| Readings (Page 4) |
| READING NO: 39 Love is always, Melissa Jaggard Love is an ocean of discovery A multitude of experiences to treasure It is the alliance of two lives for always Not to become one life, but to be two hearts beating in time Love will hold you near to one another So that you never feel alone It will keep you warm within So that there never be frost around your hearts Love will grow, will ripen and be ever strong So that there never be emptiness in your souls Love is the most precious gift to bestow A resplendent gift to receive And MARRIAGE is the promise to cherish your love To guide its path and never let its glory pass unnoticed Love is the rapture of this day that will be with you always Fulfilling you, shining through you ALWAYS READING NO: 40 I Love You. Roy Croft. I love you Because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good. And more than any fate could have done To make me happy. You have done it without a touch, Without a word, without a sign. You have done it By being yourself. Perhaps that is what being a friend means, After all. READING NO: 41 Now we are one, Kate Fisher When thoughts take wing a wedding ring encircles all our dreams And love abounds above, around, enriching all our schemes We plan together all our life to make our dreams come true When love is there a smile, a prayer, a hug, a kiss will do And then together hand in hand we go with love we've won And you will see the you and me that once were two -- are one READING NO: 42 Best and most important, Bertrand Russell It is therefore possible for a civilized man and woman to be happy in marriage, although if this is to be the case a number of conditions must be fulfilled. There must be a feeling of complete equality on both sides; there must be no interference with mutual freedom; there must be the most complete physical and mental intimacy; and there must be a certain similarity in regard to standards of values ... Given all these conditions, I believe marriage to be the best and most important relation that can exist between two human beings. READING NO: 43 Love’s Philosophy, Percy Bysshe Shelly The fountains mingle with the river, and the river with the ocean, The winds of heaven mix forever, with a sweet emotion: Nothing in the world is single; all things by a law divine, in one another’s being mingle. Why not I with thine? See the mountains kiss high heaven and the waves clasp one another; no sister flower would be forgiven if it disdained its brother and the sunlight clasps the earth and the moon beams kiss the sea. What are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me? READING NO: 44 A Happy Couple. A happy couple standing hand in hand looking ahead to a promised land. (Bride’s and Groom’s Names), today as you promise to have and to hold, and you seal those vows with small bands of gold. As you journey the path of love together, so stormy as well as sunny weather. Remember there'll be some hills to climb, but you will be guided from time to time. So if ever you feel you've lost your way, just look to each other, and think of this day READING NO: 45 This Day, Brian Zouch This day we shall remember well, as in our married love we dwell and cast our minds back to this time. You made me yours and I you mine In wedded love we choose to be, each binding each and yet each free. As days and months and years go on, our love will hold us firm and strong. The marriage vow this day we say, a vow we'll build on day by day and as we walk the path of life, the world will know we're man and wife. We two who now are but one soul, have each to play a different role and yet we know that all shall see, that bond of love twixt you and me. For in this life we each shall care, that all we do isall times fair, we pledge this day to be as one, in all those wondrous yearsto come. READING NO: 46 A Marriage Blessing As you enter into the little world that you promised to make brighter for each other, may He who harnesses the waves and hangs the sun out in the sky and puts the song in the birds especially bless you and make your marriage a good and a happy one! Love is indeed "a many splendored thing!" When it is given and returned, it enriches both the Lover and the Beloved. And as long as two people love each other, nothing in this world is too difficult or too impossible, for wanting to do something for the one you love takes all the burden out of it and the roughest way becomes smooth when you can travel it hand in hand. READING NO: 47 What Is Love? What is Love? No words can define it, it’s something so great only God could design it. Wonders of Wonders, beyond man’s conception, And only in God can love find true perfection. For love is enduring and patient and kind, It judges all things with the heart not the mind, And love can transform the most commonplace into beauty and splendor And sweetness and grace . . . For love is unselfish, giving more than it takes, And no matter what happens love never forsakes, It’s faithful and trusting and always believing, Guileless and honest and never deceiving . . . Yes, love is beyond what man can define, For love is immortal. READING NO: 48 The Gift of Lasting Love, Helen Steiner Rice Love is much more than a tender caress And more than bright hours of gay happiness, For a lasting love is made up of sharing Both hours that are “joyous” and also “despairing” . . . . It’s made up of patience and deep understanding And never selfish and stubborn demanding. It’s made up of “climbing the steep hills together” And facing with courage “Life’s stormiest weather” . . . . And nothing on earth or in heaven can part A love that has grown to be part of the heart And just like the sun and the stars and the sea This love will go on through eternity - For “true love” lives on when earthly things die For it’s part of the spirit that soars to the sky. READING NO: 49 Blessed Are We. Blessed are we to go forward with love, For travel we will on the wings of a dove. As we travel through life forsaking all others, To be husband and wife, friends, and lovers. To learn from each other the knowledge we hold, And to face all tribulations and always be bold. We are not as young as we would like to be, But every new day will be a pleasure to see, To share and to care for each other always, And to love one another to the end of our days. These are the vows we make here today, And in our hearts we know they always will stay. READING NO: 50 Our Friendship, Susan Polis Schutz We have formed a friendship that has become invaluable to me. We discuss our goals and plan our future. We express our fears and talk about our dreams. We can be very serious or we can just have fun. We understand each other’s lives and try to encourage each other in all that we do. We have formed a friendship that makes our lives so much nicer. READING NO: 51 Time and Love Time is the essence of everyone’s life, Take time with your loved ones Have the time of your life. For nobody knows what tomorrow may bring, Be it luck, be it love, Can be most anything. But one thing I do know I’ll forever Love you still, My heart keeps on beating and my Dreams fulfill. Every minute, everyday, that you pass my way, I’ll love you forever, tomorrow and today. READING NO: 52 Apache Wedding Prayer Now you will feel no rain, For each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, For each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness, For each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two bodies, But there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place To enter into the days of your togetherness And may your days be good and long upon the earth. READING NO: 53 Comfort Together, George Eliot Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, Of feeling safe with a person. Having neither to weigh thoughts Nor measure words, but pour them all out just as they are, Chaff and grain together, And a faithful hand will take and sift Them, keep what is worth keeping, And with a breath of kindness blow the rest away. READING NO. 54 A Love Like This, Dan Fogleberg And now the lonely days are done And with each rising of the sun, love begins anew And if you ever ask me why I know that my love will never die I'll say these words to you Of all the souls I've ever known Mine sings to yours and yours alone and yours sings just to me In all this world I'll never find A heart that could beat as close to mine and this time I can see A love like this is so hard to find And so many never do And loves like this, when they even exist Are precious and few, you know they're precious and few Down the miles, through the years Yours is the star by which I steer, the brightest star I've known And when I feel all hope is gone, yours is the love that leads me on The light that guides me home The light that guides me home Your light will guide me home |
| Hudson Valley Ceremonies |