‘Q’ and ‘U’ exchange quiet, quasi-vows at quaint St. Clement quarters

The kindergarten classes of St. Clement of Rome School in Metairie cordially invite you to attend the wedding of the letters “Q” and “U.”

This annual event of letter love was observed on March 14 this year, a long-standing tradition at the school.

Thirty-seven kindergartners from the two classes gathered in their finest queen and quarterback apparel and accessories to watch as the two often-connected letters were married in the school courtyard by parish pastor, Father Joe Krafft, who read special vows for the marriage of “Q” and “U” and even asked the brides and the grooms to say “I do” at the end of the ceremony.

The annual event is designed to help the kindergartners learn that the letter “Q” is always followed by the letter “U” in English words. 

Students were asked to dress up as queens and quarterbacks to participate in the ceremony.

“I’ve been on staff at the school for six years, and we’ve done this ceremony every year,” said Brittany Hahn, kindergarten teacher and organizer. “I know it was done before I started teaching here. We drive the point home by marrying the letters together. Father Krafft also talked about how ‘Q’ must be understanding when letter ‘U’ must be by itself sometimes to make words like ‘umbrella.’”

Names are drawn out of a hat for a bride and groom for each class. In addition to the bride (letter “Q”) and groom (letter “U”), Hahn said the bridal party includes “quarter” girls instead of flower girls, who drop quarters down the aisle, and “shushers” instead of ushers, who hold quiet signs as they walk down the aisle, along with a maid of honor and best man.

Hahn explained that the event helps the students remember the relationship between the letters in a fun and engaging way, and the students look forward to it every year.

“All of the students want to be involved in some way,” she said. “The students who are not standing in the wedding party are invited guests and are asked to choose another letter of the alphabet to wear as a necklace around their neck. All the children have a chance to walk down the aisle to their seats.”

Families of the students, as well as the rest of the school, are invited to attend the ceremonies, which might qualify as shotgun weddings because they last just 10 minutes.   

Hahn said most of the older students enjoy coming out and watching because they remember doing this project when they were in kindergarten.

“It’s really sweet hearing the reactions of the older students when they pass by and see us setting up for the wedding,” she said. “They still remember when they participated and how much fun it was, it’s something that sticks with them.”

After the ceremony, students return to the classroom for a reception complete with plastic champagne flutes filled with sparkling apple juice, cheese and crackers, donut holes, finger foods and a fancy two-tiered wedding cake.

“We take pictures at the reception, the bride dances with her father, and the groom with his mother, and everyone in attendance has an opportunity to dance, too,” Hahn said. “Then we do the bride’s flower toss and the groom’s football toss, which is always a big hit.”

And what would a New Orleans wedding be without a second line to end the festivities? All the students are given umbrellas and process around the classroom in classic second-line style to signal the end of the reception.           

“This past week we did a journal page about their favorite part of the ‘Q’ and ‘U’ lesson, and a lot of them wrote their favorite part was the reception or the football and bouquet tosses,” Hahn said. “Typically, we focus our learning centers on the letter of the week and do something special with that letter, but nothing as elaborate as what we do for ‘Q’ and ‘U’. My favorite part is seeing the excitement on the students’ faces and knowing that it really does help them learn academically how ‘Q’ and ‘U’ are together in words. This is my favorite thing to do with kindergarten.”