Can I hear your readings?

Jasperk23

Hi ladies,

My FI and I are not very religious but my friend's dad is a pastor and he is marrying us. He works with addicts rather than in a church and defines himself as spiritual rather than religious, but he asked that we have a piece of scripture as at least one of our readings.
My first instinct was of course the Corinthians "Love is patient, love is kind" etc. but to be honest I would rather have one that isn't quite as common. I also kinda liked the Song of Solomon "Set me as a seal upon your heart" one, but... I still need to look.

Anyway, can I plese hear your readings, scripture or otherwise? TIA

pennylg

We are having a friend read the Native Americal Marriage Ceremony:

Now you will feel no rain,

For each of you will be shelter for the other.

 

Now you will feel no cold,

For each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now you will feel no loneliness.

 

Now you are two persons,

But, there is only one life before you.

 

Go now to your dwelling to enter

Into the days of your life together.

 

And may your days be good,

And long upon the earth.

I think it's somewhat common but we both like it so that's what we decided to have.

pengy16

We are having the apache blessing as well. Our officiant gave us a ceremony workbook that has a few passages, so you may want to look up some ceremony books for inspiration. I know in the book we have there is the living prayer but we are going to use that a the blessing before dinner not during the ceremony.

DanaOcNy

We are also using that Apache Blessing..fyi for those who don't know it is not actually Native American but was written for a movie in the 1950's..we don't care though because it is beautiful.

We are also using 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 commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all 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 that 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, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

violakat03

It's not a scripture verse, but we are using Old Irish Blessing.

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

pockysquirrel

From "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran:

You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

And from "True Love" by Robert Fulghum:

Recently I went to a Friday evening big band dance in Seattle. Hundreds of couples waltzing and two-stepping and foxtrotting around. Tall blonde stick of a woman dancing up close and tight with a huge fat guy with tattooed bald head and a bushy beard. Weird. Across the floor, an ancient couple – Asian – dressed almost exactly alike in khaki pants, plaid shirts, and tennis shoes – wrapped in each other’s arms like vines – not dancing, just swaying to the music. Weird. Beyond them, a flashy young woman dancing like she was in a chorus line, while her dull little man stood in one place like a ship anchored in a storm. She kissed him between pirouettes. He just grinned and held on. Weird. Everywhere – weird love.

There were no glamorous couples – no perfect matches – but so what?

You want my opinion? We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love.

violakat03

pocky - THANK YOU for posting the correct attribution for the "weird" quote. FI and I wanted to use that one and I'd always heard it attributed to Dr. Suess. After seeing your post, I googled it some and found that it did indeed come from Robert Fulghum. We will be using the correct, and correctly cited, quote in our ceremony.

Also, the part of Old Irish Blessing is just the first stanza. I found the full wording, and we'll be using the first two stanzas. It will be the last thing the officiant says before we walk back down the aisle, and our recessional will be the song.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
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 misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.


Version of the song we are using:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti3EWCbtZGk

pockysquirrel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_october-2012-weddings_can-i-hear-your-readings?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:56b9bcef-1e34-456e-81f5-cfaa107456b2Discussion:5a1b953e-c972-4d32-b63a-656cc1789d26Post:a58ba4ea-6f42-47e2-ae8a-083f8d9bbc58">Re: Can I hear your readings?</a>:
[QUOTE]pocky - THANK YOU for posting the correct attribution for the "weird" quote. FI and I wanted to use that one and I'd always heard it attributed to Dr. Suess. After seeing your post, I googled it some and found that it did indeed come from Robert Fulghum. We will be using the correct, and correctly cited, quote in our ceremony.
Posted by violakat03[/QUOTE]

Yay! I'm so glad that my efforts have proven helpful to someone else. It took me about two hours worth of consecutive Google searches to finally find the quote in its proper context. But since I ended up finding scans of the actual pages on Google Books, I'd say that's proof enough that the source is right!

amyelise25

We are doing 2 short Bible verses:

Ruth 1: 16-17

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

Matthew 19: 4-6
 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”