Wedding and handfasting in lockport, new york - september 2021
Officiant: We cleanse this space for these sacred rites. May all who join us here be blessed.
Guests are seated.
I walk to the altar.
Processional of Bride, Groom, and Wedding Party
Bride and Father walk to altar.
to the ringbear: May I have the rings please?
Officiant: Welcome, beloved, to the wedding of Bride and Groom
We also welcome the spirits of loved ones who have gone before us.
(ring bell and speak the names of lost loved ones)
Bride, do you come here today to be married to this man?
Bride: I do.
Groom, do you come here today to be married to this woman?
Groom: I do.
Guest 1 will now read from 1 Corinthians
Guest 1: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If in speaking I use human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and the ability to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all the faith necessary to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I achieve nothing.
Prophecies will eventually cease, tongues will become silent, and knowledge will pass away,
for our knowledge is partial and our prophesying is partial; but when we encounter what is perfect, that which is imperfect will pass away.
At the present time we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
My knowledge is only partial now; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Thus there are three things that endure: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Thank you, Guest 1. Guest 2, will now read from Carl Sagan.
Guest 2: Carl Sagan said, “The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding.
Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home.
And yet, our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise.
In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries.
They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. Our little planet floats like a mote of dust in the morning sky.
All that you see, all that we can see, exploded out of a star billions of years ago, and the particles slowly arranged themselves into living things, including all of us.
We are made of star stuff.
We are the mechanism by which the universe can comprehend itself.
The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.
The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love.
A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.”
Thank you, Guest 2
Ellen Frizell Wyckoff wrote, “There was once a little girl who cried out with joy when she realized for one little moment that the earth is truly a heavenly body, and that no matter what is happening to us we are really living right up among the stars.”
We usually spend our time concerned with the routine of daily living. But for a few moments every so often, we get to experience something transcendent. When we witness God’s pure beauty, we pause, amazed. We revel in the feeling, deep and beyond words, indisputable and timeless. It leaves us breathless and fulfilled. No matter how much we think of ourselves as rational, logical human beings, we have an irresistible drive to forget reason and simply feel something spiritual. Those are moments to be cherished.
Groom and Bride experience that when they see the beauty of the earth and the cosmos. There is something more than the trees and the meadows and the rocks; there is something deep, sacred, and more striking. When they witness the stars together, it evokes awe and splendor. It is indescribable and immense. This is the same feeling that they discovered by falling in love with one another.
When you are in love, you get to grab a piece of transcendence and take it with you in your daily life. You don’t have to hike through a forest or to the top of a mountain to feel something important and indescribable; you can feel the beauty and enormity of the universe within your own heart. And that is really why we are here today. Because love is enormous, and to take even a tiny piece into yourself and be able to experience and understand it is the greatest gift in the universe. Today, we take the time to celebrate sublime moments in our lives and to remember just how important love is to all of us.
Groom and Bride have chosen to exchange vows today, not only as a celebration of their love and commitment to each other, but as a reminder of the awe they share in God’s limitless universe.
Please join your hands. In holding on to one another, in reaching out (lay on cord) you grasp the Universe.
(Your vows, at the end of each, I will hand you the other’s ring)
“For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”
May your paths be smooth
And the weather be fair
May your hearts fill with joy
And never a care
May your friends be many
And the good times last
And may you look fondly upon the past
May life be kind
And love be true
May many great blessings
Shine upon you.
(tie the knot)
By the power vested in me, by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
Honored and beloved guests, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Groom.
Bride and Groom walk out.
Wedding Party exit.
Announcements
Exit
Guests are seated.
I walk to the altar.
Processional of Bride, Groom, and Wedding Party
Bride and Father walk to altar.
to the ringbear: May I have the rings please?
Officiant: Welcome, beloved, to the wedding of Bride and Groom
We also welcome the spirits of loved ones who have gone before us.
(ring bell and speak the names of lost loved ones)
Bride, do you come here today to be married to this man?
Bride: I do.
Groom, do you come here today to be married to this woman?
Groom: I do.
Guest 1 will now read from 1 Corinthians
Guest 1: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If in speaking I use human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and the ability to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all the faith necessary to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I achieve nothing.
Prophecies will eventually cease, tongues will become silent, and knowledge will pass away,
for our knowledge is partial and our prophesying is partial; but when we encounter what is perfect, that which is imperfect will pass away.
At the present time we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
My knowledge is only partial now; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Thus there are three things that endure: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Thank you, Guest 1. Guest 2, will now read from Carl Sagan.
Guest 2: Carl Sagan said, “The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding.
Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home.
And yet, our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise.
In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries.
They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. Our little planet floats like a mote of dust in the morning sky.
All that you see, all that we can see, exploded out of a star billions of years ago, and the particles slowly arranged themselves into living things, including all of us.
We are made of star stuff.
We are the mechanism by which the universe can comprehend itself.
The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.
The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love.
A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.”
Thank you, Guest 2
Ellen Frizell Wyckoff wrote, “There was once a little girl who cried out with joy when she realized for one little moment that the earth is truly a heavenly body, and that no matter what is happening to us we are really living right up among the stars.”
We usually spend our time concerned with the routine of daily living. But for a few moments every so often, we get to experience something transcendent. When we witness God’s pure beauty, we pause, amazed. We revel in the feeling, deep and beyond words, indisputable and timeless. It leaves us breathless and fulfilled. No matter how much we think of ourselves as rational, logical human beings, we have an irresistible drive to forget reason and simply feel something spiritual. Those are moments to be cherished.
Groom and Bride experience that when they see the beauty of the earth and the cosmos. There is something more than the trees and the meadows and the rocks; there is something deep, sacred, and more striking. When they witness the stars together, it evokes awe and splendor. It is indescribable and immense. This is the same feeling that they discovered by falling in love with one another.
When you are in love, you get to grab a piece of transcendence and take it with you in your daily life. You don’t have to hike through a forest or to the top of a mountain to feel something important and indescribable; you can feel the beauty and enormity of the universe within your own heart. And that is really why we are here today. Because love is enormous, and to take even a tiny piece into yourself and be able to experience and understand it is the greatest gift in the universe. Today, we take the time to celebrate sublime moments in our lives and to remember just how important love is to all of us.
Groom and Bride have chosen to exchange vows today, not only as a celebration of their love and commitment to each other, but as a reminder of the awe they share in God’s limitless universe.
Please join your hands. In holding on to one another, in reaching out (lay on cord) you grasp the Universe.
(Your vows, at the end of each, I will hand you the other’s ring)
“For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”
May your paths be smooth
And the weather be fair
May your hearts fill with joy
And never a care
May your friends be many
And the good times last
And may you look fondly upon the past
May life be kind
And love be true
May many great blessings
Shine upon you.
(tie the knot)
By the power vested in me, by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
Honored and beloved guests, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Groom.
Bride and Groom walk out.
Wedding Party exit.
Announcements
Exit