Symbolism in Gracyn’s Chapel
“On October 24, I messaged my friends back home and said “I’ve got to share with you my most favorite part about weddings: Symbolism!” I proceeded to give them a short run down on my take of your absolutely stunning venue there in New Boston. I’m no expert in these things but I do have a fondness for the meaning behind shapes and numbers and images – I’m convinced you do too. Even if you couldn’t say why you were drawn to these numbers and shapes, you intrinsically seemed to know. Here is what I found your venue to say through geometry and numbers:
First we begin with the doors. Of course they open as TWO. You would not have a single door to the chapel. Why? Because One is whole, complete and forever alone. Two doors represent the duplicity of male and female but also their balance. After all, we stand on two feet, reach with two hands, see with two eyes and hear with two ears. Two is the first even number. It represents the partnership that is about to come together. Traditionally the number 2 is considered feminine which is perfect for the bride who elegantly walks through these two doors and down towards her perfect opposite who awaits her at the front of the chapel.
As she walks down the aisle, there above the bride lay THREE beams over her head. 3 is a rather magical number. We get a sense of completion with the number three. Our fairy tales grant three wishes and we even count down to three when giving a child a chance to escape trouble. The first odd number and often considered male, three stands for the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It represents Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge, birth, life and death and even virgin, mother and crone. These three beams stand as a testament to the bride’s life as she walks down the aisle. With all her family and friends looking on, they stand as witness to her past, present and future. Such a simple act of walking down a path to the front of the congregation is emotional not just because this woman is so beautiful but because it is symbolic of the girl she was and the woman she is now, and will become.
After stepping up TWO steps (how poetic) the bride and groom have come together about to be made one inside the number SIX. The chapel is cut out into an uneven HEXAGON where the soon to be couple now stand on stage. This is where the symbolism really takes off! Six is the perfect number. God created the world in 6 days. The multiplication of the number 2 and 3, the even and the odd, creates the number six making it the universal number for love. 6 can be split into two 3s. Three as we have already described, is a very magical number. Three makes a triangle. Two triangles make six points which form the Star of David. The star represents the old saying “As above so below”. How wonderful a statement when joining two people together under heaven here on earth! Six is universally known to be the number of marriage, union and perfection. It represents structure and order the same way a honey bee who walks on six legs and makes hexagons out of wax represents symmetry. The hexagon forms the “Flower of Life” which represents the union of everything. In summary, you have the couple standing in the most ancient symbolic shape of love, union and marriage - how perfect can you get!?
Oh but then we look past that first hexagon and we see much more clearly a PENTAGON. The number FIVE stands for all things human. 2+3=5 or when 2 (feminine) marries 3 (male) they create 5. This makes the number five the universal number for reproduction and life. We as humans have five fingers, five toes and when spreading out our limbs, we make five points. Humans have 5 vital organs and 5 senses. 5 is the number for man, so what does it mean to have a pentagon inside of a hexagon for a wedding? To me, this represents the couple’s place on this earth. As humans we are embraced by love and perfection. It surrounds us as the hexagon does over the pentagon. Under the love of 6, man (3) and woman (2) come together and marry (5), producing life!
Which leads us to yet another hexagon, the final shape in the chapel. This hexagon is the most obvious and the most pronounced of shapes. You actually have this hexagon decorated and it stands center stage. Of all the shapes you could have chosen, why this shape? Why six? This is my favorite piece because for this hexagon to stand inside of the pentagon, it pronounces boldly that as 2 and 3 marry one another and become 5 they create within themselves 6, the number of love and perfection. When I look toward the stage I see the first hexagon representing God in his perfection and love encircling the man and woman who are represented by the pentagram. But the man and woman have within them an even bolder and pronounced love that is being shown through by the hexagon inside the pentagon. They have come together to make God’s love evident through their own love. All of that is being said through these shapes and numbers!
Now, as fantastic as it is to see this symbolism, it delighted me just as much to not be able to find other shapes or numbers. You didn’t use any shapes past the number 6. A very wise move. After all, 6 is the perfect number for a wedding. Also, 7 is the number for virginity which is definitely not a number you want at a wedding! We count to six and that’s as far as it goes for good reason. 1 is not seen here because as I noted before, it is the loneliest number. The only other number we are missing is FOUR. Where is it? Where is the SQUARE? 4 represents the earth, foundations, and the four elements (water, earth, air and fire). The cross is also made up by the number 4 giving it the added meaning of protection. These things are all very important but are not very “fun” when compared to the other numbers. Leaving it out may have seemed the obvious choice. Only, you didn’t leave 4 out. You recognized its importance. You left 4 out of the chapel and instead had a square waiting for everyone to receive it OUTSIDE. This was so beautiful. Foundation and protection can be found in our family and when outside of the chapel, a place of unity and magic and love, the bride and groom step out and are celebrated by four. Yes, family can be a bit boxed in, stuck in their ways and unexciting but family gives every person their footing. Family acts as a person’s security and shelter just like how a four walled building stands as our home. I stood right next to the metal square you had standing on the patio as me and the rest of the family stood cheering Allie and Micah on for a kiss. I could not have planned that more beautifully myself.
The symbolism, the numerology and the placement of each shape was done to perfection and it moved me to write you this letter. I hope this brings you joy as it did me. If anyone ever asks you why you chose two doors to the chapel rather than one, or why there is a hexagon on the chapel stage or why a metal square stands proudly on the patio, I hope you can smile gracefully at their unawareness and share with them just a glimpse of the magic you have beaming in your venue. “
-Kilah Liles
