RE: The wedding that made me not want to see the newlyweds ever again
More to the first, less personal, part of the post about religion in Albania. I read that the 1755 earthquake in Portugal pushed so many people away from religion that over 250 years later, Portugal is still the least Catholic country in the Mediterranean.
https://lifeafter40.net/2014/12/25/the-1755-lisbon-earthquake-the-start-of-atheism/
"Religious authorities did proclaim that the earthquake was the wrath of God against the sins of the people. It was a common reaction of the time to look to the heavens when disaster struck. Many philosophers rejected those notions, in part, because Lisbon’s red-light district suffered only minor damage while nearly all of the churches were destroyed in this very devout Christian city."
There was also a recent book on the quake.
http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/454051690/this-gulf-of-fire-examines-the-lisbon-portugal-earthquake-in-1755
My point being that a 40-year break in religion could have long-lasting effects.
Wow, that is interesting. I didn't know Portugal had lower numbers of religious practisers compared to the rest of the Mediterranean. The reason behind it even more interesting, and then the part where the churches actually suffered the most damages from the earthquake is (I truly mean no offense to anyone) hilarious.
Anyways, the long rambling about the history of religion in my country served as an introduction to why such marriage was indeed painful to endure. Could have been shorter, but then I am afraid the rest of the story wouldn't make much sense.
I thought it was interesting.
My favorite horrible wedding story was when a minister said that the bride and groom were Oreos, and God was the filling that held them together. My roommate had just been going on about how the filling was composed of whipped steak fat and powdered sugar, and I started snorting with uncontrollable laughter at the combination of those two images.