Ceremony Readings

peachykeen26

I am working on getting the readings together for the ceremony, as well as the scripture we want read.

I really like C.S. Lewis and believe he has some great insight and beliefs, so I've been focusing on some of his quotes about love and friendship. I think I may have found one...

“But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing. At this feast it is He who has spread the board and it is He who has chosen the guests. It is He, we may dare to hope, who sometimes does, and always should, preside. Let us not reckon without our Host.”

Sorry for that wall.
In any cases, I think this is a good quote because it regards friendship is chosen by Christ and that it's all in His plan.

What are your thoughts? What are some of your readings?

kelsey+brandon

I love C.S. Lewis too!

This is our reading:

Union by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “ You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.

P.S. Sorry for the funky font. It copy and pasted weird.

rasp.berry

We're also using The Union. The officiant will incorporate it into the ceremony for us though, we won't have anyone standing up to read it. It's really beautiful and is representative of our past, in which we spent a lot of time planning our future together. Gets me all teared up, especially the last bit!!

HarperBargo

We are also using Union. We are also using:

"The Art of Marriage" by Wilferd A. Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things...

It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude
of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humour.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

littleluckypenny

My readings are

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Ephisians 5:1-2, 21-33

peachykeen26

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_ceremony-readings?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:5928fc70-43c8-4ee4-9b23-0a21d0aa608cPost:0f1a2b41-56d4-4e53-a4e3-5cac0bc1840d">Re: Ceremony Readings</a>:
[QUOTE]My readings are 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Ephisians 5:1-2, 21-33
Posted by littleluckypenny[/QUOTE]

Those are incorporated into our Unity Cross. :)

Sabriel14

I love these readings! We're having a Catholic wedding, so we had to chose from set readings. We went with Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a (it ends with Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm...), 1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:1- 8a (your standard "love is patient, love is kind"), and we're still debating the Gospel, either Matthew 7:21, 24-29 (the wise man built his house on rock) or Matthew 22:35-40 (which commandment is greatest). We meet with the priest Monday to finalize everything!

peachykeen26

Oh I love Union and it would be perfect!!!

kelsey+brandon

We're also doing the first corinthians chapter.

jfellows82

We're having a Catholic ceremony.

1st: Tobit 8:4-8

2nd: Romans 12:1-2, 9-18

Gospel: Matthew 22:35-40 

poonplower3000

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_ceremony-readings?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:5928fc70-43c8-4ee4-9b23-0a21d0aa608cPost:2198fb91-aa5c-4df5-ba69-f32a063028f8">Re: Ceremony Readings</a>:
[QUOTE]We're also doing the first corinthians chapter.
Posted by kelsey+brandon[/QUOTE]

Classic and timeless choice!

daria24

Our ceremony is secular and we have a passage from "Slowness" by Milan Kundera and one from "Pride and Prejudice."

abunger

We are also doing the Union - FI and I just really loved it because it seemed to just sum everythng up.  We haven't figured out if we'll have a separate reader or just integrate it into the benediction somehow...

poonplower3000

Louis de Bernieres (Captain Correlli’s mandolin) Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

MiksChick23

I am using Union as well, I just love it! Also using this one:

Blessing for a Marriage

by James Dillet Freeman

 

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite
excitement marriage should bring,
and may life grant you also patience,
tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another -
not so much to fill your emptiness
as to help you to know your fullness.
A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not make
the mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because
it has a mountain towering over it.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another,
and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!"
and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart,
may both of you hope to have
good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is
the awareness of one another's
presence - no more physical than spiritual,
warm and near when you are
side by side, and warm and near when
you are in separate rooms
or even distant cities.
May you have happiness,
and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

kimiandgary

We are using an Irish Wedding Blessing for our reading:

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow
May the soft winds freshen your spirit
May the sunshine brighten your heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind always be at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
and the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again my friend
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you
May  you see your children's children
May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

But rich or poor, quick or slow,
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward
May the joys of today be those of tomorrow.