Love Is In The Air – John Paul Young
Do you remember this song from 1978 called “Love Is In The Air”? Those lyrics sung by
John Paul Young never ring truer than at a wedding celebration. Everyone is full of merriment, looking their best, and ready to have a great time. Most, if not all of the guests are there as couples. They’re either married, engaged, hoping to be engaged or dating. If there’s any single people in attendance, they’re looking for love.
So how much love is “In The Air” at these festive occasions? Is it a quantifiable entity? My quest for that answer came to me on a whim as I was preparing to entertain at a recent wedding reception. After introducing Jeff (the groom), I handed him the microphone and he proceeded to welcome his family and friends and thanked them all for coming. He went on to thank guests that had come from as far as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin to be in Detroit for their special day. He also made reference to the fact that there were many, many years of marriage represented. He had no idea how many years, so he guessed, “Who knows, maybe thousands” he said. It was at that moment the idea came to me. Let’s figure this out.
When Jeff finished his speech, he then introduced me to his guests and thanked me for being there for him and his wife and handed me the microphone. I probably wouldn’t have acted upon my idea, but Jeff really made me feel as if I were part of the group. So I got on the mic and I said to the guests, “Let’s take Jeff’s idea a step further. I need you to do me a favor. I want all of you to figure out how many years of marriage are represented at your table. I’ll come by to collect the results and we’ll see exactly how many years of marriage are represented here tonight.”
The idea went over incredibly well. Within moments I had three place cards with table numbers and total years of marriage delivered to me. I then went around collecting the remainder of the tallies. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet and mingle with the guests. Several of the tables thought it was a competition. They tried to con me by adding up ex-marriages, 1/2 years of marriage and doubling their years by counting their spouse separately. I wasn’t falling for it. I even thought about subtracting years for those that were divorced for a number of years, but I didn’t.
After the formal dances were completed, it was now time to invite all the guests onto the dance floor. I dedicated that first song to just the married couples who represented a grand total of 1,209 years of marriage. I congratulated Table 3 for their “Marital Achievement Award” with a combined total of 183 years of marriage. I also congratulated Bill & Beth Gay on their 8th Anniversary that night as everyone danced to their wedding song, “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait.
With 180 guests in attendance, a seismologist would calculate this reception at a magnitude of 6.71 on the “Measure of Marriage” scale. Can and does that number represent the true “feeling” of love that was in the room that night? That’s a good question. I do know one thing. Love was “In The Air”, because I felt it.