IN THE MOMENT CEREMONIES

The Chapel offers a touch of romance and a special "in the moment" experience. "In the moment" experience is the spark of exalted and ultimate experience of joy between the couple.

Sand Ceremony

(usually placed after the ring exchange)

This can also be used as a family ceremony and have each
child have their own color of sand.

As a couple you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and this is a pledge between two people who agree that they will commit themselves to one another throughout their lives.

Today, this relationship is also symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand. One, representing you, and One Representing your LOVE and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be.

As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one.

Just as these grains of sand can never be separated, our prayer for you today is that your lives together would be blended like the seven seas and may your love swirl around each other like the changing tides.

Mothers Rose Presentation

(usually placed before the vows)

Marriage is the celebration of coming together of two lives and it is a celebration of two people in love.

The love that Groom and Bride feel for one another is a seed that their parents planted in their hearts years ago and today it has blossomed.


Today, as they embrace each other in their love, they also embrace the families, which have come together on this happy occasion.

As a sign of their love for their families, AND THE COUPLE would like to offer these roses, to their mothers as symbols of their eternal love.

These Roses are a promise that no matter how far away you are that you are not forgotten and that you are always in their hearts.

Jewish tradition of shattering the glass:

The final act of this ceremony is the shattering of the glass.

This old custom has many traditions, with many interpretations.

At one time it was meant to scare off demons who frequent celebrations

Today, the fragility of the glass suggests the frailty of human relationships.

The COUPLE- and everyone –that they should consider these marriage vows as an IRREVOCABLE ACT.

Just as permanent and final as the breaking of this glass is unchangeable.

The glass is broken to protect this marriage with the implied prayer.

”May your bond of love be as difficult to break, as it would be to put back together these pieces of glass.”

Knowing that this marriage is permanent, the COUPLE should strive every day to show each other love and respect and happiness.

After ONE breaks the glass, I invite everyone to shout the Hebrew words “Mazel Tov,” meaning “Good Luck” and “Congratulations.”

Couples Rose Presentation

usually after the ring ceremony

"Your gift to each other today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect; and a public showing of your commitment to each other.

As husband and wife, your first gift to each other will be a single rose.

In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love, and a single rose always meant one thing..."I love you." So it is fitting that for your first gift - as husband and wife - it would be a single rose.

Please exchange your first gift as A COUPLE 
(The couple pass a single rose to each other)

TO THE COUPLE:  I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future that you both pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot both as a recommitment to your marriage - and a recommitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love.

In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words.
It can be difficult some time to say the words "I am sorry" or "I forgive you"; "I need you" or "I am hurting". If this should happen, if you simply can not find these words, leave a rose at that spot which both of you have selected - for that rose than says what matters most of all and should overpower all other things and all other words.

That rose says the words: "I still love you."
The other should accept this rose for the words which can not be found, and remember the love and hope that you both share today.

TO THE COUPLE: if there is anything you remember of today, it is that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and it is by love which your marriage shall endure."

Mexican Spanish: Lasso Ceremony

   A spanish tradition of tying the knot

Bless their marriage, O God, as they begin their journey down the road of life together.
We don't know what lies ahead for the road turns and bends. But help them to make the best of whatever comes their way.

Help them to continue to enjoy each other as they did when they first met. Help them to realize that nothing nor no one is perfect and to look for the good in all things and all people including themselves.

Help them to respect each other's likes and dislikes, opinions and beliefs, hopes and dreams and fears even though they may not always understand them.

Help them to learn from each other and to help each other to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Help them to realize that no matter what happens to them they will hold on to each other and know that things have a way of working out for the good.

Help them to create for their children a peaceful, stable home of love as a foundation on which they can build their lives.

But most of all, dear God, help them to keep lit the torch of love' that they now share so that by their loving example they may pass on the light of love to their children and to their children's children forever.
Amen

Hand Blessing

TO THE COUPLE: Please face each other  and hold  hands

These are the hands of your best friend,  strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as your love promises to love you all the days until death.

These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.

These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family

These are that hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy

These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it is time to let go

These are the hands that will massage tension from you neck and back in the evenings after you've both had a long hard day.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times

These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving.

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 wondrous love.

Help these hands to continue building a relationship rich in caring, and devotion.  Your precious hands provide life as healer, protector, shelter and guidance.

African American:Jumping the Broom

Broom Jumping has become one of the most popular African traditions at weddings

It is said that it was started because slaves could not legally marry, so they created their own rituals to honor their unions.

Some say broom jumping comes from an African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground representing the couple's new home.

The jumping of the broom is a symbol of sweeping away of the old and welcoming the new, or a symbol of a new beginning.

It’s a time for their friends, family and community to support the couple by forming a circle of support.

(have wedding party or close friends form a circle)

Meanwhile have the couple hold the broom handle together and sweep around in a circle until the host or designated person is finished talking

One couple should then place the broom on the floor and hold the other's hand).

Have everyone count 1, 2, 3... Jump!

Ancient American Indian Ceremony: The Prayer

To the Couple:  As a special blessing for you, I speak the words of an Ancient American Indian Ceremony.

Now, you feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other.

Now, you feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for each other.

Now, you are two persons, but there is just one life before you. Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together, and may your days be good and long upon this earth. God bless you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I present to you ( the couple's names)

Hand Fasting Ceremony

(An Ancient Celtic Tradition)

We will now do the ancient Celtic hand fastening ritual where 3 cords will be placed over their joined hands.

Guest 1 will now place the  CRIMSON  cord to symbolize romance, partnership and happiness.

Guest 2 will now place the SILVER cord which stands for peace, sincerity and devotion.

Guest 3 will now place the PURPLE cord which represents unity, prosperity and longevity.

Guest 4 will now tie the cords together to signify the tying of the knot.

As this knot is tied, so are your lives now bound together. Woven into this cord, into its very fibers, are all the hopes of thy friends and family, and of themselves, for a new life together.

With the fashioning of this knot you tie all the desires, dreams, love, and happiness wished here in this place to your lives for as long as love shall last.

In the joining of hands and the fashioning of a knot, so are your lives now bound, one to another.

By this cord you are thus now and forevermore bound to your vow. May this knot remain tied for as long as love shall last.
May this cord draw your hands together in love, never to be used in anger.
May the vows you have spoken never grow bitter in your mouths. As any child discovers when they are learning to tie their own shoes, the first move is to cross the ends.

The cross creates the (X), which is the symbol of partnership and union. As your hands are bound by this cord, so is your partnership held by the symbol of this knot.
May it be granted that what is done before the gods be not undone by man.
Two entwined in love, bound by commitment and fear, sadness and joy, by hardship and victory, anger and reconciliation, all of which brings strength to this union.
Hold tight to one another through both good times and bad, and watch as your strength grows.
 

 I shall now remove the cords.

The wine ceremony

In this glass are the fruits of God, Mankind and Mother Earth.

The years of our lives are like a cup of wine that is poured out for the sake of labor, honor and love.

Many days you will sit at the same table and eat and drink together. Many are the experiences you will share.

As with a glass of wine, one of you may find it sweet, the other perhaps dry or somehow different.

Let the drink you share today serve as a reminder that although you may perceive things very differently, being right is never more important than being happy.

With this space that you give each other, always putting your commitment to love and honor one another first, your lives together will grow deeper, richer and greatly satisfying, like a rare and fine wine.

You may now drink from this fountain of love.

(Couple gives each other a drink from the same glass)

Dirt Ceremony

(A Family Blending Ceremony)

Have Family members bring a jar of dirt from their homes or locations where they live.

Bring a pot for all the dirt to be poured into and a seedling to be planted.

One by one the family members will pour their dirt in to the pot with the seedling, symbolizing the blending of the families.

The plant will grow in dirt nourished by the love from the family members.

Today you have decided to share the rest of your lives with each other.

Unity Candle

This beautiful union is now symbolized by the lighting of the Unity Candle.

The candle you are about to light is a candle of Marriage.

The individual candles represent all that you are and all that you have been until

this moment.

It is a candle of Unity because both candles must come together to create the new light.

Its fire is miraculous because it represents the light of two people in love.

This candle is also a candle of Commitment because it takes two people working together to keep it ablaze.

Love is like a flame; it has the heat of passion, it is constantly changing, its radiance is there for all to see and together you must protect it for being extinguished.

TO THE COUPLE:  please light the center candle to symbolize the union of your lives.

Today, as you have lit this candle, may the brightness of the flame shine throughout your lives together. May the twinkle of this one light be a testimony of your union. May this candle burn brightly as a symbol of your love and commitment to each other.

The life that each of you experienced now, individually, will hereafter be united, for the two shall become one.

The individual candles represent all that you are and all that you have been until this moment

It is a candle of Unity because both candles must come together to create the new light.

Its fire is miraculous because it represents the light of two people in love.

This candle is also a candle of Commitment because it takes two people working together to keep it ablaze.

Love is like a flame; it has the heat of passion, it is constantly changing, its radiance is there for all to see and together you must protect it for being extinguished.

            IN THE MOMENT POETRY

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being an Ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old grief's, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

by Thomas Moore

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Live fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul may be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose!

by James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite
excitement marriage should bring,
and may life grant you also patience,
tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another -
not so much to fill your emptiness
as to help you to know your fullness.
A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not make
the mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because
it has a mountain towering over it.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another,
and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!"
and take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart,
may both of you hope to have
good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is
the awareness of one another's
presence - no more physical than spiritual,
warm and near when you are
side by side, and warm and near when
you are in separate rooms
or even distant cities.

May you have happiness,
and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

Kahlil Gibran

In the words of the prophet Kahlil Gibran

Love one another but make not a bond of love.

Let is rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from the same cup. Give one

another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you

be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver

withe the same music. Give your hearts but not into each other's

keeping, for only the hand of life can contain your hearts. Stand

together, yet not too near together for the pillars of the temple stand

apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's

shadow.