The Wedding Chapel is one of nine miniature sculptures from the Luminiart Collection. Click here to see images of the entire collection on the Artist's website.
Olszewski's “Wedding Chapel” is an illuminated sculpture that pays homage to the ancient tradition of marriage, which dates back to at least Egyptian times. Today, most religions have extensive teachings regarding matrimony; Catholicism viewing marriage as one of the seven sacraments, Judaism treating it as a coming together of two families to prolong their heritage, Eastern Orthodoxy believing it to be one of the Mysteries, Christianity seeing marriage as a blessing and communal pledge, Islam viewing it as a means toward spiritual perfection, Hinduism believing that matrimony is a sacred duty, and Buddism not encouraging or discouraging marriage but teaching how one might live a happily wed life. While ceremonies have varied across cultures, religions and history, a white wedding in a prestigious or picturesque place of worship has become the norm in Britain and America since the Victorian Era. The tradition of the white wedding was popularized by Queen Victoria when she and Prince Albert married. Since World War I, full-scale formal weddings have been widespread, with the groom and his best man awaiting the arrival of the bride and her entourage, including the bride's father, the bridesmaids, maids of honor, flower girls and page boys. A reception, wedding speeches, toasts, and the "bridal waltz" follow. Printers, florists, caterers, musicians, and seamstresses are all part of what has become an industry. Yet some older wedding traditions still survive. Women are often symbolically "given away" by their fathers. Some brides still vow to "love and obey" their husbands and some bridegrooms vow to "care for" their wives. A groom might remove his bride's garter as a public claim over her. And a bride tosses her bouquet toward a group of single women, who compete to catch it. However you choose to view and celebrate marriage, we invite your imagination to dream of everlasting love and devotion.
