Dear Ann Landers,


Dear Readers,
Well, we have just heard from New Jersey, Vermont, Alabama, Kansas, and California-a good cross section of the country. It seems that people have been per-forming at their own weddings for quite some time, and there is every indication that they will continue to do so. If it makes the bride and groom happy and they are not concerned about the theatrical aspects, who am I to crab the act? I felt sure my gracious retreat would close the subject, but I was wrong. Suddenly I was attacked from all sides by readers who were furious with me for reversing my stand. They wrote: 205 Hillsdale, Michigan: I was flabbergasted by the number of kooks who sang at their own weddings. If my husband had opened up his mouth to sing "I Love You Truly" when I walked down the aisle, I would have cracked up. Long Island, New York: Where in the world were the clergymen when those balmy brides and goofy grooms sang during the wedding ceremony? Why did they permit the house of God to be used as a setting for a vaudeville act? If a couple is so happy they must give voice to their feelings, why can't they wait and sing at the reception? Albuquerque, New Mexico: We of the Congregational Church do not permit sanctuary theatrics. Such exhibitionism has no place in a religious ceremony. Chicago: I thank God every day for the canon law of the Presbyterian Church which makes it mandatory for the minis-ter to approve all music to be played at weddings and funerals. Since I have occupied this pulpit I have had some outrageous requests. Recently I had to say No to a woman who wanted the church organist to play "Casey Jones" at her husband's funeral. "It was his favorite song," she sighed. "He would have wanted it that way." Columbus, Ohio: No Roman Catholic ever sang at his own wedding. Our church does not tolerate such nonsense. Davenport, Iowa: I feel very left out. I was married two years ago, and it was just an ordinary church wedding. My husband didn't burst out in song, my father-in-law didn't play the trombone, my little sister didn't do a toe dance, and my mother (who used to be a famous stripper) didn't go into her act. The guests must have been disappointed. Houston: Here's a suggestion for those singing brides and grooms: Why not run an ad and sell tickets? The proceeds could help defray the honeymoon expenses-two weeks in the mental hospital of their choice. Hutchinson, Kansas: Why were you surprised, Ann 206 Landers, to discover that people sometimes sing at their own nuptials? That's pretty tame stuff. Every day a couple of screwballs get married on motorcycles, at home plate, on skates, atop a flagpole, on horseback, in jail, under water, and on a TV show to get free gifts. Recently I read where an English couple was married in the elevator where they first met. You, of all people, Ann, should know how crazy people can be.-Mr. M.R.T. Dear M.R.T.: Amen, Brother. Amen. A reader sent this Associated Press item which appeared in the evening paper. Dateline: Corpus Christi: "A 19-year-old go-go dancer who does a topless act plans to marry between acts-still topless. Her maid of honor will also be topless. The justice of the peace who agreed to perform the ceremony said, 'I never question the dress of the people who ask to get married. My job is to get them married.' "