Psychic Ceremony

It was reported in July 1908 that a Spokane, Washington couple, Mathilda Schlichting and Herbert H. Busby, were the first to be married in a "spiritualist" wedding.

The ceremony was officiated by Cora Kincannon Smith, a minister of the Washington Union Spiritualist Association. Many of the attendees were self-styled mediums and clairvoyants.

Eschewing such standard verbiage as promising to "love, honor, and obey," the couple was asked such questions as: "Do you promise to tenderly care for her in sickness or in trouble and to endeavor to make her pathway pleasant and full of the sunshine of love?" Talk about purple prose!

Following the nuptials, two psychics in attendance fell into trances where they augered that many blessings would befall the newlyweds. According to their vision, groups of spirit children were witnessed entering the sanctuary and showering the couple with flowers while binding them with a golden chain.