Marriage is not about the dress or the dream party, and Daniela and Gabriel are very clear about that. For this reason, her friends decided to have a different bachelorette party: a moment of prayer before Jesus in the Eucharist.
Digital content creator María Paula Aldana shared on her Instagram account “Somos Suyos” a video of the surprise they organized for Daniela, a very close friend who is getting married.
In her post, Aldana pointed out that both young people fought to live a holy courtship that would lead them to God. This experience of love helped them understand the depth of the sacrament of marriage.
“One day eating a hamburger, Daniela told me that for many years she had a Pinterest board with all the things she dreamed of for her wedding (even before she had a boyfriend)… she knew exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it.
"Then she met Gabriel and they struggled to live a courtship that would always please God. They are 'normal' people: we go together to dances, pro-life marches, concerts, parties, dinners, conferences, retreats... and when Gabriel proposed to Daniela, the first thing I said to her after the engagement was: 'you're going to be able to use your Pinterest board'. To which Daniela replied: 'the board doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters to me is that it is with Gabriel'…. God is faithful. Because it removes the additions from the heart and helps us put our hearts in His Kingdom, in what is most important, in what brings us to Him. Because marriage is not about the wedding, the dress or the perfect party, but about the decision to love someone for something specific: taking them to heaven.”
That decision to live this sacrament correctly led her friends to organize an unusual bachelorette party. On Pentecost night, they organized a moment of prayer in front of Jesus in the Eucharistic adoration chapel.
“For her bridal shower, we wanted many things, but 'only one is important' says the Gospel. So on the night of Pentecost, we asked Jesus in the Eucharist to organize a bachelorette party for us and as friends we gathered to ask him to send his Holy Spirit upon them and also upon us, to appreciate the testimony of what God has done in them and what he wants to do in each of us.
"The truth is that EVERYTHING that human love promises (happiness, passion, pleasure, company)… without having Divine love as its source is and will be A FALSE PROMISE. But in God, by God, and for God, they will be springboards for eternity.”
Here's the video below:
Here's the translated video text:
"The girlfriend. Today is her bachelorette party. She thinks we're taking her to a party. And yes! The promised. The husband of her soul. They do not say goodbye to their time of freedom. They come to live the vocation that was given to them from eternity because there is no other way to love. But at the feet of LOVE."
María Paula asked for prayers for Gabriel and Daniela, and pointed out to all those seeking their vocation that true waiting is not in vain.
“I also ask you to pray with faith for your vocations. You are not 'waiting' in vain... whatever path God has for you, what you are living now (and what you are not) is a necessary preparation to be able to embrace Him later. Trust.”
The bachelorette party video went viral with over two million views and almost 100,000 likes.
Many users left supportive messages, highlighting similar experiences with Jesus in the Eucharist.
“Heaven is Jesus. Living each stage with Him, no matter the pain, is heaven, because we are with Him and we believe in Him," one user said.
“The best gift they could have given her," another person said. "How beautiful to begin the journey together, hand in hand with God, and surrounded by people so full of light. I was very excited to see it.”
“ I am excited to see so many young people testifying to their faith and forming a home with God's blessing. Many blessings to the future spouses." someone else said.
"How gorgeous! What a great touch on your part! My husband asked me to be his bride in [front of] the Blessed Sacrament," another user explained. "I never really expected it like that and it was wonderful– a beautiful detail on his part since he always knew that my life is Christ and he wanted it to be the center of our lives as well.”
“I have some friends who met in the parish and had their Hour of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the Perpetual Adoration chapel on Saturdays from 9:00 to 10:00 at night," another person said. "They got married on a Saturday and the dance started at 9:00 at night. They arrived at the dance almost at 11 and they were dressed as bride and groom with the best guest at the banquet in the best possible place."