a vacuum.  Indeed, marriage is the uniting of more than a man and a woman.  As I watched and celebrated a wedding this weekend, it occurred to me that marriage is a larger celebration of life.  It's the uniting of respective families and speaks to the promises of the future.  It brings together good friends who form our extended families.  It is at the same time an extremely intimate and a profusely public display of love.