New York Wedding Officiant
For
the Bride - Mary Kay
(Type Bridal in the search box)
Scripture Readings
Old
Testament
Song of Solomon 2:10, 13,16
My Beloved spake, and said
to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For low, the winter
is past, the rain is over and gone; Flowers appear on the earth; the time
of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in
our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with
the tender grapes give a good smell. Arise my love, my fair one, come
away. My beloved is mine and I am his.
New
Testament
I Corinthians 13
Though I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels, and I have not love, I have become sounding brass, or a
clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I
could move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow
all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and
have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love
does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not
behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in differences, but rejoices in the truth; bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love
never fails.
Prayer
of St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where
there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury,
pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is desire,
hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy' O
Divine Master, Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to
console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to
love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that
we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal
life.
Cherokee
Prayer
Oh Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath
gives life to all the world. Hear me; I need our strength and wisdom. Let
me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear
your voice, Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have
taught my people. Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all
that comes towards me. Le me learn the lessons you have hidden in every
leaf and rock. Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of
helping others. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me. I
seek strength not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest
enemy, myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and
straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may
come to you without shame.
Apache
Wedding Blessing
Now you will feel no rain, for each will be the
shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each will be the
warmth for the other. Now there is no more loneliness, for each will be
the companion for the other. Now there are two bodies, but there is only
one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into your
days of togetherness. And may you days be good and long upon the
earth.
How Do I
Love Thee?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My
soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal
Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by the sun
and candle light, I love thee freely, as men strive for right; I love thee
purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old grief's, and with my childhood's faith, I love thee with a love
I seem to lose With my lost saints - I love thee with the breath, Smiles,
tears, of all my life - and, if God choose, I shall but love them better
after death.
On
Marriage
From Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
Then Almita spoke
again and said, And what of Marriage, Master? And he answered saying: You
were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be
together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be
together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your
togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one
another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea
between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from
one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same
music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the
hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near
together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and
the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Happiness in marriage
Happiness in marriage is not
something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art
of marriage, the little things are 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 shouldn't 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 to
face 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
expecting the husband to wear a halo and the wife to have wings. 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 in giving each other an atmosphere in
which each can grow.
It is finding room for things of the spirit.
It
is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is in establishing a
relationship in which the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual
and the obligation in reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right
partner, it is in being the right partner.
Blessing
For A Marriage
James Dillet Freeman
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 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 because the
mountain is towering over it.
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.
My you embrace one
another, but not 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 the good sense 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,
warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even in distant
cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another
happy.
May you have love, and may you find it in loving one
another.
Taken
from poems by
Denise Braxton Brown and Peggy Wrightsman
Let's grow
old together, beginning with today.
Let's work slowly with each other
and build a relationship that we can both enjoy being a part of.
Let's
share love and understanding that neither of us is perfect; we both
subject to human frailties.
Let's hold each other close and whisper
through the night, pledging our love, honoring our commitment.
Let's
encourage each other to pursue our dreams, even when we're weary from
trying.
Let's expect the best that we both have to give and still love
when we fall short of our expectations.
Let's be friends and respect
each other's individual personality and give one another room to
grow.
Let's be candid with each other and point out strengths and
weaknesses.
Let's understand each other's personal philosophy, even if
we don't agree.
Let's lie awake long into the night sharing our
innermost secrets.
Let's be friends as well as lovers.
Let's laugh
at time and plan with each other and wonder how we ever got along without
this love we've found.
Let's never take for granted these moments that
we've shared, but always be reminded of how intensely we have learned to
live, how completely we have learned to love.
Let's grow old together
and look back on life and smile.
THIS IS FRIENDSHIP
"I love you, not only for
what you are, but
for what I am when I am with you.
I love you, not only for what you have
made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all
the frivolous and weak things that you cannot help seeing here, and drawing out
into the light all the beautiful, radiant things that no one else has looked
quite far enough to find.
I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool in me and for laying firm
hold of
the possibilities of good in me.
I love you for closing your eyes to the discords in me, and adding to the music
in me
by worshipful listening. . ."
LET US NOT ASK TOO MUCH
Let us know how not to ask
too much of each other,
Share body and mind and spirit without giving up freedom,
Love without trying to absorb, be kind yet not smother with kindness,
Walk together, but neither retard the other's pace.
I would not lead one who did not choose to follow
Or follow one who demanded that I be led.
The spark of selfhood, that high and precious thing,
Let us not dampen it with scorn or blame: Each his own master and the two of us
richer, dearer because of it
But neither sunk passively in the other, That alone is true mating.
Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again, May God hold
you in the hollow of his hand
FOUNDATIONS OF MARRIAGE
by Regina Hill
Love, trust, and forgiveness are the foundations of marriage. In marriage, many days will bring happiness, while other days may be sad. But together, two hearts can overcome everything...In marriage, all of the moments won't be exciting or romantic, and sometimes worries and anxiety will be overwhelming. But together, two hearts that accept will find comfort together. Recollections of past joys, pains, and shared feelings will be the glue that holds everything together during even the worst and most insecure moments. Reaching out to each other as a friend, and becoming the confidant and companion that the other one needs, is the true magic and beauty of any two people together. It's inspiring in each other a dream or a feeling, and having faith in each other and not giving up... even when all the odds say to quit. It's allowing each other to be vulnerable, to be himself or herself, even when the opinions or thoughts aren't in total agreement or exactly what you'd like them to be. It's getting involved and showing interest in each other, really listening and being available, the way any best friend should be. Exactly three things need to be remembered in a marriage if it is to be a mutual bond of sharing, caring, and loving throughout life: love, trust, and forgiveness.