I was suppose to post this quite a while ago, but didn't get to it. I also did not get around to ordering our official certificate, which Greg reminded me of a thousand times, which I didn't do because I thought the certificate we had on that day was the right one, turns out he was right and we need the official stamped one for the states. So I owe Greg a huge apology for being a jerk about it and am off to the offices downtown to correct my stupidity.
Wedding ceremony for Kelly and Greg
Saturday 20 March 2010
Celebrant: Ruth Gardner
Ceremony will take place on Brighton Beach Bridge Street
The couple will mark out a space with three concentric circles beforehand.
Couple and celebrant will stand in inmost circle.
Witnesses will stand in middle circle.
Purification: Ruth to light white sage smudgestick and walk around outside of outer circle, saying: I banish all negativity from this sacred circle.
Then move to the inner circle and say:
I welcome the energy of Earth to this circle.
Earth which we can feel solidly beneath our feet, and which holds us as this circle holds us.
I welcome the energy of Air to this circle.
Air which inspires us as this circle inspires us. Air which reaches up to the sky and forms our wedding canopy today.
I welcome the energy of Fire to this circle.
The fire we can feel in the warmth of the sun. Fire which warms us as this circle warms us.
I welcome the energy of Water to this circle.
Water which flows with us as this circle flows with us. Water which reaches to every part of the planet and unites us with those who are far away.
I acknowledge the tangata whenua of this land, and all the ancestors who have walked the path of life before us.
Today we stand at the equinox, the time when dark and light are equal, and the world is in balance, both here and in the northern hemisphere that is your home.
When an man and a woman unite in marriage, their personal union draws its power from the cosmic marriage that underlies the whole of existence – the bonding of the divine masculine and feminine energies emerging from the Creator’s infinite light to generate existence, a world, and life. On each level, masculine and feminine energies unite to give birth to the next link in the chain of spiritual worlds that channel the flow of divine vitality into our world. This means that we can use our own marriages as a metaphor through which to better understand the divine reality. And, because we know that human marriage derives from the cosmic marriage of God and creation, studying the mystical texts which scrutinize these divine processes allows us to better understand the foundations of our gender differences, how to become better husbands and wives to our spouses, and to better actualize the tremendous potential of marriage.
Love is the language of the soul, and the more in tune a person is with the soul, the greater the capacity for pure love, unsullied by ulterior motives and ego.
As you prepare now to enter into marriage let us consider four aspects of God.
Let us now consider those Aspects of God which have special significance on this day.
The first of these is Happiness, Vav Hey Vav.
To experience happiness we must first drop our ego. This enables us to move forward towards actual and lasting fulfilment. We restrain our selfish longing as we ask for what our soul needs, not what our ego wants.
Looking ahead, we seek elevation doe the soul and real transformation.
We restrict our dark impulses and tendencies towards negativity and complaining.
We appreciate everything around us and reach into our soul at the deepest level to connect with real happiness and true joy.
Pause
The second Aspect is Sharing the Flame, Mem Lamed Hey.
With this aspect we tap into the infinite, the hidden dimension, the ultimate source of strength and light, and imagine sharing that joy with all those around us.
Darkness recedes as we see candles burning across the universe, signifying the spread of joy and light.
We ask for the strength and certainty to go out into the world to share goodness and create greater opportunities for Light, love, and compassion.
Pause
The third Aspect is Angelic influences, Hey Zayin Yud.
With this we will transform our character.
As we close our eyes and reach out into the network of angels in the universe, we see particles all around us, and we commit to connecting with good forces.
We will be more tolerant, sharing, and compassionate.
We see an abundance of po0sitive angels and welcome them into our realm, shutting out the negative influences.
We will drop our ego and allow room for the universe and its good angels to bring Light into our life.
Pause
Finally we consider the Power of Prosperity, Damech Aleph Lamed.
We transcend our financial burdens and allow the Light to provide for us.
As prosperity grows, we continue to share, to give back more to others.
We will not obsess about money.
We distance ourselves from our money issues, acknowledging that in our desire for it, perhaps we have lost out on other parts of our life.
And as we open up the channel for actual prosperity, we feel even greater abundance, and endless supply of Light.
Infinite fulfilment awaits us.
Pause
With our hearts and minds focussed on these four aspects, we move towards the purpose of today’s ceremony.
Kelly, do you come here freely and without reservation, to give yourself in marriage to Greg? I do
Greg, do you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself in marriage to Kelly? I do
It is now time to make your sacred vows to each other.
Greg, please take Kelly’s hands, look into her eyes, and repeat after me:
I Greg Lenier Miller, take you Kelly Marie Carter, to be my lawful wedded wife, to love, to honour, and to cherish.
Kelly, please repeat after me:
I Kelly Marie Carter, take you Greg Lenier Miller, to be my lawful wedded husband, to love, to honour, and to cherish.
Do you have the rings?
For thousands of years, people have exchanged rings as a symbol of their commitment to each other. Rings are a visible sign of the love which binds two lives together. The ring is a circle and it is endless as we are all part of the circle of life and the eternity of love. May these rings be blessed by the love which unites your both, together with the love that surrounds us all today. As often as you see these rings may you be reminded of this moment, and of the endless love you’ve promised to each other.
Greg, please put this ring upon the finger of your bride and repeat after me:
“Be thou consecrated to me, as my wife, by this ring, according to the Law of Moses and of Israel
Kelly, please repeat after me: May this ring, I receive from thee, be a token of my having become thy wife, according to the Law of Moses and of Israel
Kelly, please place this ring on Greg’s finger and repeat after me:
This ring is a symbol, that thou art my husband, in accordance with the
Law of Moses and of Israel
Kelly and Greg, because you have chosen one another, honoured each other with the gift of rings, and pledged to love each other it gives me great pleasure to announce that you are now husband and wife.
Traditionally this announcement is sealed with a kiss.
As is customary within the Jewish tradition, I now invite you each to recite the seven blessings:
First Blessing:
Greg: Baruch Ata Adonoy
Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
Sheh’hakol bara lich’vodo.
Kelly Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has created everything for His glory.
Second Blessing:
Greg: Baruch Ata Adonoy
Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
Yo’tzayr ha’adam.
Kelly: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who fashioned the Man.
Third Blessing:
Greg: Baruch Ata Adonoy
Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
Asher yatzar et ha’adam b’tzalmo
Kelly: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who fashioned the Man in His image, in the image of his likeness and prepared for him – for himself – a building for eternity. Blessed are You, Lord, Who fashioned the Man.
Fourth Blessing:
Greg: Sos tasis v’tagail ha’akara
B’kibutz ba’neh’ha l’tocha b’simcha
Baruch Ata Adonoy
M’samay’ach Tzion b’vaneha
Kelly: Bring intense joy and exultation to the barren one through the ingathering of her children amidst her in gladness. Blessed are You, Lord, Who gladdens Zion
Fifth blessing:
Greg: Samay’ach t’samach ray’im ha’ahuvim
K’samay’chacha y’tziri’cha b’Gan Eiden mikedem
Baruch Ata Adonoy
M’samay’ach chatan v’chala
Kelly: Gladden the beloved conpanions as You gladdened
Your creature in the Garden of Eden from aforetime,
Blessed are You, Lord, Who gladdens groom and bride.
Sixth Blessing:
Greg: Baruch Ata Adonoy
Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
Asher bara sasson v’simcha
Chasan v’chala
Geela, reena, deetza v’chedva,
Ahava v’achava, v’shalom v’ray’ut.
M’hayra Adonoy Eloheinu
Yishama b’aray Yihuda uv’chutzot Yerushalayim
Kol sasson v’kol simcha
Kol chatan v’kol kalla,
Kol mitz’halot chasanim may’chupa’sam,
Un’arim mi’mishtay n’ginatam.
Baruch Ata Adonoy
M’samay’ach chatan im hakalla.
Kelly: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth, glad song, pleasure, delight, love, brotherhood, peace, and companionship. Lord our God, let there soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the grooms’ jubilance from their canopies and of the youths from their song-filled feasts. Blessed are You, Lord, Who gladdens the groom with the bride.
Seventh Blessing:
Greg: Baruch Ata Adonoy
Eloheinu Melech ha’olam
Boray p’ri ha’gaffen
Kelly: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
Kelly and Greg:
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth for the other.
Now you will feel no loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
But there are three lives before you:
His life, her life, and your life together.
Shalom aleichem
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