Set-up
We're getting married at the northern end of Siesta Key Beach under a bamboo canopy. Island Girl Sunset Weddings is doing the set-up and coordination.
Readings
We are planning to include readings during our ceremony to add some time or "fluff" as our officiant put it, hehe. I like the following three readings, but of course Jason has to okay these as well. A big thanks to Redshoegirl for the readings.
First, Blessings for a Marriage by James Dillet Freeman. I think I'd like Jason's mom to read this.
"May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another - not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another's presence - no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another."
Second, an excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit. My mom used to read this to us as kids and she was always sobbing by the end of the book, so I think I want her to read this.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Lastly, Robert Fulgham's "Union". I think I'll ask my grandma to read this.
"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."
Engagement Ring Ceremony
Hopefully we can incorporate this into our ceremony. Since we will have been engaged nearly 3 years when we get married I think it would be nice to recognize the engagement ring. Thanks to BlondeBeachBride_08 for the idea!
"The engagement ring is a symbol of promise and intention. Now the intention is realized and the promise fulfilled. Please place your engagement ring on *Brides's Name* finger over her wedding band to symbolize that the love that brought you together will always protect and sustain your marriage."
Sand Ceremony
I definitely want to have this included in our ceremony. It has the same symbolic meaning as the traditional Unity Candle, but with a beach twist. Plus, it's a special memento that we will be able to display in our home for years to come. This is the wording that I have put together for our ceremony. I took parts from different ceremonies to make our own.
"As you stand beside the ocean tide, may your love always be as constant as these never-ending waves that pour near your feet, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea; Your love came softly upon each others heart, just as the foam comes softly upon the sand, and just as there will never be a morning without the ocean's flow, so there will never be a day without love for each other. This beautiful union is symbolized through the combining of these two individual containers of sand. The first container represents you Sarah, in all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other container represents you Jason, in all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create an entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be."
Considering it will be quite hot and humid for our wedding ceremony, I decided palm fans would be a great touch. I got my raffia fans from Oriental Trading Company and am wrapping the handles with blue ribbon and a fuschia bow. I'll post pictures when they're finished!
