Ceremony Readings?

JulieNFlo

Is anyone having any special readings during their ceremony...if so who have you chosen to do them? Mom, Dad, Aunt ,Uncle etc.?

KappaK

My favorite cousin is going to do a reading.  I am not sure yet what she is going to read though.

LittleG1024

I'm having 2 readings. The first will be a reading out of the Bible by my Stepdad and the second will be I Carry your Heart With Me by E.E. Cummings, but not sure who will read it yet lol 

ufsweetiebear

I think I want a passage from the Bible and "Union" by Robert Fulgham. No idea who will read them tho.

jen812

Thanks for posting this question.  I was just thinking about the same thing.

moonstone523

We are having two readings - one by FI's sister and one by my childhood best friend. 

Here are the readings:
"Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of Its Love"
by Edmund O'Neill

Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.

Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other's best friend,
confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.
And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing,
and the love of the other may resemble
the tender caring of a parent or child.

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher,
commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly,
and passes away more quickly.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life
is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life,
new experiences, new ways of expressing
a love that is deeper than life.

When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage,
they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer
than any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people
who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.



The Apache Wedding Blessing

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 there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years,
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and
remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship,
as they threaten all relationships at one time or another,
remember to focus on what is right between you,
not only the part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when
clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives – remembering that
even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your
life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

rdoernberg

Our brothers-in-law will each be doing readings.

ufsweetiebear

Love your first reading Moonstone -- I may "borrow" that one!

moonstone523

Thanks sweetiebear.  FI picked that one out! 
We tried our hardest to find out who Edmund O'Neil was, but it is still a mystery.  Apparently  he is just famous for writing a peice commonly used in weddings and has now passed.

But... beautiful reading and very wise!

Kristin789

My closest friend read the Apache Blessing as a toast, with two stanzas reversed.  You could use it that way in a ceremony instead.  See below:

-----------Apache Blessing - edited version we used Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and
remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship,
as they threaten all relationships at one time or another,
remember to focus on what is right between you,
not only the part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when
clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that
even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your
life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years,
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth. 

diamondgrrl5

Thank you for this post.  We are starting to think of this stuff right now.  I love your first reading Moonstone!  I may borrow it too!