Marriage By Committee: An Examination of Wedding Customs Within the Community of Early Amana

When three young couples decide it’s time to move forward in their relationships—from “special friends” to newlyweds—they’re faced with a rather bureaucratic process of petitions, directives, and communal obligations. There’s a chance the committee of church elders may vote against the marriage request, or that the mandated Period of Separation might result in someone losing interest and boarding the train for the Outside World.

For one bride’s father, however, the process is even more complicated than any of them know.

As an appointed elder and businessman, he’s forced to consider the complications and consequences of adhering to “the old ways” while maintaining the sanctity of tradition.

Together with his fellow elders, he must answer the multitude of questions growing louder among this quiet cluster of villages in rural Iowa—questions that will force the Inspirationist community to see that change doesn’t just mean letting go and moving on...

...it also means surviving.