Posts Tagged ‘readings

17
May
09

Lots of fun to be had by all…..

The season has finally begun for me after somewhat of a slow start. I’ve already had quite a few changes to my schedule for various reasons. The weather has affected a lot of people and of course the other important climate; the economic one.

bride and groom cards

Brides are being choosier as to where they want to spend their money and more emphasis is being put on the ceremony and the emotive value of the actual marriage celebration. I think this is a good thing. Of course, I would. It’s very stressful for people who are putting together their own wedding. And I think the major issue is that it all seems so easy until you have to do it. The small things get you.

It’s one thing to book a caterer, but then you need to decide who goes where, what shape of table, what colour linens, what are we drinking, when are we drinking it etc, etc, etc. This is even true for a small home wedding. Just where is the best place for the food to go, and who is looking after it during the day?

Often the best wedding gift you can give is help. If you know the couple are planning a wedding themselves at home, just see if you can help in any way. Simple things that ease the pressure. It could be as easy as, I’ll make sure the plates on the buffet stay replenished, or I’ll stack bottles of water for those trying to stay hydrated in the hot sun. I’ve officiated at weddings where the bride is running around madly in her gown, and it’s almost a welcome breather when she gets to take time out for the ceremony.

If your budget allows for a wedding planner, I do recommend that you use one. If not, then why not ask a good friend or family member to be your planner and bounce ideas off each other. Remember to choose someone that you can argue with, preferably someone that is NOT contributing financially to the event. That way you avoid them feeling that they have the right to override your decisions. On the other hand, don’t treat them as a ‘wedding employee’. No bridezilla tactics allowed!

20
Apr
08

The readings…

It’s good to include readings into your wedding ceremony, whether it’s a religious or secular style of wedding doesn’t really matter. Obviously for those of specific religious beliefs who are having a traditional ceremony may not have too much choice when it comes to the wording. But for others there is a wealth of variety available.

From the classic inclusion of love poems :

Love
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

And in Life’s noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart’s Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within ;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro’ all my Being, thro’ my pulse’s beat ;
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light,
Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you,
How oft! I bless the Lot that made me love you.

to the unique custom written vows for a ‘haunted’ wedding in October….

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.
Harpier cries ‘Tis time, ’tis time.

Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Then……


greet guests………

Welcome all you witches and ghouls
who have gathered here for these fools
They wish to share their immortal love with you
And pledge to always stay true


turn to father of bride….
Who unlocks the dungeon door
Has wiped away the ghastly gore
Who loves his daughter to the core
But just can’t stand her anymore…




father hands over bride…..with kiss


Now turn together so you may see

The person you promise to love for eternity

Personal vows….

Do you Jesse, King of the Porcelain Throne
promise to make Janice’s inner beauty shown
all her dreams and wishes shall be known
To take care of her forever in your home

I so promise….
Do you Janice, Dancer within the lights
promise to occasionally lose a fight
Help to answer the babies cries at night
and to make sure Jesse does what is right?



I so promise….


These rings you take are not to bind
But to show you are of like mind
To have and hold from this night on
In madness and in raging fun
Take these now and show the throng
How love of each other has made you strong.

Repeat after me…
Come one, come all as spirits roam
And witness love brought to our home
On Hallows night our vows are made
In brightest light and darkest shade
Dance madly to the sounds of ghouls
And witness once again these fools.



By power given to me today
By states of this fair USA
By those who wed and stand here now
I accept that these two made their vow
And stand before you for all to see
Husband and Wife in merry glee

Come you all to witness this
The final sealing with a kiss
In death as well as in this life
I now declare you man and wife!

Ladies, gentlemen, Witches, ghouls
I now present these merry fools!
Mr and Mrs…………..

………..the possibilities are endless.

Here’s some points to note:

  • don’t ask a soft spoken person to read
  • don’t ask a nervous person to stand up in front of a crowd
  • don’t expect a child to get it perfectly right
  • make it appropriate to the venue and theme
  • make it non-offensive to differing faiths and belief systems
  • make it truly reflect what you are trying to say to your beloved
  • use other people to read when you don’t want to say a lot yourself
  • vary the readings to include people you couldn’t fit into the wedding party
  • don’t choose a parent unless you choose them all
  • ditto for choosing children
  • don’t make them long and redundant
  • enjoy the time and pauses in the ceremony to take a breath.
17
Mar
08

Ideas for readings…short poems

Short Poems


These Poems could be used as is……or quoted from
Love’s Trinity

by Alfred Austin

Soul, heart, and body, we thus singly name,
Are not in love divisible and distinct,
But each with each inseparably link’d.
One is not honour, and the other shame,
But burn as closely fused as fuel, heat, and flame.

They do not love who give the body and keep
The heart ungiven; nor they who yield the soul,
And guard the body. Love doth give the whole;
Its range being high as heaven, as ocean deep,
Wide as the realms of air or planet’s curving sweep


Love
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

And in Life’s noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart’s Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within ;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro’ all my Being, thro’ my pulse’s beat ;
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light,
Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you,
How oft! I bless the Lot that made me love you.