Ceremony

As with everything else, this was a custom element as well.

Ceremony Sequence

Readings:

To start things before people got settled, we had the readings first as a way to begin.  I asked each of my readers to pick something that they, as a married woman, would like to share with Jason and I on our wedding day.  Kimberly picked Shakespeares Sonnet, "Let Not the marriage of true minds admit impediments." (She didn't know how much I looovvee Shakespeare, or that poem was one of my favorites!)  Julie picked Song of Solomon Chapter 2, which in my mind is the only one for the wedding day!

 

Introduction/Celebrant Address

Just prior to the ceremony, Annemarie started to stage people for the readers, who read just before this.  

Words of Gratitude to Family/Friends

       Each of the parents were called upon to give their support and blessing.

Community Support and "Hello"

       Here we paused so everyone could say hi to one another.

Surprise Words and Gifts to Grooms Kids

       We included Jason's two kids, Ayden (7) and Tashia (14) in the ceremony by asking for their         blessing and giving they each a silver ring.

CELEBRANT: (Tashia and Ayden) And today, not only do we join Jason and Marianne as husband and wife, but we celebrate the children of this marriage – Jason’s children, Tashia and Ayden. Today, our couple is so proud to have both Tashia and Ayden at their side.
And Tashia and Ayden on this wedding day, your Father and Marianne want you both to know how much they love both of you, how proud they are of you and how much they look forward to sharing life with you.
(Gifts for children) And as a small token of the love that Jason and Marianne have for both of you, your Dad and Marianne would like to present you each with a small gift – a token of their love and appreciation – and something special for you to take from this day.
(Annemarie hands gifts to couple and they give to children with hugs)

Monitum/The Asking

       The basic: "Do you..."

Formal Wedding Vows 

       We each, separately, wrote our own vows:

Jason, from the first moment our eyes met I knew I would never be the same. You have shaken my world apart and together we have created a new one for ourselves and for our families. Today I pledge to be your partner in all things, to love you unconditionally and without reservations, to share in your laughter and to laugh at you when needed. I promise to always seek the brightness in our life and the positive in you. Though a burden I will be to you sometimes, I will be here to share your burdens, seeking to ease your pain, even when I am the cause. I will share your dreams as we create together new realities and aspirations, upholding the sanctity of our relationship, while keeping the sacred. When I cause you anger, I will use that very heat of that anger to temper the strength of our union, to encourage and challenge you so that we may grow stronger together and our spirits may grow in this union. I pledge to honor and respect your individuality, to always value your feelings. I will honor you in body, mind, and spirit, and seek to never give cause to break that honor. I pledge my very being to you loving only for love’s sake, ever more through loves eternity.


On this day before our friends and family, I promise theses things to you: To always laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sadness. I promise to always listen with a compassionate, open-mind. To respect and cherish all that you are. I promise to share in your dreams, and never let you give up. To grow with you, and never part. I vow to be by your side, your hand in mine as we travel life’s winding path- always and forever. Today, I promise these things to my best friend, my closest companion, and now my wife…

Exchange of Wedding Rings

CELEBRANT: Jason and Marianne, we now we come to the presentation of the rings by which you symbolize and ring your love for one another. As you wear these rings, may you be reminded of your love and devotion to one another.
Ayden and Tashia, would you please present the rings?
CELEBRANT: Ayden and Tashia, before your Father and Marianne exchange rings, I ask you this question: “Do you, Ayden and Tashia, give your blessing for your Father to marry Marianne?”
Children (together): “We do.”
CELEBRANT: Thank you very much. Jason, please slip Marianne’s ring on her finger and repeat these words, phrase by phrase, after me…
(Groom places ring on the tip of the Bride’s ring finger while reciting the words below, then slides the ring all the way on when finished.)
Marianne, This unending circle represents my eternal commitment to you.

Signing of the Ketubah and "Wishing Stones"

        We stole the idea from the Jewish Wedding Ceremony.  A Ketubah is like a prenup. the          groom signs and gives to the bride before the ceremony, and is required by law in Israel.  But we adapted it to be a family Ketubah which stated our intentions in creating a new family that Jason and I and his kids all signed.

      The Wishing Stones are beach rocks we all gathered this last summer on the beach here in Mukilteo.  When the guests came in, they each signed a rock and maybe put a word or two in prayer and blessing for us.

Salt Ceremony

      We did a salt ceremony with salt I gathered from the Dead Sea last March.  We each poured our vial of salt into a large canister containing the Wishing Stones.  The idea is, the marriage can be broken if we can each retrieve our own salt grains out of the mixed pile.   That's not gonna happen!

Announcement

Blessing and Pronouncement of Marriage