July 18, 2008, 7 PM
West Meadow Beach
We are gathered here to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love and to add our best wishes to the words that shall unite Chris and Coleen in marriage. The family and close friends that are present here today have supported and blessed Chris and Coleen in many different ways. For that the bride and groom express their deepest gratitude. With the horizon as our only walls, the sky our only only ceiling and the earth as our floor, we meet here in nature to affirm their love.
Chris and Coleen have chosen to incorporate the ancient Celtic ritual of handfasting into their wedding ceremony today. They will join hands to form an infinity circle, symbolizing the entirety of the universe as represented in their relationship.
Know, before you go any further, that since your lives have crossed in this life, you have formed eternal and sacred bonds. As you seek to enter this state of matrimony you should strive to make real the ideals that to you, give meaning to this ceremony and to the institution of marriage. With full awareness, know that you are not only declaring your intent to be handfasted before your friends and family, but that you speak that intent also to the universal powers. The promises made today and the ties that are bound here greatly strengthen your union and will cross the years.
Do you still wish to enter this ceremony?
Chris and Coleen- this cord is a symbol of the lives you have chosen to lead together. Up until this moment you have been separate in thought, word and action. As your hands are bound together by this cord, so too shall your lives be. (Cord is bound)
Chris, if you would, please repeat after me:
I Chris, choose you Coleen, to be my wedded wife; to live with you and to laugh with you; to work by your side and dream in your arms; to fill your heart and to feed your soul; to always seek out the best I can in you and love you with all my heart, until the end of our forever.
Coleen, if you would, please repeat after me:
I Coleen, choose you Chris, to be my wedded husband; to live with you and to laugh with you; to work by your side and dream in your arms; to fill your heart and to feed your soul; to always seek out the best I can in you and love you with all my heart, until the end of our forever.
As it is, you cannot always be physically joined.
(Cord is removed without untying it)
And so, we use the wedding ring to symbolize that connection; it is a constant reminder of the sacred bond between husband and wife.
Who holds the rings? (rings are given to bride and groom)
Chris and Coleen, you hold here in your hands the wedding rings that you will exchange with one another. These rings are a symbol of your eternal love, a love that, like a circle, has no beginning and no end.
As you understand this and wish to affirm the love that the giving and receiving of these rings represents, please exchange your rings with one another and state for each, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
(Chris and Coleen exchange rings)
In as much as you have consented together to enter the bonds of matrimony and having pledged and sealed your vows by the giving and receiving of rings, your lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust. Above you are the stars, below you the earth. Like the stars, your love should be a constant source of light and like the earth, a firm foundation on which to grow. It gives me great pleasure to announce the following:
By the power vested in me, by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride!!