wedding ceremony readings

SarahHermosa · April 2011

I asked my sisters (2) to do a reading at the wedding ceremony. I am not looking for a religious reading from the Bible, but God can be referred to. I am looking for a reading about 1-2 minutes. Have not been able to find something yet that fits us. Any suggestions?

Here are some things about us: Central CA winery wedding, 1st marriage each, like nature and camping and the beach and working out, low key people, semi formal wedding (no tuxes),

looking for a reading thats easy to understand based on nature, friendship, love, family, marriage, .... or similar to this.....

suggestions on readings or where to look?

Thanks,

Sarah

lisarose7 · April 2011

We used an excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit and a poem called Yes I'll Marry You by Pam Ayers. The book excerpt was the one about "What is REAL" and made me tear up the first time I read it. The poem got a laugh from our guests and made H say, "That sounds like stuff you'd say."

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · April 2011

We used Sonnet 116 and an Ogden Nash poem. I think they're both in my bio.

cpfwvu · April 2011

Try The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran... I like the passages one Love, Marriage, Beauty, and Joy&Sorrow.

ChrislovesBarry · April 2011

I'm doing 2 as well.

What is Marriage? my favorite is Blessing of the Hands
“Blessing of the Hands" “These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.”

SarahHermosa · April 2011

I really like the "Blessing of the hands". When I think of marriage I think of love and support and growing old and raising a family with the other.... So this should be great! Hope he likes it as well!

mandi921vh · April 2011

I think we will be using the "blessing of the hands" at our ceremony too.

ChrislovesBarry · April 2011

Glad you all like it...I cry everytime I read it.

megz0986 · April 2011

Wow it's in my ceremony made me tear up on the first line!

Sarahkayfa · April 2011

Google search.

It really depends on how you view love and marriage, what they mean to you...It's hard to recommend something so personal without much information about your values, your relationship, or you. There's lots out there, start your research, and maybe ask your religious leader or a close friend to point you in the right direction. It's definitely something to put some thought into.

I'm considering using an excerpt from Madeleine L'Engle's 'The Irrational Season,'

DramaGeek · April 2011

Celtic Wedding Blessing 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 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. Irish Wedding Blessing May God go with you and bless you,
May you see your children`s children,
May you be poor in misfortune and rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

May joy and peace surround you both,
Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now And God Bless you Evermore.
May you live you life with trust, And nurture lifelong affection,
May your lifelong dreams come true for you, Move ever that direction.

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.
May the light of friendship guide your paths together,
May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home.
May the joy of living for each
other trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your eye.
And when eternity beckons,
at the end of the life heaped high with love,
May the good Lord embrace you
with the arms that have nurtured you
the whole length of your joy-filled days.
May the gracious God hold you both
in the palm of His hands.
And, today, may the Spirit of Love find a dwelling place in your hearts.
An Apache 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.
Kahlil Gibran on Marriage From Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, Master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
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 one 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.
Blessing for a Marriage 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.
The Art Of A Good Marriage Wilferd Arlan Peterson Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In 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 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 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 old.
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.   I Love You Roy Croft I Love You,
Not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you,
not only for what you have made of yourself,
but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you for putting your hand into my overflowing heart
and passing over all the foolish, weak things that can't help,
dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the
beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make of the dreams of my life
not a thought but a reality,
Out of the works of my every day not a reproach but a song...
Yes, a Love song.

vexie · April 2011

We're using The Art of a Good Marriage... and we're really hoping to have both of our mothers read it together. One has been married 45 years, the other for 50 so it would be incredibly meaningful for a few reasons.

I really love the Blessings of the Hands reading too... might have to find room for that one too

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