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Procession
Music: Because You loved Me
Brian w/attendants @ front.
Enter Robin w/attendants @ start of music.
Opening
[Khaos]
Good afternoon! We are gathered here today, not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather what already is! We do not create this marriage, because we cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with Robin and Brian and their friends and families the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken place in their lives.
So let the ceremony begin!
Statement of Intent
Brian and Robin, Know now before you go further, that since your lives have crossed in this life you have formed ties between each other. As you seek to enter this state of matrimony you should strive to make real, the ideals, which give meaning to both this ceremony and the institution of marriage.
With full awareness, know that today you are not only declaring your intent to be wed before your friends and family, but you speak that intent also to your creative higher powers.
The promises made today and the ties that are bound here greatly strengthen your union; they will cross the years and lives of each soul's growth.
Do you still seek to enter this ceremony?
[Both] Yes, We Seek to Enter.
[Brian] Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth;
[Robin] Where my life was dark you have brought light.
[Brian]
Robin, I offer myself to you as your husband because I know that we should make the journey of life together. Let us never fail to speak honestly, to respect each other, and to work to keep ourselves always on a steady course. I will make my home in your heart from this day forward.
[Robin]
Brian, I offer myself to you as your wife because I know that we should make the journey of life together. Let us never fail to speak honestly, to respect each other, and to work to keep ourselves always on a steady course. I will make my home in your heart from this day forward.
Vows
[Khaos] Will you please face each other and join hands?
(they do so)
Brian, do you take Robin as your lawfully wedded wife, committing yourself to her happiness and self-fulfillment as a person? Do you promise to love, honor, trust and protect her in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity and to be true and loyal to her as long as you both shall live?
[Brian] I do.
[Khaos]
Robin, do you take Brian as your lawfully wedded husband, committing yourself to his happiness and self-fulfillment as a person? Do you promise to love, honor and trust him in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity and to be true and loyal to him as long as you both shall live?
[Robin] I do.
[Khaos]
As you take these preliminary vows, Brian and Robin, I would have you remember:
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Brian, Will you repeat after me?
Robin, I promise to give you the best of myself
and to ask of you no more than you can give.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realize that your interests, desires and needs
are no less important than my own.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to share with you my time and my attention
and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to keep myself open to you,
to let you see through the window of my world into my innermost fears
and feelings, secrets and dreams.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to grow along with you,
to be willing to face changes in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] 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.
[Brian] (repeats)
[Khaos] Robin, Will you repeat after me?
Brian, I promise to give you the best of myself
and to ask of you no more than you can give.
[Robin] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realize that your interests, desires and needs
are no less important than my own.
[Robin] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to share with you my time and my attention
and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship.
[Robin] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to keep myself open to you,
to let you see through the window of my world into my innermost fears
and feelings, secrets and dreams.
[Robin] (repeats)
[Khaos] I promise to grow along with you,
to be willing to face changes in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting.
[Robin] (repeats)
[Khaos] 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.
[Robin] (repeats)
Exchange of Rings
Ring bearer proceeds to front & hands rings to Best man; Best man moves closer to Khaos.
[Khaos] (facing rings) These rings are circles, unbroken, let them symbolize the vows by which Brian and Robin have bound themselves to each other.
Best Man hands groom's ring to Maid of Honor and resumes his place.
Best Man hands bride's ring to Brian.
[Brian]
Robin, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always that you are surrounded by my enduring love, and protection. (Places ring on her finger) With this ring, I thee wed.
Maid of Honor gives ring to Robin
[Robin]
Brian, with free and unconstrained soul, I give you all that 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. My love has given you my heart and my soul. They are yours to do with as you please. Please be careful with them.
(Places ring on his finger) With this ring, I thee wed.
Charge to Couple with additional special vows
[Khaos]
Just as two threads woven in opposite directions will form a most beautiful tapestry, so too can your two lives merged together make a beautiful marriage. To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another - and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both pledge today to share together.
[Brian]
Starting each day, I shall remind myself to reach out and touch you, gently, with my word, my eyes, and with my fingers, because I don't want to miss feeling you.
[Robin]
Long after moments of closeness have passed, a part of you remains with me and warms the places your hands have touched and hastens my heart for your return.
Readings
From "Corelli's Mandolin", by Louise De Bernières
Read by Sandy Salas
And another thing. Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then it subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the public proclamation of promises of eternal passion…. That is just being "in love," which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
The Olive Tree, Author Unknown
Read by David Edwards
I'm here for you...now and always no matter how far time and space takes us....
Whether you walk away from me today or you stay and serve me I will not
turn from you. I am as patient as time itself; I will take not from you
unless you give freely and completely of yourself but I give onto you
regardless-- for my love is unconditional....
Like the olive tree that can both feed you and shade you I am there
seemingly eternal to your short life on this earth.
If you need my fruit to feed your hunger I will give you all the fruit
you need...
If your skin grows dry and loses its luster, the oil from my fruit will
restore it and make it glisten,
When you need comfort my leaves will gently caress your face with the
slightest breeze,
When you need discipline my branches will correct you when the wind
blows strong,
If you just need my shade to protect you from the sun, my branches will
shade and protect you.
If you need warmth at night my fallen branches will fuel the fire to
keep you warm and safe; if you need a refreshing breeze my leaves will
fan you and cool you.
You are my gardener. When you submit to me; you tend that which keeps
me vibrant and full of life.
When you kneel under me and till the soil you give breath to my roots,
When you water me, my sap flows strong through me and I raise my limping
branches,
When you soil yourself collecting fertilizer with your bare hands you
strengthen me, and humble me with your devotion.
Although my life will go on, life would not be the same without you.
Your dedication and unconditional care for me keeps me vibrant and
nurtures my very core. The sustenance and protection I give you seems
little reward for your servitude. Still the gardener serves the tree
from her heart and the tree gives to her heart all that he can!
I am planted firmly on the ground and cannot follow you if you walk away
from me.... But be assured I will survive.
One hundred years later and two of your lifetimes; I will still be there
waiting for you in the same spot to offer you all that I do now.
Stay with me and be my gardener. You cannot get lost in me for we are
complementary to each other. I am your devotion, and you give meaning
to my existence. Apart we live life and survive; together we bloom
eternally!
Proclamation
[Khaos]
Since Brian and Robin have pledged their love and commitment to each other before these witnesses and their ancestors, I declare that they are husband and wife. May their love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto them.
Benediction
APACHE PRAYER OF BENEDICTION:
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no loneliness for you. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. Go this night to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days be good and long together.
You may start your lives together with a kiss.
(and they do!)
Presentation
(Couple turns to face attendees)
[Khaos] It is now my honor and privilege to present to you
Mr. and Mrs. Brian Chatfield.
Recession
Music: You Had Me From Hello
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