|
|
 |
Wedding Vows
We've had so many requests for friends asking for a copy of our ceremony and vows, that we decided to share them with you right here.
Shaman John:
Dear Father, bless the hands that you see before you this day. May they always be held by one another. Give them the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their love.
Help these hands to continue building a relationship founded in your grace, rich in caring, and devoted to reaching for your perfection. May Jennifer and Tommy see their four hands as healer, protector, shelter, and guide.
(At this point, Renee and John step forward)
Renee reads:
"Lou, please face Tommy, and hold his hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. (Bride and Groom now face each other, Tom's upturned hands rest in Jen's hands.)
These are the hands, young, strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.
These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he feels his child stir within your womb.
These are the hands that look so large and cumbersome, yet will be gentle and full of grace as he holds your baby for the first time.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness, will chop firewood to warm his family and inevitably end up carryin' in all the crap you bring home from the garage sale.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and more often; happy tears.
These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming desire and love for you."
John Flanagan reads:
"Tommy, please hold Jen's hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you. (Jen now places her upturned hands in Tom's hands.)
These are the hands that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.
These are the hands that will hold each child loving them, and knowing when it's time to let go.
These are the hands that will comfort you, draw you a bath, dress your wounds, pack your lunch pail, pop the top and give you the first sip of beer, and hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.
They are the hands that you will feel when you are sick, console you when you are grieving, and will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will touch you in joy and excitement and hope, the day she tells you that you are about to have a child; that together you have created a new life.
These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together everything you wish for can be realized."
Shaman John:
"Tommy and Jennifer Lou, do you here in the presence of these witnesses declare your commitment to each other and choose each other as the one with whom you wish to spend the rest of your life? Do you give yourself to each other and accept the gift of self, which each of you gives to the other? Do you pledge to endure all of the difficulties which life may offer, even as you look forward to sharing the joys to be experienced together?
(At this point, everyone is invited to hold hands)
I bid you to hold each other's hands, and look into each other's eyes.
Tommy, Will there be times in your shared life when you will disappoint Jennifer?
(Tommy says:) "Yes"
Will that be your intent?
"No"
Jennifer, Will there be times when you disappoint Tommy?
"Yes"
Will that be your intent?
"No"
*To Both*
Will you love each other less because of it?
"No"
Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?
"Yes"
Jennifer, Will you share his laughter?
"Yes"
Tommy, Will you share her laughter?
"Yes"
*To Both*
Will both of you look for the brightness in life and the positive in each other?
"Yes"
Jennifer, Will you burden him?
"I may"
Will that be your intent?
"No"
Tommy, will you love her less because of it?
"No"
Tommy, Will you burden her?
"I may"
Will that be your intent?
"No"
Jennifer, will you love him less because of it?
"No"
*To Both*
Will you share the burdens of each so that your spirits may grow in this union?
"Yes"
Jennifer, will you share his dreams?
"Yes"
Tommy, will you share her dreams?
"Yes"
*To Both*
Will you strive to realize those dreams together?
"Yes"
And so, the binding is made.
Do you Tommy, take Jennifer Lou as your wife, joining with her today in spirit, offering your friendship and loving care? Do you promise to honor her growth and freedom as well as your own, to cherish and respect her, to love and embrace her in times of challenge as well as times of joy? If so, please say that you do.
Tommy to Jen:
"Jennifer Lou, I choose you to be my partner in love and in life. I promise to nurture you -- body, mind, and spirit. I will laugh and cry with you. I will always stand by you. Will you be my wife?" (Jennifer Lou replies.)
Shaman John::
"Do you, Jennifer Lou, take Tommy as your husband, joining with him today in spirit? Do you promise to care for him and share with him, to love him and learn from him, to laugh with him and listen to him? To grow with him? If so, please say that you do."
Jennifer Lou:
"Tommy, The pieces that I am, you gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. I respect you and will honor your spirit for the rest of my days. I will love you forever, and I vow to keep the pathway to my heart- clear and straight, so that you will never have to duck, or walk sideways, to get to that love.
Yesterday, Renee and I went to get our nails done. I sat there in the chair, both feet in a bucket of water with a pile of books and notes and paper scraps on my lap. The girl that was giving me a pedicure looked up and asked me what I was doing. I let out a sigh and replied, "Well, if you can believe this, I 'm getting married tomorrow, and I haven't even written my vows. I've got all these pages of notes and have no idea what I'm going to say. This is so hard." With that, the manicurist smiled and in a sweet, calm voice shook her head and said to me:
"Oh no. It's not hard. It's easy.
You say: 'I LAA YOU TOO MUCH!
YOU KNOW ME A LOT!'
That's it!
It's simple:
You say, I KNOW YOU LONG TIME.
I LAA YOU FOREVER!
That's it, OK? It's not hard! It's easy!"
And, so, after much thought, I agreed that Miss De-Ow was right, Tommy.
I laa you too much. You know me a lot. That's it. It's simple. I know you long time. I laa you forever. That's it. OK? It's not hard. It's easy. Will you be my husband? "
(Tommy replies.)
Shaman John::
(at this point, Shaman John speaks of the unification of the Flanagan and the Markes families, here symbolized in the "Cracking of the Beer" ceremony, and invites Matthew to hand a Rolling Rock to Tom and a Bud Light to Jen.
Next, Larry Jr., Diana, Randy, Tony, Julie and Jennifer step forward and sip from the Bud Light and John, Janet, Paula, John and Tommy sip from the Rolling Rock. Then, Tommy hands Diana his Rolling Rock, Jen hands Pa her Bud Light, and families each sip then from this beer)
"Tommy and Jennifer Lou were chosen for each other and on this, the first day of summer, have invited you all here together to witness and share the first day of the rest of their lives together. And thereto have pledged their faithfulness each to the other, and have pledged the same by the giving and receiving each of a ring, by the power invested in me, according to the laws of the State of Connecticut, I now pronounce you man and wife. "
(Halleluiah!)
|
|
