A traditional Irish wedding blessing

May the meaning of this hour be fulfilled through the days and years to come.

May the love of this man and this woman, their unity of spirit, grow deeper and stronger in the uncertainties and changes of life they will share.

Loving each other, may they love all persons. Trusting each other, may they learn to trust life. 

May their love reach out to the love of all, that their lives may bless all whose lives they touch. 

And, may they find comfort together in shared hours of shadow, as well as in the bright sunshine of joy. May they be to each other both strong and gentle.

May all who follow their lives with interest and affection have cause to rejoice not alone in their happiness, but in their brave and generous living which makes life beautiful and significant.

“Stardust” by Land Leav

If you came to me with a face I have not seen, with a name I have never heard, I would still know you.

Even if centuries separated us, I would still feel you. Somewhere between the sand and the stardust, through every collapse and creation, there is a pulse that echoes of you and I.

When we leave this world, we give up all our possessions and our memories. Love is the only thing we take with us. It is all we carry from one life to the next.

“Love” by Roy Croft -wedding ceremony readings that are to the point

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.

I love 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 heaped-up heart. And passing over. All the foolish, weak things. That you 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 lumber of my life. Not a tavern. But a temple. Out of the Works. Of my everyday. Not a reproach. But a song.

I love you. Because you have done. More than any creed. Could have done To make me good. And more than any fate. Could have done. To make me happy. You have done it. Without a touch, Without a word, Without a sign. You have done it. By Being yourself. Perhaps that is what. Being a friend means. After all.

Apache Wedding Prayer

Now you will feel no rain,                                                                                            For each of you will be shelter to the other.

You will feel no cold, For each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no more loneliness,                                                                                For each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two bodies,                                                                                           But there is one life before you.

May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead; And for all the years to come.

Go now to your dwelling place, To enter into the days of your togetherness.

And may your days be good and long upon this earth.  Your adventure has just begun!

This Day I Married My Best Friend – Wedding Ceremony Readings

This day I married my best friend.
The one I laugh with as we share life’s wonderous zest,
As we find new enjoyments and experience all that’s best.
The one I live for because the world seems brighter,
As our happy times are better and our burdens feel much lighter.
The one I love with every fibre of my soul.
We used to feel vaguely incomplete, now together we are whole.

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“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.

“How Falling In Love Is Like Owning A Dog” by Taylor Mali

First of all, it’s a big responsibility, so think long and hard before deciding on love. On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security when you’re walking down the street late at night

On cold winter nights, love is warm. It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises.

Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs. It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy. Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.

But come home and love is always happy to see you.

It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life, but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! 

Love makes messes. Love leaves you little surprises here and there. And, Love needs lots of cleaning up after.

Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk. Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions at once, or wind itself around and around you until you’re all wound up and you cannot move.

Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it. And in return, love loves you and never stops.

How to make a beautiful life together- Reflections on marriage for the bride and groom

Let love be your shelter.
The world is noisy and confusing at times,
So make a home that is a haven, a peaceful place where you can
listen to your hearts and savor the comfortable closeness you share.

No matter how busy your days may be, make time for yourselves.
Hold hands.
Unwind.
Surprise each other.
Find little chances every day to show you’re grateful to be partners,
to be friends, to be married.

Life is not perfect.
You will make mistakes,
but each time you meet life’s challenges together,
you will grow wiser, stronger, and surer of your love.

Cherish your yesterdays.
They are irreplaceable souvenirs of your journey through life.
Make memories that will bring smiles and sighs whenever you look back.
(Look back often!)

Look forward, too.
Dream together. Plan together.
Make promises to keep.
Believe in your tomorrows,
because tomorrows are what forever is made of.

To make love last, put each other first.
That is the way to make a beautiful life together,
the kind of life you both deserve so much.

“On Marriage” from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

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 your be alone,
      Even as the strings of the 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.

“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

“Two Hearts As One”

To one and all this verse imparts, a welcome, warm, with happy hearts.
For on this day will be united, two people sharing love requited.
Their lives have known both joy and pain, but overall their pledge will reign.
Unto each other thus to give, the strength and trust by which to live.
Together now they both shall stand, to face the future hand in hand.
And constant as the sky above,

their guiding light will be their love.
And so, this hour, begins their life,

of happiness as man and wife.
And all who stand beneath the sun,

bear witness now, the two are one.

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1 Corinthians 13 – wedding ceremony readings from the bible

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
and it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
and always perseveres.
Love never fails.

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“A Wedding Toast” by James Bertolino

May your love be firm,
And may your dream of a life together
be a river between two shores
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night
illuminated from within. May the heron
carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring
the sea’s blue grace. May your twin thoughts spiral upward
like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind,
and be as noble as the Douglas fir.
May you never find yourselves back to back
without love pulling you around
into each other’s arms.

by Rumi

The moment I heard my first love story
I started looking for you,
not knowing how useless that was.
Lovers don’t meet somewhere along the way.
They’re in one another’s souls all along.

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And, some wedding ceremony readings express appreciation for the gift of love.

“At Nightfall” by Charles Hanson Towne

I need so much the quiet of your love
After the day’s loud strife;
I need your calm all other things above
After the stress of life.
I crave the haven that in your dear heart lies,
After all toil is done;
I need the star shine of your heavenly eyes,
After the day’s great sun.

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