Start as you mean to go on

Last Friday I was at a venue where a wedding would take place the following day. I watched as a man carried in some distinctive decorations and placed them near where the bride and groom would stand. They consisted of two large baskets, each with six birch saplings standing upright in them. They looked something like this, but without the greenery.

Just as in the picture above, they had all been cut off at about six or seven feet in height. I thought it an odd choice of decoration at first, but then figured that birch trees had some special sentimental significance for the couple in order to be included in the ceremony. Can you see where this is going?

Why were the branches cut off? I suspect that either the bride or the groom (or perhaps both) enjoys a good birching from time to time. Perhaps the bridesmaids will be carrying birch rods, tied with white ribbons, in the procession. The bride will carry the largest bundle.  Then after the ceremony, the groomsmen will take the rods and playfully flog the bridesmaids as they walk back down the aisle. The groom will administer a few well-placed strokes on the bride's derriere in front of the assembled guests as his first official duty as her husband.

I wish I had an invitation to that wedding. But then again, perhaps it wouldn't be quite as I had imagined.