Readings

On the knot today we had a post about readings for the ceremony. These are some of my favorites and I dont want to forget them so I'm saving them here!

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 commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all 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 that 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, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.


I Promise
~Dorothy R. Colgan~
I promise to give you the best of myself ...
and to ask of you no more than you can give
I promise to accept you the way you are...
I fell in love with you
for the qualitis, abilities, and outlook on life that you have,
and I wont try to reshape you in a different image.
I promise to respect you as a person
with your own interests, desires, and needs,
and to realize that those are sometimes different,
but no less important, than my own.
I promise to share with you...
my time, my close attention,
and to bring joy and strength and imagination to our relationship.
I promise to keep myself open to you...
to let you see through the window of my personal world into my innermost fears
and feelings, secrets and dreams.
I promise to grow along with you...
to be willing to face change as we both change in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting.
And finally, I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
with all I have to give and all I feel inside...
in the only way I know how...
Completely and forever.


I Love You This Much
~author unknown~
I Love You This Much
Enough to do anything for you, give my life, my love,
my heart and my soul to you and for you.

Enough to willingly give all of my time, efforts, thoughts, talents,
trust and prayers to you.

Enough to want to protect you, care for you, guide you, hold you,
comfort you, listen to you, and cry to you and with you.

Enough to be completely comfortable with you, act silly around you,
never have to hide anything from you, and be myself with you.

I love you enough to share all of my sentiments,
dreams, goals, fears, hopes, and worries, my entire life with you.

Enough to want the best for you, to wish for your successes,
and to hope for the fulfillment of all your endeavors.

Enough to keep my promises to you
and pledge my loyalty and faithfulness to you.

Enough to cherish your friendship,
adore your personality, respect
your values and see you for who you are.

I love you enough to fight for you,
compromise for you, and sacrifice myself for you if need be.

Enough to miss you incredibly when
we're apart, no matter what length

Enough to believe in our relationship, to stand by it through the worst of times,
to have faith in our strength as a couple, and to never give up on us.

Enough to spend the rest of my life with you,
be there for you when you need or want me,
and never, ever want to leave you or live without you.

I love you this much.

CS Lewis
If the old fairy-tale ending "They lived happily ever after" is taken to mean "They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married," then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be "in love" need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense-love as distinct from "being in love"—is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be "in love" with someone else. "Being in love" first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

-Idea for a reading from your officiant-
Officiant says to you-) *Bride and grooms names* - Please face each other and hold hands, so you may feel the gift that you are to one another.
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 wracks 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 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.