Example 2
The wedding of Sonja and Michael.
Beth:
Welcome everyone and thank you all for joining us here on The Lake to share this day with Sonja and Michael. Being able to be married here today is fortuitous, as it is a melding of a number of their greatest loves: New York City, the Summer, good friends, a long lunch and of course; each other.
When Sonja and Michael first met in Perth, there was immediate electricity. Michael was mesmerized by the astoundingly beautiful dance student that stood before him and Sonja was wondering whether the cool guy in the leather jacket that was leaning against the door frame doing his best Jimmy Dean, would prove too cool to speak to her. With all this tension in the air, it was unfortunate to say the least that they were actually on a double date with their respective partners.
Six years of repressed sexual tension and four thousand kilometres later, fate stepped in and caused their paths to cross again in the middle of Elizabeth and Park streets in Sydney. It was definitely destined to be as Sonja, who had quite literally just graduated from drama school, was on her way to meet her new agent... who just happened to be Michael's flat mate.
After falling hopelessly in love a lot sooner than either was willing to admit, they agreed to take each day as it came and to see where it led them. Eight years, two continents and an unfeasibly large mortgage later, it seems to have led them to this little boat, on this little lake, in this big city that they have both grown to love.
And so; to the vows:
Michael: I Michael, take you Sonja, as my partner for life. I promise to respect, encourage, love and support you; to live with you, laugh with you and cook for you, to stand by your side and sleep in your arms. If our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that together we can accomplish more than we ever could alone. I promise to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. Though at times distance may physically force us apart, you will always be as close to me as my heart.
With every beat of my heart, I will love you.
This is my promise to you.
Sonja: I Sonja, take you Michael, as my partner for life. I promise to respect, encourage, love and support you; to live with you, laugh with you and cook for you, to stand by your side and sleep in your arms. If our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that together we can accomplish more than we ever could alone. I promise to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. Though at times distance may physically force us apart, you will always be as close to me as my heart.
With every beat of my heart, I will love you.
This is my promise to you.
Michael: With a free and uninhibited soul, I give you all I am and all I am to become.
Take this ring and with it my promise of faith, patience and love for the rest of my life.
Example 3
Madhavi Bhattaram and Joel Tanenbaum Wedding Ceremony
Madhavi and Joel have chosen this day to unite in matrimony.
Their lives are joined together, their togetherness has become a normal and natural part of their lives, and they bring each other joy.
Today they formally reaffirm the commitment they have already made to one another in their hearts, to be a family, Joel, Madhavi, and Ameya.
Madhavi and Joel, you have carefully considered living your lives together and what it means to be wed. Are you now prepared to enter into this covenant of marriage?
[Madhavi and Joel reply:] We are.
Do you, Joel, take Madhavi to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer; to love and cherish above all others?
[Joel:] I do.
Do you, Madhavi, take Joel to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer; to love and cherish above all others always?
[Madhavi:] I do.
May we have the rings?
[Ameya gives Joel and Madhavi the rings]
May these rings which you give and receive this day be a symbol of true faith in each other, and always remind you of your never-ending love.
[Joel places Madhavi's ring on her finger and says:] With this ring I do thee wed.
[Madhavi places Joel's ring on his finger and says:] With this ring I do thee wed.
As Madhavi and Joel have grown in knowledge and love of one another, and because they have agreed in their desire to go forward in life together, as a family seeking an even richer, deepening relationship, and because they have pledged to meet both sorrow and joy as one family, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may squish the bride.
Example 4
Carina's and Joe's Wedding
Processional: "Si' Bheag, Si' Mhor"
Opening Words
Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous uniting of a man and woman whose friendship and mutual understanding have flourished into romance. Today Carina and Joe proclaim their love to the world and we, who are gathered here, rejoice with them and for them, in the new life they now undertake together.
This wedding, in the Humanist spirit, celebrates the joy and beauty of life. Humanism sees a person as an active and inseparable unity of body and personality. Reason serves as the guide, but reason never separate from the emotions and strivings of the whole person; so that emotion and intellect functioning together provide the firmest foundation for married love.
Today, when we speak of love, we speak of a shared emotion that is not static. It is a growing and dynamic relationship. We dream that tomorrow we will grow and fulfill our possibilities. It is a blessing when someone believes in our dream of ourselves and wants to live with us and help make our dreams and aspirations come true.
Love of this sort can grow. It is not, like youth, a moment that comes and is gone, remaining only a memory of something which cannot be recovered. It can grow because it has something to grow upon and grow with. It does not become contracted and stale, because it has for its subject all the objects with which two lovers are concerned. Love endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other.
The high and fine art of married life is in this mutual enrichment, mental and spiritual, this give and take between two personalities, this mingling of two endowments which depletes neither, but empowers each. They give to each other, to receive only more.
Marriage is dedication. You give yourself, your life and love, into the hands of the one you love. You do so trustingly and generously. By the same token, each of you receives a gift; the life and love of the other. You receive this gift not only from the one you love, but also from the parents who brought you into the world and reared you and from the personal world of friends and family who are joined in friendship and faith in your marriage.
Carina and Joe hold in common the interests and ideals of a Humanist world. Living together in this way, they will deepen their love for each other.
It is a Humanist belief that there should be equality between men and women in every relevant way. And that it is especially important for this principle to he recognized in the marriage relationship. Marriage must be a cooperative venture in every sense. It is a relationship based on love, respect and a determination on the part of both wife and husband to adjust to each other's temperaments and moods; in health or sickness, joy or sadness, ease or hardship.
We are here to share your joy and hope and to speed you along the path which, henceforth, you are to tread together. May it be the path of blessedness, bright with the fragrant flowers of prosperity and spiritual conquest; a path of deepening and widening love that you shall travel, arm in arm, through out eternity.
Statement of Intention
Joe and Carina, you have carefully considered the beauty and obligations assumed when lives are wed. Are you now prepared to enter into this covenant of love?
Answer: Yes
Acknowledgment of Family and Friends
It is appropriate that you, the family and friends are here to participate in this wedding. The ideals, the understanding, and the mutual respect, which these two bring to their marriage have roots in the love, friendship and guidance with which you have provided them.
Readings
Joe and Carina have asked that Matthew, Daniel and Elizabeth each read a selection that has special meaning to the couple on this day.
Reading 1 Matthew
We are gathered here to join this man and this woman in marriage. This is an act as ancient as the history of the human race and as new as each new morning; for it speaks of the past and of the future, of the life of the individual and the existence of the community. Because marriage is concerned with the most fundamental of human relationships, it must not be regarded lightly. Those who enter into this relationship shall cherish for each other a mutual esteem and love, bear each other's infirmity and weaknesses, comfort each other in trouble and sorrow, encourage each other in trials of the spirit, and live together as the heirs of life. Marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly, but with devotion and discretion. Love and loyalty will avail as the foundation of a happy and enduring home; and if the solemn vows you are about to make be kept with honor and integrity, your life will be full of peace and joy, and the home you are establishing will be one of warmth and understanding.
Reading 2 Daniel
When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is a lie to even pretend to. And yet it is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, and of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide, and resist with terror its ebb. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity, when the only continuity possible in life, as in love, is in growth, in fluidity, in freedom in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern For relationships, too, must he like islands. We must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits , islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea. And continually visited and abandoned by the tides. One must accept the security of the winged life, of the ebb and flow of intermittence.
Reading 3 Elizabeth
From The Prophet by Kahil Gibran
You were born together,
and together you shall be forevermore,
You shall be together
when the white wings of death scatter your days.
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.
Vows
I, Joseph,
Take you, Carina,
To be no other than yourself
Loving what I know of you
Trusting what I do not yet know
With respect for your integrity
And faith in your love for me
Through all our years
And in all that life may bring us.
I, Carina, Take you, Joseph, To be no other than yourself Loving what I know of you Trusting what I do not yet know With respect for your integrity And faith in your love for me Through all our years And in all that life may bring us.
Ring Exchange
A circle is the symbol of the sun, and the earth, and of the universe. It is a symbol of wholeness and perfection, and of peace. The rings you give and receive this day, then, are symbols of the universal and intertwined circles of shared love into which you enter together as husband and wife.
Ring Exchange
Joe: With this ring I promise to love you, and no other, for as long as we both shall live.
Carina: With this ring I promise to love you, and no other, for as long as we both shall live.
Pronouncement
Forasmuch as Carina and Joe have grown in knowledge and love of one another, and because they have agreed in their desire to go forward in life together, seeking an even richer, deepening relationship, and because they have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as one family, we rejoice to recognize them as husband and wife.
Words of Celebration
We rejoice this day in the marriage of Joe and Carina. We celebrate the love that brought them to this day. With love that deepens through many years, may they know its meaning and its mystery; how we become truly one in sharing ourselves with one another, and yet, remain truly two in our own uniqueness. May you always be blessed in your hearts with the wonder of this special day. May you always be able to talk things over, to confide in each other, to laugh with each other, to enjoy life together, and to share moments of quiet and peace, when the day is done. May your house be a place of happiness for all who enter it, a place where the old and the young are renewed in each others company, a place for growing, a place for music, a place for laughter. And when shadows fall within its rooms, may it still be a place of hope and strength for all who enter it, especially for those who may be entrusted to your care. May no person be alien to your compassion. May your larger family be the family of all Humankind. And may those who are nearest to you and dearest to you constantly be enriched by the beauty and the bounty of your love for each other
Example 5
Lily and Damon
Processional: Balcony Scene (Romeo & Juliet) - Craig Armstrong
Introduction
Beth We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of Lily and Damon. Marriage is the promise of hope between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals and who wish to share the future together.
Marriage enables two separate people to share their desires, longings, dreams and memories, their joys and laughter, and to help each other through their uncertainties. This sharing should enhance, rather than diminish, the unique qualities of each partner. And a lasting marriage will develop continually over time and grows out of deep mutual caring and respect.
We have come together to witness the promises of Lily and Damon in marriage, to share with them in their happiness and their hopes for the future.
Statement of Intent
Lily and Damon, you have carefully considered the beauty and obligations assumed when lives are wed. Are you now prepared to enter into this covenant of love?
Lily and Damon: Yes
Readings
Beth: It is appropriate that you, the family and friends, are here to participate in this wedding. The ideals, the understanding, and the mutual respect, which these two bring to their marriage, have roots in love, friendship and guidance with which you have provided them.
Lily and Damon have asked their mothers to read a selection that has special meaning to them.
Poem 1: Damon's Mum
William Shakespeare, Sonnet CXVI
Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sicklie's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Poem 2: Lily's Mom
KhaIil Gibran, from The Prophet
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, 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.
Vows
Beth: Lily and Damon, you have stated your intent to go forward in life together, and I now invite you to turn and make your vows to one another here in the presence of family and friends.
Damon: I, Damon,
Take you Lily
To be no other than yourself
Loving what I know of you
Trusting what I do not yet know
With respect for your integrity
And faith in your love for me
Through all your years
And in all that life may bring us
Lily: I, Lily,
Take you Damon
To be no other than yourself
Loving what I know of you
Trusting what I do not yet know
With respect for your integrity
And faith in your love for me
Through all your years
And in all that life may bring us
Beth: <Luck by Langston Hughes>
Sometimes a crumb falls from the tables of joy
Sometimes a bone is flung
To some people love is given
To others only heaven.
Ring Exchange
Beth: As a symbol of your love and commitment to each other, you have chosen to exchange the rings that your friends now offer.
Damon: Lily, I give you this ring in celebration of my love for you and as a pledge to honor you and to grow with you for the whole of our life together.
Lily: Damon, I give you this ring in celebration of my love for you and as a pledge to honor you and to grow with you for the whole of our life together.
Pronouncement
Beth: For as much as Damon and Lily have grown in knowledge and love of each other, and because they have agreed in their desire to go forward in life together, seeking an even richer, deepening relationship, and because they have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as one family, we rejoice to recognize them as husband and wife.
Lily and Damon, you have here promised to share your lives in marriage in the presence of friends and family. Therefore, by the authority invested in me and in accordance with laws of the State of New York, I now pronounce that you are husband and wife.
You may kiss.
As a blessing for Lily and Damon, we read these lines from an American Indian 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 there is no more 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.
On behalf of all who are here today and all who are friends of this radiant couple, I drink to long life and happiness for Lily and Damon.
The years of our lives are as a cup of wine poured out for us to drink. May the cup of your lives, Lily and Damon, be sweet and full. Drink now to each other from this bowl and so give the final consecration to your marriage.
Recessional: "Lovin You" - Minnie Ripperton
Example 6
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