Welcoming Ceremony
August 23, 2008
Filed under Baptism/welcoming ceremony, Interfaith Ceremonies, Interfaith Minister, Pagan ceremony, Welcoming Ceremony, Wiccan ceremony
Tags: Interfaith Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies, welcoming ceremonies, Welcoming Ceremony
WELCOMING CEREMONY
MARCH 23, 2002
Celebrant: Rev. Vikki Anderson
Before we begin, let us take a few deep breaths, leaving stress and negativity behind as we fill ourselves up with positive energy, love, happiness and joy. Let us settle into our surroundings and be present to the beauty of this moment, this occasion and of this place. Whenever you are worried or stressed in every day matters, may you always recall this beautiful day, this joyous ceremony and the commitment of love that you share with your family and friends. May these thoughts always bring you to a peaceful place in your mind’s eye and give you the strength and wisdom you need to handle any challenge that may arise before you.
I will now light a candle and ask God and Goddess, the Divine couple, to grace us with light and love. Help us open our consciousness so that we may receive your blessing. Blessed be.
Lynn and Marc: Blessed be.
Celebrant: I light the second candle to invite our ancestors to be with us this day, and know that both those we remember, and those who passed before our time have not been forgotten. Please join us in our joy and celebrate with us. Blessed be.
Lynn and Marc: Blessed be.
Celebrant: I light the last candle and ask our spirit guides and guardian angels to join us today. You have gently guided and protected us since our births. We thank you and ask for your continued guidance and love, especially for Gavin who has been recently sent into this world to be a loving part of our lives. Blessed be.
Lynn and Marc: Blessed be.
Celebrant: Welcome all! Lynn and Marc, you have arranged this gathering of family and friends today to affirm your love and commitment, not only to one another, but also to your newly born son, Gavin. You have chosen your home as the place for this gathering as a foundation for Gavin and your family’s future well being. This will always be a symbol of the beginning of your life together as a family. This is where your family will continue to grow into a future of endless possibilities for all of you and those you love.
It is a wonderful thing to look ahead and envision what your life will be like with your new son, Gavin. This blessing has come to you from simply loving one another. Imagine the future with not only your love to guide you, but also the love of another human being that you have lovingly and affectionately brought into this world.
Things will change, yet remain remarkable the same. Moments that were taken for granted in the past will now be more meaningful than ever before. You will rejoice in little things like hearing Gavin’s first word or seeing him take his first step. You will now include Gavin in all of your dreams and goals and will think of his well being before your own. Gavin will be your top priority in life, as it should be, as your parents did for you. He, in turn, will bring so much joy and excitement into your lives that together you will create a continuous circle of love, happiness and abundance in your lives. You are now a family unit that has a common tie and purpose for the rest of your lives.
Now, as you stand at the very beginning of Parenthood, your love for each other grows beyond what you knew to be possible. It is with great hope that you can look towards the future and yet again see all possibilities that lie before you as a family of love and light.
We come to the part of the ceremony where Lynn and Marc will say a few words to their son to express their hopes and dreams for his future. Why not tell Gavin what is in your hearts.
A few special readings have been chosen by Lynn and Marc to honor Gavin. They will be read by…. (We can actually put readings anywhere you wish). Usually grandparents or Uncles, Aunts, etc., would be a nice choice or very close family friends – if you feel this is appropriate.
Celebrant: Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond themselves and have seen through their separations. They delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Gavin is the fruit of their love and commitment to one another.
May the blessings of the God and Goddess follow your family all the days of your lives. Let them keep watch over you and your son and gently guide you onto your true paths of spirituality and enlightenment. They, who are the great Mother and Father of the universe and of all humanity, want you to know from now until all eternity, you will never again be lonely or alone.
Lynn and Marc have chosen each other from the many men and women on this earth, have declared their love for one other to this community and have shared their love selflessly to bring another precious life into a new millennium of hope, love and peace. In mutual self-consecration and in ever deepening love for each other and your family, may you establish a home filled with the spirit of faith, truth, goodness and eternal love for each other, your children and your families and for all sentient beings on this earth and beyond. May Gavin be a source of love, inspiration, commitment and much happiness to you both.
In all your lives, may you be reborn in the same time, and at the same place, so that you may meet and know and remember and be a complete family once again in the eternal future.
In the name of the Divine couple, God and Goddess, I now bless Gavin into our human family and the son of Lynn and Marc. We thank all the Spirits and Universal Energies that have joined us here today. We are grateful for your witness. Hail and Farewell.
This ceremony has ended; go in peace and everlasting love.
Candles are snuffed out.
Vikki Anderson is available to perform interfaith ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms, welcoming ceremonies as well as naming and handfasting ceremonies. Email her at Starscape50@aol.com or check out her site at www.VikkiAndersn.com.
Wedding Ceremony #9
August 23, 2008
Filed under Christian/pagan ceremony, Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Pagan ceremony, Wedding Ceremonies, Welcoming Ceremony
Crystal Announcement
In many esoteric and metaphysical beliefs the energy and power of crystals is an important part of a healthy lifestyle where we call upon the spirit of each crystal to give us their particular gifts. Some crystals impart love, happiness, inner strength, inner peace, decision and optimism, while others impart meditation skills, aid in health issues and repel negativity.
Nadia and William have asked that crystals be part of their ceremony. They ask that you take and hold one crystal in your left hand throughout the ceremony and think of all the good intentions and love that you wish for them. These will be passed out before the ceremony begins and you are asked to deposit them in the baskets in the back of the chapel on your way out. In this way, William and Nadia will take the crystals with all your love and good wishes, and have them as part of the positive energy and strength that you have wished for them as part of their new lives together.
Celebrant:
Love is a miraculous gift, and a wedding is a celebration of that magic, and that is what we are here to do today. We all live in the hope to love and be loved, and any sign of the blossoming of love is a true inspiration.
We are gathered together to be overjoyed for and with Nadia and William who are so wonderfully suited to one another. It is a pure delight for the rest of us to see how happy two people can be. That they have found each other and know in their souls how perfectly mated they are, and that they are choosing on this day of most special days to become for all time, the accurate and beautiful reflection of each other’s essence is a blessing.
Therefore, we give thanks for the pure happiness of Nadia and William. Their enthusiasm is electric, their belief in the destiny of their love is inspiring, and their great expectations encourage us beyond measure. Marriage is a very special place, we ask that the vision they have of one another always be spellbinding and radiant, just as the power that first brought them together. We pray that as they move into marriage, that they always hold one another in the light of all light, the love of all love…
Today is also a celebration for the rest of us, for it is also a pleasure to participate in their wedding. It lifts our spirits to be in the presence of their love, to bask in the sweet energies of two people who obviously adore one another, who want to play together, laugh together, live together and be together for all the days of their lives.
William and Nadia remember that a relationship is a progression; your love will have seasons like Nature itself. There is an old Chinese proverb that says: “The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…” and now your journey has begun.
Your wedding today is an exquisite and beautifully choreographed first step. With it you are passing through a portal that will lead to many places, including ones you cannot possibly ever imagine. Wherever it takes you, there will be surprises, for this is the mark of a truly loving relationship – which it will take you where you had not expected to go. Above all, remember that love is what matters. Love will prevail. It is the love you feel for one another that will be the answer to all of your difficulties.
And so today we are here to celebrate, to honor, to laugh, to dance, and to be glad because the inevitable has finally come true. Love is alive and well in this land. William and Nadia are here to prove it and we are here to celebrate with them.
Congratulations, William and Nadia, the real fun has just begun!
The couples’ dear friend, Jane Pinto, will give the first reading:
…And each said to the other,
“I promise to share with you in times of joy
as in times of trouble, to talk and to listen,
to honor and to appreciate you, to provide for and support you in trust and in love. I promise
to share my hopes and thoughts and dreams with you,
to work with you to build our lives together. I treasure
the wonderful, unique person you are, and I will always
try to be sensitive to your needs. May we grow,
our lives forever intertwined, our love bringing us
always closer. Together, let us create a home that
expresses our individuality and our love for one another.
May it be a home filled with peace, with happiness, and with love.”
Anonymous
The Consecration
Enfolded in joy, inhabited by hope, bathed in the infinite spectrum of light that is love, may you always be infused with it and beautifully illumined by it.
May every desire you have for your love be fulfilled, and may you be given the vision to clearly behold one another, the listening with which to perceive one another most genuinely, and the endless generosity of spirit to nourish one another’s soul and genuinely keep the promises you make today.
The Expression of Intent
William and Nadia, you have heard about the magic and mysteries of marriage, the way it will continually surprise you, the strength and wisdom it will everlastingly ask of you, do you choose still and happily and in our midst to make the promise of marriage to one another?
Couple: We do.
Nadia’s brother________________ will give the second reading.
Here all seeking is over,
The lost has been found,
A mate has been found
To share the chills of winter –
Now Love asks
That you be united.
Here is a place to rest,
A place to sleep,
A place in heaven.
Now two are becoming one,
The black night is scattered,
The eastern sky grows bright.
At last the great day has come!
Hawaiian Song
The Blessing of the Rings
Rings are an ancient symbol, blessed and simple. Round like the sun, like the eye, and likes arms that embrace. C Like circles, which have no beginning or end. For love that is given comes back round again and again. Therefore, may these symbols remind you that your love, like the sun, illumines; that your love, like the eye, must see clearly; and that your love like arms that embrace, is a grace upon the world.
The Marriage Vows
Nadia, repeat after me. William, I will love you, hold you, and honor you….in good times and in bad…enjoy you, console you, delight you…give thanks for you always….and cherish you dearly until the end of our days.
William, repeat after me: Nadia, I will love you, hold you, and honor you…in good times and in bad…enjoy you, console you, delight you…give thanks for you always…and cherish you dearly until the end of our days.
Exchanging of Rings:
Nadia, repeat after me. William, as a symbol of how happy you make me…and how much I adore you…I give you this ring, so you and the whole world will know how much I love you.
William, repeat after me. Nadia, as a symbol of how happy you make me…and how much I adore you…I give you this ring so you and the whole world will know how much I love you.
Vow of Support from Guests
Now that you have heard William and Nadia recite their vows, do you – their family and friends – promise from this day forward to encourage and love the, to give your guidance, and to support them in being steadfast in the promises that they have made?
Guests: We do.
Pronouncement of Marriage
Now, because you have chosen one another, honored each other with the precious gift of your rings, and pledged to love each other for all eternity, it gives me great joy to pronounce that you are husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.
The Benediction
God Bless You, William and Nadia. May the heavenly angels guide and protect you through all the life of your love; may you forever live in happiness with one another. May your hearts stay full of love, may your love continually grow stronger with each passing year and forever be happy in each other’s arms and find inner peace, strength and contentment.
The wedding ceremony has ended. Go in peace and love.
(Please remember to leave your crystals in the back of the chapel hall. Thank you).
For Your Information
I have been trying to separate the content of my writings into several blogs. For those interested, here are my additional sites:
http://lalainya.wordpress.com/
http://fengshuithis.wordpress.com/
http://fairyandothertales.wordpress.com/
http://weddingceremonies.wordpress.com/
http://totallytarot.wordpress.com/
Please let me know what you think?
Thanks.
Vikki Anderson
www.VikkiAnderson.com
Wedding Timetable for Brides
August 20, 2008
Filed under Interfaith Minister, bride timetable, organizing your wedding, preparing for your wedding, what to do for your wedding
SIX TO TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING:
Decide on your budget – many weddings are outrageously priced, but with a little planning and shortcuts, you may be able to put the extra money down on a house or a longer honeymoon than on frivolities.
Decide if you would like a weekday, evening or weekend wedding:
What time do you visualize for your wedding?
Where would you like to have your wedding?
Set a date
Select your bridal party – (nowadays many couples Have only a Maid of Honor and Best Man)
Select a color scheme
Select and order bridal gown and headpiece
Select and purchase shoes
Select and order attendants – gowns
Research Honeymoon plans
Set up your bridal registry
Look at and choose personal stationery & invitations
Start collecting names for your guest list
Select a DJ or musicians
Visit a local florists for prices and arrangements you like for your bouquet and table arrangements
It would also be less expensive to go to a local craft store and purchase silk flowers in your colors and have them make up the bouquet for free. This will be a keepsake of a lifetime. The girls – bouquets could also be silk, but make sure your parents get fresh flower corsages and the gentlemen get a live carnation or rose as a boutonnière.
Visit a few caterers to see the appropriate venue for your budget and taste.
Talk to and visit photographers in your area. Ask those you trust who have had a favorable experience with their photographer for phone numbers and names.
Announce your engagement in local papers. Send a black and white photo to the paper for the Engagement Section where your notice and photo are printed for free.
Inquire about the obligations you have to your church or temple to see if you must attend any pre-marital workshops.
Talk with clergy about the type of service you would like.
Select a minister for an unorthodox wedding, i.e., beach, lake, park, back yard, restaurant or historic site.
Select and order wedding rings.
THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Confirm dress delivery
Confirm date and time with caterer
Select and order invitations
Complete guest list (make available to your bridal party for bridal shower)
Check over reception arrangements
Confirm delivery of dress and make appointment for gown fittings
Will you order souvenirs for your guests. Many are now having little frames that hold each place card so you can put the bridal couple’s picture in it when it arrives.
Honeymoon reservations
Confirm time and date with the florist of your choice
Confirm time and date with photographer (leave deposit, if appropriate)
Confirm time and date of musician/DJ
Discuss the types of music you want played at your wedding.
No hip-hop, rap, heavy metal, loud, or obnoxious music. Do you want music from the Forties, Fifties, Rock N Roll, Jitterbug, and any line dances for the unaccompanied guests. Be specific about songs you would like at your wedding. It is your wedding and your wishes come first. Will you allow guests to make requests of the band/musician/DJ? Give the musician instructions as to which type of music you would allow and which kind you will not allow.
How will the centerpieces be distributed at the end of the party? Closest birth date to your wedding? A piece of masking tape under the seat saying, “You’ve won!” Will there be a penny under one of the cups and saucers. Did you want to pre-assign who gets the centerpieces?
Confirm time and date with church, Justice of the Peace or Minister
Discuss and order transportation to and from the wedding If you have out of town guests, inquire about a block of hotel rooms near the church/temple or reception area. Don’t be afraid to try Orbitz.com for a reasonable price. If you are reserving more than 5 rooms, many hotels will give you a “group rate” for the rooms.
Order groomsmen attire
Schedule wedding party’s dress fittings
Make sure everyone gets a smart looking yet comfortable pair of shoes. They do not have to match each bridesmaid, but you may want them the same color as the dress.
TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Order cake (if not provided by caterer). To save money, many couples order a small cake for the “cutting of the cake” and have a separate sheet cake in the kitchen for the guests to enjoy with coffee. Sheet cakes are much less expensive than Bridal Cakes.
Mail invitations to your guest list.
Inquire as to marriage license procedures for your town.
Finalize Honeymoon arrangements.
Decide if you want to purchase disposable cameras for each table. It is a lovely way of getting candid shots, however, make sure that that adults only use the cameras. Too often children get a hold of them and you have many rolls of ceilings, feet, doors or people with half bodies or heads. Not a good use of money if you make double prints to share with family. Just have a note saying, “For Adults Use Only” on the cameras.
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE WEDDING
Reserve hotel rooms for guests
Plan rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
Purchase gifts for your bridal party
Send out thank you notes as gifts are received so you’ll be ahead of the game.
Purchase a guest book and decide on its placement.
Schedule final fittings of dresses and matching accessories
Make beauty parlor appointment for your bridal party and you, if needed.
A bridesmaid’s luncheon or party could be scheduled if it fits in with your budgeting requirements.
Schedule your bridal photography appointment
Arrange to select and purchase your ring bearer pillow, candles, rose petals, rice, bubbles, etc. for your wedding exit of the church/temple. Find out the rules about throwing rice. There is usually a fee to have this cleaned up outside of the church/temple. Birdseed is a good way to get around this without the additional fee.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Finalize wedding transportation
Finalize the number of favorable guest responses
Double-check your musician, photographer and caterer. Give direction to those who need them.
Specify how you would like to be introduced by the musician/DJ when you enter the catering hall and are introduced for the first time?. Mr. and Mrs. John Smith or Lisa and John Smith.
What songs should be chosen for the dance with parents, if you had decided to do this.
Will you have a cake cutting ceremony? Will you feed each other cake. Discuss with your significant other, that it is not funny to “mush” cake into the others face while feeding them. Makeup is hard to replace, cake in hair with hairspray is almost impossible to get out, not to mention the embarrassment and anger that this could invoke. I mention this because I officiated at a wedding where this happened and the Father of the Bride was so angry – as was the Bride – that the Bride left the hall and marriage was annulled. So in the end, the expense of the wedding and the annulment and of course the loss of a happily married life together was more than the groom had bargained for.
Will you have the garter belt and throwing of the bridal bouquet?
Just remember that this is somewhat embarrassing to the single women invited to your wedding. So unless you know all of your guests intimately, you may just want to pass this tradition up.
The garter up your leg is also somewhat embarrassing, however, if you are a good sport, then go for it. Discuss this with your partner.
Finalize seating arrangement
Get marriage license in Town Hall where the Bride resides.
Prepare wedding announcements to be mailed after the wedding
Check on your hotel accommodations for accuracy
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE WEDDING
Plan seating arrangements for the final time
Confirm desired photographs with photographer. You have the right to say you want a picture of the Bride with her Father and the Groom’s Father, Grandma with the grandchildren, your mom and dad alone, your parents with you and with your spouse, etc. Talk to the photographer to let him or her know exactly what your dream wedding pictures would be like.
Are you having the wedding video taped?
Are you having the wedding audio taped?
Do you have entrance music – organ or CD of lovely wedding marches and recessionals.
Who will run the CD player if you are using CD’s. Who will shut it off once the ceremony starts.
Finalize the number of guests with caterer
Pack for your Honeymoon.
Style your hair with headpiece
Cosmetic choices should be made
Final fitting of wedding dress and bridal party’s gowns.
Pick up rings, try them on for fit and adjust if too small or large.
Rehearsal dinner or rehearsal without dinner one to two days before wedding.
YOUR WEDDING DAY
THIS IS THE DAY YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO ENJOY IT!
Eat at least one meal before the ceremony
Get your hair professional done with headpiece/if arranged and you have plenty of time, get a manicure to top off the perfectly groomed look. Remember, less is more. You don’t want to be overly made up (and look totally different than you do everyday) and your nails should not be so shocking that everyone sees them and not you or your very expensive dress and headpiece.
Start dressing one to two hours ahead of the ceremony
Will you be having the photographer come to the house to take pre-ceremony pictures? Will he meet you at a specific place at the church/temple or place of your ceremony before the wedding to take pictures on the grounds?
Have mother of the groom seated five minutes before ceremony
Have mother of the bride seated immediately before processional
Arrange of the aisle runner to be rolled out by the ushers immediately before the processional.
Be sure to bring your marriage license with you on this day as well as the rings.
Assign people to take care of these tasks for you since you will be too nervous to remember much other than your name and how to say, “I do.”
The Maid of Honor and Best Man normally sign the marriage license as witnesses and the Celebrant will mail the receipt of your wedding to your Town Hall. Make sure you have the proper address, envelope and postage for the Celebrant so there is no mix up in where to send it.
You will get a copy of your marriage license that day, however, it is not an official document. You may order your marriage license approximately two weeks after the wedding. My suggestion is that you order several copies so one can be put in a safe deposit box, and the others one could be used as proof of your change of name for your license, registration, medical insurance, social security card, passport, etc.
If things go wrong on your very special day, it would be better if you just go with the flow. In all likelihood, no one else will notice the mistake because they are having a wonderful time celebrating your happy life together. There is no need to get upset or worry on your special day, so let everything go! You have waited a lifetime for this day and believe me, it goes much too quickly to be upset over petty nonsense.
If for no other sake, enjoy your day — because now you are now married! You did it!!!!!!!!
See www.vikkianderson.net or www.fengshuimoon.com for more information.
Wedding Ceremony #8
August 20, 2008
Filed under Interfaith Ceremonies, Interfaith Minister, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies
Wedding of Kathleen and Kerry
September 12, 2004
Celebrant: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God, to witness and celebrate the marriage of Kathleen and Kerry. Marriage is an honorable estate, instituted in antiquity and revered since time immemorial as the noblest and tenderest of human relationships. It is therefore not to be entered into lightly, but with faith and forethought.
Today, we have gathered here surrounded by happy memories and loving spirit, to be joyful, in celebration of the relationship of Kathleen and Kerry. By their commitment to marry each other, they are opening to life, to themselves, to family and friends, and to the future.
A wedding ceremony is an outward form. To be true, it must be a symbol of something inner and real. To last, the marriage of these two must be a consecration of each to the other, and of both to the wider community of which they are a part.
Kathleen and Kerry, have you come here in this place of home and family to affirm your commitment to each other?
Bride and Groom: We have.
The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.
Celebrant: Courtesy and consideration even in anger and adversity are the seeds of compassion. Love is the fruit of compassion. Trust, love and respect are the sustaining virtues of marriage. They enable us to discover and learn from the ever-unfolding lessons of marriage, and help us to realize that everywhere we turn we meet our selves. May your journey be blessed with wisdom.
Please repeat after me:
We nourish each other and ourselves in living….
– by, in every way we can, allowing our deepest Self to appear.
– by taking full responsibility for our own life, in all its infinite dimensions.
– by affirming our trust in the honesty and wisdom of our own body, which with our love and reverence always shows us the true way.
– by being committed to embrace all parts of us, including our deepest fears and shadows, without shame, that they may become a source of light.
– by being ever willing to keep our heart open, even in the midst of great pain.
An Untitled Reading by Roy Croft
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 who
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.
Celebrant: Marriage is a birth, as is each triumph that comes with taking risks and opening up to each other, each birth serving to renew these vows ever being born and born again.
The marriage couple would like to convey their love and gratitude to Josh and Jourdain for being in their lives. They are so loved by their Mother and new step dad and are welcomed into a new life together of love, new beginnings and exciting adventures. The constant love that you all have for one another will bless this union and your family from this day forward.
Now Kathleen and Kerry will take their marriage vows.
Bride: I, Kathleen, take you, Kerry, to be my husband, in equal love, as a mirror for my true Self, as a partner on my path, to honor and cherish, in sorrow and in joy, for all that I am and all that I shall ever be. I promise to make every effort to live in awareness and share our love with all upon this earth.
Groom: I, Kerry, take you, Kathleen, to be my wife, in equal love, as a mirror for my true Self, as a partner on my path, to honor and cherish, in sorrow and in joy, for all that I am and all that I shall ever be. I promise to make every effort to live in awareness and share our love with all upon this earth.
These, my love, are my promises to you:
That I will love you freely,
As the sky loves the bird,
As the sunset loves the early evening.
That I will love you grandly,
With my tender fine emotions,
With my loving words and all my actions.
That I will love you purely,
With my honor, with my knowing,
With all the best intentions of my being.
That I will love you joyfully,
With my body, with my laughter,
With my foolishness and playing.
That I will love you truly,
With my finest kindness and my deepest care,
That I will love you always,
Now, from this day forward,
Seamless, endless and forever.
Exchange of Rings
Celebrant: May I have the rings please? Rings are an ancient symbol, blessed and simple. Round like the sun, like the eye, like arms that embrace. Circles, for love that is given comes back round again and again. Therefore, may these symbols remind you that your love, like the sun, illumines; that your love, like the eyes, must see clearly; and that your love, like arms that embrace, is a grace upon this world.
Please repeat after me:
Groom: Kathleen, I give this ring as a symbol of my love.
Bride: Kerry, I give this ring as a symbol of my love.
Celebrant: Kathleen and Kerry have declared their love and purpose before this gathering, and have made their pledge each to the other symbolized by the holding of hands and the giving and receiving of rings. I now pronounce that they are husband and wife. May they continue to share in their marriage the love and awareness they have cultivated since they fell in love.
You may kiss the bride.
Please feel free to take any part of this ceremony as part of your own. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.com, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.
Christian/Pagan Handfasting Ceremony
August 20, 2008
Filed under Christian/pagan ceremony, Handfasting Ceremony, Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Pagan ceremony, Wedding Ceremonies, Wiccan wedding ceremony
Priest/ess:
We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of (bride’s name) and (groom’s name). There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two who stand before us today, we can hope to leave them with the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.
Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, Groom and Bride have come here today to be joined as one in marriage.
Others would ask, at this time, who gives the bride in marriage, but as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if she comes of her own will and if she has her family’s blessing.
Bride’s Name, is true that you come of your own free will and accord?
Bride: Yes, it is true.
Priest/ess: With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you.
Father: She comes with me, her father, and is accompanied by all of her family’s blessings.
Priest/ess: Please join hands with your beloved and listen to that which I am about to say.
Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass remember:
Like a stone your love be firm; like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and the desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not to close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with the other, for storms will come and will pass quickly again.
Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you discomfort, for God/dess is with you always.
Groom’s Name, I have not the right to bind thee to Bride’s Name, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring on her hand. (Place ring on bride’s left hand ring finger).
Groom: It is my wish.
Priest/ess: Bride’s Name, if it be your wish for Groom’s Name to be bound to you, place the ring on his finger. (Place ring on groom’s left hand ring finger).
Bride: It is my wish.
Priest/ess: To Groom
Repeat after me? I, (groom’s name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (bride’s name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess three, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without reservation, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.
Priest/ess: To Bride
Repeat after me? I, (bride’s name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (groom’s name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without reservation, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.
Priest/ess: (Hands groom chalice filled with wine)
You may drink your fill from the cup of love.
Groom holds chalice to bride while she sips then bride takes chalice and holds it to groom while he sips. The chalice is then handed back to the Priest/ess who sets it on the table. Next the Priest/ess takes the plate of bread, giving it to the groom. Same procedure repeated with bread, groom feeding bride and bride feeding groom.
By the power vested in me by God and the State of (name State), I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto you both.
You may kiss the bride.
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<i>Please feel free to take any part of this ceremony as part of your own. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.net, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.</i>
Traditional Handfasting Ceremony
August 20, 2008
Filed under Handfasting Ceremony, Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies, Wiccan wedding ceremony
Time: Best performed at the time of the new moon.
Setting: The usual setting for this ritual area is many types of flowers of your choice, particularly the favorites of the couple, and roses. The altar should be arranged as usual, plus 2 white candles, incense of a flower scent, and a willow wand. Dress is up to the bridal couple. Celtic tradition is that the bride where some sort of veiling or netting and an article of scarlet. The couple should bring wedding rings and a small symbolic gift for each other. The priest/ess fit’s the rings over the willow wand, and then lays them on the altar.
After the lighting of the candles and incense, the priest/ess face the gathering with their backs toward the altar.
Priest/ess: May the place of this rite be consecrated for the Gods. For we gather here in a ritual of love with two who would be wedded. Name of Bride and Name of Groom, please come forward and stand here before us, and before the gods of nature.
The couple comes forward and stands before the Priest/ess.
Priest/ess:
Be with us here, O beings of the Air
With your clever fingers
Tie closely the bonds between these two.
Be with us here, O beings of Fire
Give their love and passion
Your own all-consuming ardor
Be with us here, O beings of Water
Give them the deepest of love
And the richness of the body, of the soul and of the spirit.
Be with us here, O beings of Earth
Let your strength and constancy
Be theirs for so long as they desire
To remain together.
Blessed Goddess and Laughing God
Give to these before you, we do ask
Your love and protection.
Blessed Be.
All: Blessed Be.
Priest/ess:
Holds up the wand with the rings upon it.
Place your right hands Over this wand and your rings – his hand over hers.
Below you are the stones
As time does pass
Remember,
Like a star should your love be constant
Like a stone should your love be firm
Be close, but not too close
Posses one another, but be understanding
Have patience each with the other
For storms will come, but they will go quickly
Be free in the giving of affection and warmth
Make love often, and be sensuous with one another
Have no fear and let not the ways or words
Of the unenlightened give you unease.
For the Goddess and the God are with you,
Now and Always.
Priest/ess:
Is it your wish (bride’s name) to become one with this man?
Bride: Yes, it is my wish.
Is it your wish (groom’s name) to become one with this woman?
Groom: Yes, it is my wish.
Exchange of Rings.
Then as the Goddess and the God and the Old Ones Are witness to this rite I now proclaim you husband and wife.
A kiss is appropriate at this time and the tokens may be exchanged.
This is also the time when you can jump over the broom indicating leaving a single life to a lifetime of love together as man and wife.
The ceremony is then over and the cakes on the altar should be served at the celebration that follows.
Please feel free to take any part of this ceremony as part of your own. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.com, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.
Wedding Vows
August 20, 2008
Filed under Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies
Tags: wedding vows
Groom & Bride in turn:
Will you have this woman/man to be your wife; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
Answer: I will.
Bride/Groom in turn:
I, _________, take you, _____, to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.
Bride/Groom in turn:
I, ________, take you, ______, to be my wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. This is my solemn vow.
Bride/Groom in turn:
I, ______, take you, _________, to be my husband/wife, in equal love, as a mirror for my true self, as a partner on my path, to honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, till death do us part.
Bride/Groom in turn:
I, _____________, take you, __________, to be my husband/wife, to be the mother (father) of my children, to be the companion of my heart, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.
I, __________, take you, _____________, to be my beloved wife/husband, to have you and hold you, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, to suffer with you and to be transformed, and to love and cherish you always.
I promise you this from my heart, with my soul, for all the days of my life, and if God wills, beyond the walls of life, beyond the bounds of time.
I, _______, choose you, _______, in the presence of this community, to be my wife/husband/spouse/partner, from this time forward.
To love you,
To be a comfort and safe haven in your life,
To hold you close,
To listen deeply when you are sad or angry,
To learn compassion with you,
To nourish you with my gentleness,
To uphold you with my strength,
To love your body as it ages,
To weight the effects of the words I speak and of the things I do,
To never take you for granted, but always give you thanks for your presence.
As our lives unfold together,
I promise to be faithful,
To always express my emotional truth and
embrace you as both teacher and student as we do what life calls us to,
individually and in our relationship.
I give you my love,
I give you my heart,
I give you my hope,
I give you with joy,
all of my precious time and the rest of the days of my life.
Beloved ____, I give you this ring as a symbol of my steadfastness and joy in loving you, and as a pledge to honor you with all that I am and all I shall become for my whole life.
In the name of God/Goddess:
I, ___________, take you _______________, to be my beloved wife/husband.
To stand with you in the grand love that binds us,
to honor you, to change with you,
to behold the highest meanings of our being,
to learn compassion with you,
to suffer with you,
to rejoice, to be kind.
I promise you this from my heart and my soul until death do us part.
As a sign of my love and that I am choosing to share my whole life’s journey with you, and of my knowing that in marrying you, I shall become much more than I am, I (wear this ring) give you this ring, with the pledge that with you, I shall become most truly myself and offer such gifts as I have and I am to the world.
Please feel free to use these vows in your ceremony. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.net, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.
Wedding Ceremony #6
August 20, 2008
Filed under Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies
Celebrant: Before we begin, let us take a few deep breaths, leaving stress and negativity behind as we fill ourselves up with positive energy, love, happiness and joy. Let us settle into our surroundings and be present to the beauty of this moment, this occasion and of this place. Whenever you are worried or stressed in every day matters, may you always recall this beautiful day, this joyous ceremony and the commitment of love that you share with your family and friends. May these thoughts always bring you to a peaceful place in your mind’s eye and give you the strength and wisdom you need to handle any challenge that may arise before you.
I will now light a candle and ask God to grace us with light and love. Help us open our consciousness so that we may receive your blessing. Blessed be.
(Marriage Couple): Blessed be.
Celebrant: I light the second candle to invite our ancestors to be with us this day, and know that both those we remember, and those who passed before our time have not been forgotten. Please join us in our joy and celebrate with us. Blessed be.
(Marriage Couple): Blessed be. Celebrant: I light the last candle and ask our spirit guides and guardian angels to join us today. You have gently guided and protected us since our births. We thank you and ask for your continued guidance and love, especially for (Marriage Couple) who have been recently joined in holy matrimony and loving partners in life.
(Marriage Couple): Blessed be.
Celebrant: Welcome all! (Marriage Couple), you have arranged this gathering of family and friends today to affirm your love and commitment, not only to one another, but also to all of your loved ones who are witnesses at this blessing today. It is a wonderful thing to look ahead and envision what your life will be like together. This blessing has come to you from simply loving one another. Imagine the future with not only your love to guide you, but also the love you may share with those you love and care for deeply. May love, respect, wisdom and joy bless you all the days of your lives.
Things will change, yet remain remarkable the same. Moments that were taken for granted in the past will now be more meaningful than ever before. You will rejoice in little things and will now include each other in all of your dreams and goals as well as all of your decisions and concerns. You have become equal partners and will find that you will think of your spouse’s well being before your own, a sign of true love.
Now, as you stand at the very beginning of your marriage, your love for each other grows beyond what you knew to be possible. It is with great hope that you can look towards the future and yet again see all possibilities that lie before you as a family of love and light.
Celebrant: Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond themselves and have seen through their separations. They delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Your love for one another is the fruit of your commitment to one another and a miraculous future together. May the blessings of the God follow your family all the days of your lives. Let them keep watch over you and gently guide you onto your true paths of spirituality and enlightenment. They, who are the great Mother and Father of the universe and of all humanity, want you to know from now until all eternity, you will never again be lonely or alone.
(Marriage Couple) have chosen each other from the many men and women on this earth, have declared their love for one other to this community and gathering and have shared their love selflessly to bring hope, love and peace into the world through this union. In mutual self-consecration and in ever deepening love for each other and your family, may you establish a home filled with the spirit of faith, truth, goodness and eternal love for each other, your children and your families and for all sentient beings on this earth and beyond. May your union be a source of love, inspiration, commitment and much happiness to you both.
In the name of the Divine God, I now bless (Marriage Couple) into our universal family as Mr. and Mrs. NAME. We thank all the departed spirits and Universal Energies who have joined us here today. We are grateful for your witness. Hail and Farewell.
This blessing has ended; go in peace and everlasting love.
Please feel free to take any part of this ceremony as part of your own. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.com, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.
Wedding Ceremony #5
August 20, 2008
Filed under Interfaith Ceremonies, Original Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremonies
Celebrant: In many esoteric and metaphysical beliefs the energy and power of crystals is an important part of a healthy lifestyle where we call upon the spirit of each crystal to give us their particular gifts. Some crystals impart love, happiness, inner strength, inner peace, decision and optimism, while others impart meditation skills, aid in health issues and repel negativity.
NAME and NAME have asked that crystals be part of their ceremony. They ask that you take and hold one crystal in your left hand throughout the ceremony and think of all the good intentions and love that you wish for them. These will be passed out before the ceremony begins and you are asked to deposit them in the baskets in the back of the chapel on your way out. In this way, NAME and NAME will take the crystals with all your love and good wishes, and have them as part of the positive energy and strength that you have wished for them as part of their new lives together.
Celebrant: Love is a miraculous gift, and a wedding is a celebration of that magic, and that is what we are here to do today. We all live in the hope to love and be loved, and any sign of the blossoming of love is a true inspiration.
We are gathered together to be overjoyed for and with NAME and NAME who are so wonderfully suited to one another. It is a pure delight for the rest of us to see how happy two people can be. That they have found each other and know in their souls how perfectly mated they are, and that they are choosing on this day of most special days to become for all time, the accurate and beautiful reflection of each other’s essence is a blessing.
Therefore, we give thanks for the pure happiness of NAME and NAME. Their enthusiasm is electric, their belief in the destiny of their love is inspiring, and their great expectations encourage us beyond measure. Marriage is a very special place, we ask that the vision they have of one another always be spellbinding and radiant, just as the power that first brought them together. We pray that as they move into marriage, that they always hold one another in the light of all light, the love of all love.
Today is also a celebration for the rest of us, for it is also a pleasure to participate in their wedding. It lifts our spirits to be in the presence of their love, to bask in the sweet energies of two people who obviously adore one another, who want to play together, laugh together, live together and be together for all the days of their lives.
NAME and NAME, remember that a relationship is a progression, your love will have seasons like Nature itself. There is an old Chinese proverb that says: “The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” and now your journey has begun.
Your wedding today is an exquisite and beautifully choreographed first step. With it you are passing through a portal that will lead to many places, including ones you cannot possibly ever imagine. Wherever it takes you, there will be surprises, for this is the mark of a truly loving relationship – which it will take you where you had not expected to go. Above all, remember that love is what matters. Love will prevail. It is the love you feel for one another that will be the answer to all of your difficulties.
And so today we are here to celebrate, to honor, to laugh, to dance, and to be glad because the inevitable has finally come true. Love is alive and well in this land. NAME and NAME are here to prove it and we are here to celebrate with them.
Congratulations, NAME and NAME, the real fun has just begun!
The couple’s dear friend, NAME, will give the first reading:
And each said to the other,
“I promise to share with you in times of joy
as in times of trouble, to talk and to listen,
to honor and to appreciate you,
to provide for and support you in trust and in love.
I promise to share my hopes and thoughts and dreams with you,
to work with you to build our lives together. I treasure
the wonderful, unique person you are, and I will always
try to be sensitive to your needs. May we grow,
our lives forever intertwined, our love bringing us
always closer. Together, let us create a home that
expresses our individuality and our love for one another.
May it be a home filled with peace, with happiness, and with love.”
The Consecration
Enfolded in joy, inhabited by hope, bathed in the infinite spectrum of light that is love, may you always be infused with it and beautifully illumined by it.
May every desire you have for your love be fulfilled, and may you be given the vision to clearly behold one another, the listening with which to perceive one another most genuinely, and the endless generosity of spirit to nourish one another’s soul and genuinely keep the promises you make today.
The Expression of Intent
NAME and NAME, you have heard about the magic and mysteries of marriage, the way it will continually surprise you, the strength and wisdom it will everlastingly ask of you, do you choose still and happily and in our midst to make the promise of marriage to one another?
Couple: We do.
NAME’s brother, NAME, will give the second reading.
Here all seeking is over,
The lost has been found,
A mate has been found
To share the chills of winter
Now Love asks
That you be united.
Here is a place to rest,
A place to sleep,
A place in heaven.
Now two are becoming one,
The black night is scattered,
The eastern sky grows bright.
At last the great day has come!
The Blessing of the Rings
Rings are an ancient symbol, blessed and simple. Round like the sun, like the eye, and likes arms that embrace. Like circles, which have no beginning or end. For love that is given comes back round again and again. Therefore, may these symbols remind you that your love, like the sun, illumines; that your love, like the eye, must see clearly; and that your love like arms that embrace, is a grace upon the world.
The Marriage Vows
NAME, repeat after me. NAME, I will love you, hold you, and honor you, in good times and in bad,enjoy you, console you, delight you,give thanks for you always. and cherish you dearly until the end of our days.
NAME, repeat after me: NAME, I will love you, hold you, and honor you in good times and in bad enjoy you, console you, delight you give thanks for you always and cherish you dearly until the end of our days.
Exchanging of Rings:
NAME, repeat after me. NAME, as a symbol of how happy you make me and how much I adore you I give you this ring, so you and the whole world will know how much I love you.
NAME, repeat after me. NAME, as a symbol of how happy you make me and how much I adore you I give you this ring so you and the whole world will know how much I love you.
Vow of Support from Guests
Now that you have heard NAME and NAME recite their vows, do you – their family and friends promise from this day forward to encourage and love them to give your guidance, and to support them in being steadfast in the promises that they have made.
Guests: We do.
Pronouncement of Marriage
Now, because you have chosen one another, honored each other with the precious gift of your rings, and pledged to love each other for all eternity, it gives me great joy to pronounce that you are husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.
The Benediction
God Bless You, NAME and NAME. May the heavenly angels guide and protect you through all the life of your love; may you forever live in happiness with one another. May your hearts stay full of love, may your love continually grow stronger with each passing year and forever be happy in each other’s arms and find inner peace, strength and contentment.
The wedding ceremony has ended. Go in peace and love.
Please feel free to take any part of this ceremony as part of your own. Original wedding ceremony by Rev. Vikki Anderson, www.VikkiAnderson.com, Starscape50@aol.com, 973-492-3110. Let me make your wedding the day you will always remember.
