Beach Weddings

Traditional Readings

Reading 1:

A reading from the book of Genesis, chapter 2, versus 21 through 25:

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Reading 2:

A reading from the gospel of Mark, chapter 10, versus 6 through 8:

But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.

Reading 3:

A reading from the Apostle Paul, the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 through 7:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Reading 4:

A reading from the Epistle to the Colossians, Chapter 3, verses 12 through 17

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace.

And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another,

with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wedding Poems

All My Happiness Goes Out to You

All my happiness goes out to you:
Pride and pleasure, joy, sweet tears, and love!
Reason, hope, and faith together move
In harmony to bless all that you do.
Let this beginning be the golden dawn
At which all dew-drenched nature sings its glory!
Nor should the darkness shrouding every story
Dim the blue-eyed beauty of this morn.
More of life will come than you can hold:
A flood no mortal witness can withstand.
Rest, then, within a quiet, gentle hand,
Knowing where love is as you grow old.

As I Wait at the Head of the Aisle

As I wait at the head of the aisle
On Dad's arm, about to be wed,
I remember the light of your smile
In the days when I still was a child,
And you kissed me goodnight in my bed.
And I think, as I wait by the aisle,
Of an innocent world without guile,
An Eden where goodness is bred:
Lit by the light of your smile,
A place where one tarries awhile,
Sheltered from sorrow and dread.
I wait by the head of the aisle
With a gift that no years can defile,
A beauty no winter can shed.
And I walk in the light of your smile

From My Present Mountaintop

(To adoptive parents, stepparents etc.)

From my present mountaintop
I look back whence I came:
An unexpected passage through
Some bleak and rough terrain.
I look on what you did for me:
The years of borrowed days,
The sacrifice of liberty
That only love repays;
The grace with which you gave yourselves,
Though not without great cost,
Not blaming me for fortune's gift
Nor counting what was lost.
I feel a flood of gratitude
Like sunlight through my heart,
A light that lights the candle of
The life about to start.

Joy Is in the Simple Things

Joy is in the simple things: touching,
Embracing, chattering on for hours about nothing,
Sure of your place within another's heart.
Simple things: like coming home knowing
Exactly where the treasure lies; like being
At ease with what you do and who you are;
Needing what you already have; accepting,
Desiring what you have been given; feeling
The gratitude of someone who is loved;
Investing goodness instead of money; giving
For the pleasure of giving pleasure; seeing
Fortune come to take you in its arms.
All this joy is yours for the price of loving,
Not only well but long, days of willing,
Years and years of wise and patient love.

Marriage Is a Letting Go

Marriage is a letting go,
A plunge into the deep.
No one need the currents fear
Nor hesitate to leap.
You may your spirits keep.
More is gained by giving up
And less by taking in.
Remember that to dwell in joy
You must make room within.
Marriage Is the Union of
Marriage is the union of
A greater sum than two in love.
Relatives are made by rites
Relating in-laws to delights.
In bringing families together,
A million lives are changed forever.
Go then in joy, yourselves to please:
Each love shapes many destinies.

Our Ages Are Quite Different

(To a Brother)

Our ages are quite different, but
We're siblings nonetheless,
And on your wedding day I feel
A strong, bright tenderness.
There is a hollow in my heart
That you will always fill.
No matter who or where you are,
Your place remains there still.
And now, though you begin anew,
A husband with a wife,
Know my pride and hope and love
Are yours throughout your life.

To My Sister on Her Day

(Brother or Sister to couple)

To my sister on her day,
On whom my love long has shone:
May your wish and world be one,
Your want your wind, your will your way.
So may you find happiness
In being loved and loving well,
So long as choice and chance may tell,
Turning time to tenderness.
Each day may both of you again
Rejoice in what this day you've done.

This Moment Is a Pedestal

This moment is a pedestal
On which I stand to say
What normally I hold within
The sanctum of my heart.
And so it is impossible
For what I feel today
To make it into words without
The agency of art.
I love you, and I've loved you since
Before I knew of love.
And so your happiness to me
Is like a set of wings.
I follow from the mountaintops
And watch you as you move
Into the lifelong mystery
That whispers as it sings.
Ah, brother! Now, and sister, too!*
What worlds you will explore!
What long adventure will go on
With you as man and wife!
And I will cherish both of you
Enchanted on the shore,
And dance within at every joy
That blesses your new life.
*Feel free to reverse the order.

Welcome to Our Family

Welcome to our family,
Beloved of the child we love!
Come join us in what is to be
And share with us what time will prove.
Dear lover of the child we love,
Whom we now love as if our own,
Come share with us what time will prove
And make our house and hearts your home.
Whom we now love as if our own
Because on you our own has smiled,
Come make our house and hearts your home
And be to us another child.
Because on you our own has smiled,
Come join us in what is to be
And be to us another child.
Welcome to our family!

You Are the Mirror of My Past

(Mother to Daughter)

You are the mirror of my past,
The future of my dreams,
The hope for what in life may last,
The jewel that time redeems.
You are yourself, of course, no less,
But also you are mine,
The light of all my treasured days,
The gift for which I pine.
Long may we this closeness share,
This place where memories play,
And if our friendship needs repair,
May love reveal the way.
And now that you're to be a wife
With loves and passions new,
May you find in your sweet life
The joy I have in you.

A Father's Fiancée

A father's fiancée is
An intended mother.
More than two are joined
This day in joy.
Though two may blossom
By the winged boy's fountain,
Other flowers are watered
By that love.

I Wish My Grandmother Were Here with Us

(to deceased grandparent)

I wish my grandmother were here with us
To see and celebrate this happy day.
I have her in the center of my heart
Just like this special rose in my bouquet.
Whoever catches this, please pass it on
To someone who is part of all you see,
To someone who has sculpted you with love,
Who means as much to you, as she to me.

Today Is the Wedding

(Child to Parents)

Today is the wedding
Of more than just two.
We always do something
Far more than we do.
Today is the birth
Of a new family:
One that will fashion
The one I will be.
And so as we welcome
A new man and wife,
I welcome a father*
Whose love changed my life.
I welcome a future
Together as three:
My mother and father
United with me.
*Feel free to change to "mother."