Kat you asked...
Are you really trying to say that we are wrong to presume that somebody that attends a wedding ceremony is there to congratulate the couple on their marriage? You must be grasping at straws to hold that view... I mean what else would somebody be there for?
My answer... Yes. I am saying its wrong to presume to know what another persons motives, reasons, intentions are for attending a wedding or for doing anything for that matter. Definitely a lack of humility to tell someone what their reasons are for doing something especially after the person has told you otherwise. As if someone knows better than me what my reasons for doing something are.
The last 2 weddings I've been to, I could not even tell you what the grooms name was. I was there only because I was asked to be there.. Christ said if someone asks me to go one mile, go two. He didn't say 'gay marriages excluded'.
I was most definitely not there to give my approval. How could I approve of my cousin marrying a guy I don't even know? He might have been a total jerk, unbeliever, psychopath, or whatever... Besides that, I highly doubt I was invited in the first place so that I could offer my approval. Two adults don't need my approval. I'd have to think pretty highly of myself to believe that my precious approval of their union was being requested.
My reasons for going are usually free food, open bar, dancing, and seeing family that I usually don't see very often.
When I got married I could really care less if anyone 'approved'. I was 21 and my wife was 18 and 6 months pregnant so I'm pretty sure a lot, if not everyone, did not approve. Didn't matter. Come hang out, get some food, dance. Whatever. I'm sure some were there to witness the beginning of a possible future train wreck. Doubt anyone thought we'd be married for long.
I bet if you surveyed 100 people about their reasons for attending a wedding, free food/open bar would be in the top 3 while giving their approval would be somewhere near the bottom. So I really don't think I'm grasping at straws.