WEDDING CEREMONY

Opening and welcome.
Welcome, friends, family, and honored guests. I acknowledge you as representatives of a community who share love and appreciation for Lisa and Kevin. They have enriched your lives, and each of you has enriched theirs. Thank you for being here.

When I first met Lisa and Kevin, they told me their relationship has been a fairytale romance. Mostly when we hear the word "fairytale," we think that means all sweetness and light-that "happily ever after" was the beginning and end of the story. But if you think about it, no fairytale is free of monsters to face, fears and foes to vanquish, and companions who help the hero solve puzzles and surmount obstacles on the way to that happily ever after. And we know that in real life, even "happily ever after" is just a preamble to the next fairytale journey, that of life as husband and wife.

You are companions who have traveled with Kevin and Lisa to this point, and today we gather to witness the ceremony of marriage between them. Marriage is the outward sign of an inward love so deep it demands to be expressed, a mysterious promise and potential that will take a lifetime to fulfill.

Marriage is a leap of faith into an unimaginable future. Kevin and Lisa have chosen, as individuals and as a couple, to take that leap, holding hands and letting the wings of love bear them forward and upward through all that life has in store.

Parent's blessing and tea ceremony
The Chinese word for marriage, hun-yin, implies not just a joining of individuals, but a relationship between families. These ties are spiritual as well as physical, with memories and emotion running as deep as blood. Lisa and Kevin have chosen a tea ceremony from the Chinese tradition to symbolize the joining of their families. Will their mothers please stand?

By offering tea to her new mother-in-law, Lisa honors all that Kevin's parents and family contributed to Kevin becoming the man that she loves and accepts membership in this group of people who love and care for him.

By accepting tea from Lisa, Kevin's mother accepts her into their family as their new daughter, with all the love and care that involves.

By offering tea to his new mother-in-law, Kevin honors all that Lisa's parents and family contributed to Lisa becoming the woman that he loves and accepts membership in this group of people who love and care for her.

By accepting tea from Kevin, Lisa's mother accepts him into their family as their new son, with all the love and care that involves.

Lisa and Kevin also symbolically offer tea to you all (Face congregation and hold cups aloft). You are the larger, intentional family who has supported each of them in becoming who they are. As you have helped bring them to this joyful day, you also have a role in their future together. No marriage succeeds only on the strength of the two people in it. You will be the rock or the sand that the house of Kevin and Lisa's future is built on. If you, friends and family, bless and support this union, if you will be a rock of foundation for that future, please say "I do."

Wedding vows
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said: "We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something." Kevin and Lisa have chosen attendants to stand with them who represent qualities that they want to bring to their marriage.

Kevin: To this union, I bring Rob's humor and fairness.

Lisa: To this union, I bring Kelly's determination and honesty.

Kevin: To this union, I bring Jeri's dedication and heart.

Lisa: To this union, I bring Colleen's idealism and imagination.

Kevin: To this union, I bring Christa's joy and sense of adventure.

Lisa: To this union, I bring Grace's compassion and integrity.

Kevin: To this union, I bring Fred's steadfastness and honor.

Lisa: To this union, I bring Alex's loyalty and passion.

Statement of Intent
Marriage is a commitment to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal.

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher. Commitment is stronger. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships: playmate, confidant, lover, teacher, mentor, listener, healer, witness.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life cannot avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in sickness and health, for better or worse, as long as they live, they create a something new that is greater than themselves, greater than any words can express. This new entity, a marriage, changes life forever in ways that cannot be foreseen.

Kathryn: Kevin, do you willingly enter this marriage and wish to take Lisa to be your wife?

Kevin: I do.

Kathryn: Lisa, do you willingly enter this marriage and wish to take Kevin to be your husband?

Lisa: I do.

Kathryn: Will either of you burden the other?

Both: I may.

Kathryn: Is that your intent?

Both: No.

Kathryn: Will you share the burdens so that your spirits may grow together?

Both: I will.

Kathryn: Will you share each other's dreams, and will you dream together to create new realities and hopes?

Both: I will.

Kathryn: Will either of you cause the other anger?

Both: I may.

Kathryn: Is that your intent?

Both: No.

Kathryn: Will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of your union?

Both: I will.

Kathryn: Will you cause each other pain?

Both: I may. Kathryn:

Is that your intent?

Both: No.

Kathryn: Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?

Both: I will.

Kathryn: Will you share each other's laughter, and will you look for the brightness and the beauty in each other?

Both: I will.

Kathryn: Kevin, will you honor Lisa?

Kevin: I will.

Kathryn: Lisa, will you honor Kevin?

Lisa: I will.

Kathryn: Will you both seek never to give cause to break that honor?

Both: I will.

Reading
(adapted from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran)

We have spoken of joy and sorrow.

"Your sorrow is your joy unmasked. The same well from which your laughter rises has often been filled with your tears.

"And how else can it be? Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? Is not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

"When you are sorrowful, look deep into your heart and you will see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. When you are joyous, look again in your heart, and you will find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. For the deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

"Joy and sorrow are inseparable. When one sits alone with you at your table, remember that the other is asleep in your bed."

Bless them and give thanks for both.

Vows and Exchange of Rings
From the earliest of times the golden circle of the wedding band has been a symbol of wedded love, a lifelong covenant. Your rings are made of pure gold, to remind you daily to keep your love pure. Being one unbroken circle, your rings symbolize unending love. Your rings are adorned with ivy, symbol of entwined, ever-growing life, love and fidelity. May your rings be a constant reminder of this high moment when you have pledged your unending love to one another.

Kevin (repeats after Kathryn): This ring, without beginning or ending, is the symbol of my never-ending love for you. As it is made of purest metal, so I give you my purest love. With this ring, I marry you, pledging my loyalty, love and life.

Lisa (repeats after Kathryn): This ring, without beginning or ending, is the symbol of my never-ending love for you. As it is made of purest metal, so I give you my purest love. With this ring, I marry you, pledging my loyalty, love and life.

These rings mark the beginning of a long journey filled with wonder, surprises, laughter, tears, celebration, grief, joy. May they glow always in reflection of the warmth and love which flow through the wearers today.

Tuan Yuan Ceremony
There is a Chinese legend, one which suggests that the souls of lovers may be linked for eternity. According to this legend, at birth the gods tie an invisible silken red cord around the ankles of a man and a woman who are destined to be husband and wife. As the years pass, the cord grows shorter and shorter until finally they are united. Nothing can break this cord-not distance, not changing circumstances, not even death. And in ancient Celtic traditions, the offering and accepting of wine shows their desire to be joined in marriage. This tradition meets the Chinese tradition of "tuan yuan," or "completing the circle," as Kevin and Lisa share wine from glasses that are tied together with a red silk cord.

Kevin: I offer you wine as I offer my heart and life. If you will have me, drink deep.
(Lisa drinks.)

Lisa: I offer you wine as I offer my heart and life. If you will have me, drink deep.
(Kevin drinks.)

Blessing, Pronouncement, and Kiss
Reading (adapted from The Prophet)

"Your friend is your needs answered; your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving. Your friend is your board and your fireside, for you come to him with your hunger, and you seek her for peace. In the sweetness of love let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures, for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Blessed is this day and this place, and your spirits which have spoken and heard."

Kevin and Lisa, you have vowed to be lovers and friends, partners and playmates, and to share your burdens and your dreams. You have exchanged rings to symbolize these vows to all people. I charge you: Be honest with yourselves and each other. Forgive yourselves and each other. Love yourselves and each other, and let that love shine forth into the world to light the path of humanity. I now pronounce you husband and wife-please greet the new person standing before you with a kiss.

Family, friends, and trusted fairytale companions, please welcome Kevin and Lisa into their life as husband and wife.