Poetry for Weddings

Today
Today I marry my friend,
The one I have laughed with and cried with,
The one I have learned from and shared with,
The one I have chosen to support,
Encourage and give myself to,
Through all the days given us to share.
Today I marry the one I love.

Love is the Reason
Love is the reason why this day
Was chosen by you both
To begin your lives together –

And love is the reason why you both
Will give with all your hearts
For the good of each other.

Love is the reason
That together you will become one –
One in hope,
One in believing in life, and
One in sharing the coming year

The Lost is Found - Traditional Hawaiian Love Poem
Here all seeking is over,
The lost has been found,
A mate has been found
To share the chills of winter –
Now love asks
That you be united.
Here is a place to rest,
A place to sleep,
A place in heaven.
Now two are becoming one,
The black night is scattered,
The eastern sky grows bright.
At last the great day has come!


A Marriage By Michael Blumenthal
You are holding up a ceiling
With both arms. It is very heavy,
But you must hold it up, or else
It will fall down on you.
Your arms are tired, terribly tired,
And, as the day goes on, it feels
As if either your arms or the ceiling
Will soon collapse.

But then,
Unexpectedly,
Something wonderful happens:
Someone,
A man or a woman,
Walks into the room
And holds their arms up
To the ceiling beside you.

So you finally get to take down your arms.
You feel the relief of respite,
The blood flowing back
To your fingers and arms.
And when your partner’s arms tire,
You hold up your own
To relieve him again.

And it can go on like this
For many years
Without the house falling.


Destiny by Edwin Arnold
Somewhere there waits in this world of ours
For one lone soul another lonely soul,
Each choosing each through all the weary hours
And meeting strangely at one sudden goal.
Then blend they, like green leaves with golden flowers,
Into one beautiful and perfect whole;
And life’s long night is ended, and the way
Lies open onward to eternal day.

See Clearly by Lao Tzu, 6th century B.C.
Your love is a great mystery.
It is like an eternal lake
Whose waters are always still and clear like glass.
Looking into it you can see
The truth about your life.

It is like a deep well
Whose waters are cool and pure.
Drinking from it you can be reborn.

You do not have to stir the waters
Or dig the well.
Merely see yourself clearly
And drink deeply.

Egyptian Song #1 Translation of ancient Egyptian love song
from the New Kingdom
Your love dear man, is as lovely to me
As sweet soothing oil to the limbs of the restless
As clean ritual robes to the flesh of gods,
As fragrance of incense to one coming home hot from the smells of the street.

It is like blackberries ripe in the hand
Like the tang of grainmeal mingled with beer,
Like wine to the palate when taken with white bread.
While unhurried days come and go,
Let us turn to each other in quiet affection, walk in peace to the edge of old age.
And I shall be with you each unhurried day.

Egyptian Song #2

This love is as good as oil and honey to the throat,
As linen to the body, as incense to worshippers when they enter in,
As the little seal-ring to my finger.
It is like a ripe pear in a man’s hand,
It is like the dates we mix with wine,
It is like the seeds the baker adds to bread.
We will be together even when old age comes.
And the days in between
Will be food set before us, dates and honey, bread and wine.

Journey
Two friends decided to journey together towards a common destination.
Before they began their journey they shared their expectations as follows:

There will be days my friend,
When one will want to walk along the mountain path,
Whilst the other may prefer the valley,
But we will come together at the end of the day
And share our experiences.

There will be days when one will want to sing and dance,
Whilst the other will prefer to travel in quietness,
So we will choose different paths,
But we will meet at the close of the day and be content with our experiences.

There will be days when one may want to rest,
Whist the other may want to move further along the path,
But at the right time we will come together
And be happy that each has fulfilled their own needs.

There will be days when we shall travel together as one.

If we can respect the other’s need whilst still fulfilling our own,
Then our journey will be an experience to rejoice in.

Sooner or Later - Anonymous
Sooner or later we begin to understand
that love is more than verses on valentines, and romance in the movies.
We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true, the most important thing in our lives.
For love is the creator of our favorite memories and the foundation of our fondest dreams.
Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely of places.
And this radiance that never fades, this mysterious and magical joy, is the greatest treasure of all - one known only by those who love.

The Art of a Good Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson
The little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.It is never going to sleep angry.
It is never taking the other for granted;the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner,it is being the right partner."

I Love You by Roy Croft
I love you,
Not only for what you are
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you, not only for what
you have made of yourself
but for what
you are making of me.

I love you, for the part of me
that you bring out;
I love you,
for putting your hand into my…heart
and passing over
all the foolish, weak things
that you can’t help
dimly seeing there,
and for drawing out
into the light
all the beautiful belongings
that no one else had looked
quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
are helping me to make
of the lumber of my life
not a tavern
but a temple;
out of works
of my every day
not a reproach
but a song.


Prothalamion for an Autumn Wedding by Mary Sappho.
How pure the hearts of lovers as they walk
Through the rich quiet fields
Where the stiff wheat grows heavy on the stalk
And over barley and its paler golds
The air is bright-

They do not even walk yet hand in hand,
But every sense is pricked alive so sharp
That life breathes through them from the burning land
And they could use the wind itself for harp,
And oh, to drink the light!

Now all around them earth moves toward an end,
The gold turning to bronze, the barley tasseled,
The fruit stored up, and soon the sheaves will bend
Their heads together in the rich wedding-bed
All are about to enter.

The hearts of lovers as they walk, how pure;
How cool wind upon the open palm
As they move on toward harvest, and so sure
Even this ripening has a marvelous calm And a still center.

A Little Weird -- Author Unknown

We are all a little weird,
and life's a little weird,
and when we find someone
whose weirdness is compatible with ours,
we join up with that person
and fall in mutual weirdness,
and call it love.

I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman
If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.

If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.

I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.

If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.

As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.

I will be here,
And you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we're older.
I will hold you, to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me.
We'll be together and I will be here.
I will be true to the promises I've made,
To you and to the one who gave you to me.
I will be here.

The Country of Marriage by Wendel Berry 

Sometimes our life reminds me 
Of a forest in which there is a graceful clearing 
and in that opening a house, 
An orchard and garden, 
Comfortable shades, and flowers
red and yellow in the sun, a pattern
made in the light for the light to return to. 
The forest is mostly dark, its way 
to be made anew day after day, the dark
richer than the light and more blessed 
provided we stay brave 
enough to keep on going in. 

The Privileged Lovers by Jalal al-Din Rumi 

The moon has become a dancer 
at this festival of love. 
This dance of light,
This sacred blessing, 
This divine love, 
beckons us 
to a world beyond 
only lovers can see 
with their eyes of fiery passion. 
 They are the chosen ones 
who have surrendered. 
Once they were particles of light 
now they are the radiant sun. 
They have left behind 
the world of deceitful games. 
They are the privileged lovers 
who create a new world 
with their eyes of fiery passion 

Sooner or Later  -Author Unknown

Sooner or later we begin to understand 
that love is more than verses on valentines, 
and romance in the movies. 
We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true, 
the most important thing in our lives.
For love is the creator of our favorite memories 
and the foundation of our fondest dreams.

Love is a promise that is always kept, 
a fortune that can never be spent, 
a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely of places. 
And this radiance that never fades, 
this mysterious and magical joy, is the greatest treasure of all –  
one known only by those  who love. 

All My Youth Returns by Jalal al-Din Rumi

The unimaginable,
the unknowable---
that is what you give my soul
when it moves in your direction.
 
Union is the pure wine.
My life is the cup
without your wine
   what use is the cup?
 
I once had a thousand desires
but in my one desire to know you
   all else melted away.

The pure essence of your being
   has taken over my heart and soul.

Now there is no second or third,
   only the sound of your sweet cry.

Through your grace I have found
   a treasure within myself.

I have found the truth of the Unseen world.
I have come upon the eternal ecstasy.
I have gone beyond the ravages of time.
I have become one with you!

Now my heart sings.


From Resignation by Nikki Giovanni

I love you
Because the Earth turns round the sun
Because the North wind blows north
Sometimes
Because the Pope is Catholic
And most Rabbis Jewish
Because winters flow into springs
And the air clears after a storm
Because only my love for you
Despite the charms of gravity
Keeps me from falling off this earth
Into another dimension
I love you
Because it is the natural order of things

An Uncommon Love  By Terah Cox

May you have the love only two can know
May you go where only two alone may go 
May the sun rise and set in your bonded hearts and the moon never find you too long apart
May you cherish each other's dreams as your own and turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones
May you brave life's mountains and miles together
May there be no storm your love cannot weather 
May you always be lovers and allies and friends
May you souls' conversation never end
May you capture on earth what’s in heaven above 
May your hearts know the rapture of an uncommon love. 

From the great Cuban poet Jose Mari:

Love is born
With the pleasure of looking at each other,
It is fed
With the necessity of seeing each other,
It is concluded with the impossibility
Of ever being apart.

A Marriage by Mark Twain

A marriage ---
makes of two fractional lives a whole,
gives to two purposeless lives a work,
and doubles the strength of each to perform it;

it gives it two questioning natures
a reason for living and something to live for;

it will give a new gladness to the sunshine,
a new fragrance to the flowers,
a new beauty to the earth,
and a new mystery to life.


Why Marriage? By Mari Nichols

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body .
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me .

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone I feel blessed to hold .

Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love, in friendship .

Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements .
Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole.

Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage .

Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.

Fidelity by D.H. Lawrence
Man and woman are like the earth, that brings forth flowers
in summer, and love, but underneath is rock.
Older than flowers, older than ferns, older than foraminiferae,
older than plasm altogether is the soul underneath.
And when, throughout all the wild chaos of love
slowly a gem forms, in the ancient, once-more-molten
rocks
of two human hearts, two ancient rocks,
a man's heart and a woman's,
that is the crystal of peace, the slow hard jewel of trust,
the sapphire of fidelity.
The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild chaos
of love.

I Would Know You Anywhere  Author Unknown  

(Wonderful as part of a ring vow)

I would know you anywhere
I've come to tell you that I've found you again
So wear the circle of my love 
As we begin to continue what's always been there.
Of everything that glitters
Among all we have and hold
Don't think that I don't recognize
You here among the gold

Sometimes cares are many
Love helps to keep them small
The world might spin you round until you
hardly recognize yourself at all

I don't know much of living
And I don't know how to die
and I surely don't know how I got so blessed
to have you by my wedded side.
But I would know you anywhere.

And Now You´re Mine by Pablo Neruda

And now you're mine. Rest with your dream in my dream.
Love and pain and work should all sleep, now. 
The night turns on its invisible wheels, 
And you are pure beside me as a sleeping ember.
No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go,
We will go together, over the waters of time. 
No one else will travel through the shadows with me,
Only you, ever green, ever sun, ever moon.
Your hands have already opened their delicate fists 
And let their soft drifting signs drop away; 
Your eyes closed like two gray wings, and I move 
After, following the folding water you carry, that carries
Me away. The night, the world, the wind spin out their destiny.
Without you, I am your dream, only that, and that is all.   

I Do -  Author Unknown

His hello was the end of her endings 
Her laugh was their first step down the aisle 
His hand would be hers to hold forever 
His forever was as simple as her smile 
He said she was what was missing 
She said instantly she knew 
She was a question to be answered 
And his answer was “I do.” 

(This would be nice read by two mothers or two fathers alternately) 
We Who Love You 

Your parents, we who love you, 
have looked on in joy, recognizing 
that in your desire to create a future together 
you have discovered and have fostered 
one another’s most endearing and enduring qualities. 

The love we have for you is all embracing, 
joyful, to see you turn toward one another’s light. 
Certain that you will tenderly support each other, 
aware that patience as much as passion 
will nourish and maintain the bond between you. 
Certain also, that with care and courage 
you will create a haven where each may grow and flourish
as do all things in nature, given light and warmth. 

We who watched over your childhood innocence 
with the most profound longing 
to keep you from all hurt or harm, 
no longer yearn toward that gift 
which is not ours to give, 
for we have learned that adversity 
brings its own gifts of strength and of compassion. 
As you set out upon the path
which we have traveled, we stand beside you 
with every confidence in your resilience and strength. 

As we once cradled you in strong young arms 
We hold you now, as strongly, sweetly, in our hearts. 
How very proud of you we are. 
Know that you have our blessing, 
As you know you have our love. 

What Greater Thing Is There  by George Eliot

What greater thing is there 
For two human souls
Than to feel that they are joined together
To strengthen each other in all sorrow
To share with each other in all gladness
To be one with each other
In the silent, unspeakable memories.

Litany  by Billy Collins 

You are the bread and the knife, 
the crystal goblet and the wine. 
You are the dew on the morning grass 
and the burning wheel of the sun. 
You are the white apron of the baker 
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight. 
However, you are not the wind in the orchard, 
the plums on the counter, 
or the house of cards. 
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air. 
There is just no way you are the pine-scented air. 
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, 
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head, 
but you are not even close 
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk. 
And a quick look in the mirror will show 
that you are neither the boots in the corner 
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse. 
It might interest you to know, 
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world, 
that I am the sound of rain on the roof. 
I also happen to be the shooting star, 
the evening paper blowing down an alley, 
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table. 
I am also the moon in the trees 
and the blind woman's tea cup. 
But don't worry, I am not the bread and the knife. 
You are still the bread and the knife. 
You will always be the bread and the knife, 
not to mention the crystal goblet and-somehow- the wine.

The Life That I Have by Leo Marks
(From Chelsea Clinton’s Wedding)

The life that I have 
Is all that I have 
And the life that I have 
Is yours 

The love that I have 
Of the life that I have 
Is yours and yours and yours. 

A sleep I shall have 
A rest I shall have 
Yet death will be but a pause 
For the peace of my years 
In the long green grass 
Will be yours and yours and yours.

Two Trees by Janet Miles

A portion of your soul has been
entwined with mine
A gentle kind of togetherness, while
separately we stand.
As two trees deeply rooted in
separate plots of ground,
While their topmost branches
come together,
Forming a miracle of lace
against the heavens.

By Tsu Yeh, Tsin Dynasty, A.D. 265-316

Do
you not see
That you and I
Are as the branches of one tree?
With your rejoicing
Comes my laughter;
With your sadness
Start my tears.
Love,
Could life be otherwise
With you and me?

Wedding Readings from Literature, Movies, Opera

Friendship – Author Unknown

It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round.However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel.True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life –it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship,it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic.True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential.This couple came together as friends, they pledge to each other not only their love but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship.

“On Marriage,” from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran

You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in your silent memory.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not bondage of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one other of your bread, but eat not of the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping,
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts. And 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.

From Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom

There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage:
If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble.
If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble.
If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble.
And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble.
Your values must be alike. And the biggest one of those values? Your belief in the importance of your marriage.
Love each other or perish.

From Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathless, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. . . . That is just ‘being in love’ which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

May your roots grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms fall from your branches, you find out that you are one tree, and not two.

Eugene Kennedy writes,

“The real test of friendship is; can you literally do nothing with the other person. Can you enjoy together those moments of life that are utterly simple?
They are the moments most people look back on at the end of life and number as their most sacred experiences.”

From Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

In One Another’s Souls by Rumi – (1207-1273)

The moment I heard my first love story I began seeking you,
not realizing the search was useless.
Lovers don’t meet somewhere along the way.
They’re in one another’s souls from the beginning.

From Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke.

For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation. Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person—it is a high inducement for the individual to ripen, to become something in himself, to become world, to become world in himself for the sake of another person; it is a great, demanding claim on him, something that chooses him and calls him to vast distance…

Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distance exists, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of seeing each other as a whole before an immense sky.

From Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules. The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern, intricate but gay and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart’s. To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endless changing beauty of its unfolding. There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, the heavy hand; only the barest touch in passing. Now arm in arm, now face to face, now back to back—it does not matter which. Because they know they are partners moving to the same rhythm, creating a pattern together, and being invisibly nourished by it.

From “The Oyster Bed,” Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Love does not consist of gazing at each other (one perfect sunrise gazing at another) but in looking outward together in the same direction. For, in fact man and woman are not only looking outward in the same direction; they are working outward. Here one forms ties, roots, a firm base. Here one makes oneself part of the community of men, of human society. And here the bonds of marriage are formed. For marriage, which is always spoken of as a bond, becomes actually, in this stage, many bonds, many strands, of different texture and strength, making up a web that is taut and firm. The web is fashioned of love. Yes, many kinds of love: romantic love first, then a slow growing devotion and playing these through, a constantly rippling companionship. It is made of loyalties, and interdependencies, and shared experiences. It is woven of memories of meetings and conflicts; of triumphs and disappointments. It is a web of communication, a common language, and the acceptance of lack of language, too; a knowledge of likes and dislikes, of habits and reactions, both physical and mental. It is a web of instincts and intuitions, and known and unknown exchanges. The web of marriage is made by propinquity, in the day to day living side by side, looking outward and working outward in the same direction. It is woven in space and in time of the substance of life itself.



Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of Its Love by Edmund O’Neill

Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly and passes away more quickly.Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

From When Harry Met Sally by Nora Ephron

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

From The Little Prince by Antoine de Sainte-Exupery

"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.

But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life.
I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others.
Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground.
Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.
And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder?
These wheat fields have nothing to say to me.
And that is sad.
But you have hair that is the color of gold.
Think how wonderful that will be, when you have tamed me!
The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you.

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
"Please-tame me!" he said.
"I want to, very much," the little prince replied.
--
"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox.
"First you will sit down at a little distance from me - like that - in the grass.
I shall look at you out of the comer of my eye,
and you will say nothing.
Words are the source of misunderstandings.
But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . .
--
The next day the little prince came back.
"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox.
"If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon,
then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy.
I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances.
At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about.
But if you come at just any time, I shall never know
at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you .


From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I have for the first time found what I can truly love – I have found you. You are my sympathy – my better self—my good angel—I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you—and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.

From The Symposium by Plato

(This is a potent weaving of western mythology on the subject of the heart’s longing for it’s soul mate. )

Humans have never understood the power of Love. It is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.
To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now. Each being was a fusion of genders, sharing equally in male and female. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought a way to diminish the humans’ strength without destroying them. It was at this point that the humans were divided in half.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, is but the indenture of a person, and we are always looking for our other half. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. No one could imagine this to be the mere amorous connection: obviously the soul of each is wishing for something else that it cannot express. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.


From La Traviatta by Verde

In Verde’s classic opera La Traviatta these powerful lyrics sing to us…“To that love which is the pulse of the universe!”

From Hamlet (written to Ophelia) by William Shakespeare

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love. From Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite. Here All Seeking is Over

From La Vita Nuova, Dante

In that book which is My memory . . .
before which little can be read,
Appear the words
‘Incipit vita nova:
Here begins the new life.

From Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

Us Two by A.A. Milne

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for,” and Poorh said: “True,
It isn’t much fon for One, but Two
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he.
“That’s how it is,” says Pooh, says he.
“That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

The Siddur of Shir Chadash from the Jewish Prayerbook

May the door of your home be wide enough
to receive all who hunger for love
and all who are lonely for friendship.
May it welcome all who have cares to unburden,
thanks to express and hopes to nurture.
May the door of your house be narrow enough
to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.
May its threshold be no stumbling block
to young or old feet,
and may it be too high to admit complacency,
selfishness or harshness.
May your home be, for all who enter,
the doorway to richness and a more meaningful life.

The cool breeze ripples the river below,
And the fleecy clouds float high,
And I mark how the dark green gum-trees match
The bright blue vault of the sky.
The rain has been, and the grass is green
Where the slopes were bare and brown,
And I see the things that I used to see
In the days ere my head went down.

I have found a light in my long dark night,
Brighter than stars or moon;
I have lost the fear of the sunset drear,
And the sadness of afternoon.

Here let us stand while I hold your hand,
Where the light's on your golden head--
Oh! I feel the thrill that I used to feel
In the days ere my heart was dead.

The storm's gone by, but my lips are dry
And the old wrong rankles yet--
Sweetheart or wife, I must take new life
From your red lips warm and wet!
So let it be, you may cling to me,
There is nothing on earth so dread,
For I'll be the man that I used to be
In the days ere my heart was dead!

From A Bridge Across Forever, Richard Bach

You that love Lovers
This is your home. Welcome!

In the midst of making form, Love
Made this form that melts form,
With love for the door, and
Soul, the vestibule.

Watch the dust grains moving
In the light near the window.

Their dance is our dance.

We rarely hear the inner music,
But we’re dancing to it nevertheless.

Directed by what teaches us,
The pure joy of the sun,
Our music master.


The Promise, by Heather Berry

Within this blessed union of souls, where two hearts intertwine to become one, there lies a promise. Perfectly born, divinely created, and intimately shared, it is a place where the hope and majesty of beginnings reside. Where all things are made possible by the astounding love shared by two spirits. As you hold each other’s hands in this promise, and eagerly look into the future in each other’s eyes, may your unconditional love and devotion take you to places where you’ve both only dreamed. Where you’ll dwell for a lifetime of happiness, sheltered in the warmth of each other’s arms”From Adam Bede by George Eliot: What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel they are joined for life – to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories,at the moment of the last parting.

From The Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk theyare willing to take…It is indeed a fearfulgamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created,so that, together we become a new creature.To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.---

By Theodore Parker

It takes years to marry completely two hearts, even the most loving and well assorted. A happy wedlock is a falling in love. Young persons think love belongs to the brow-haired and crimson cheeked. So it does for its beginning. But the golden marriage is part of love which the bridal day knows nothing of...Such a large and sweet fruit is marriage that is needs a long summer to ripen, and then a long winter to mellow and season it.

Nondenominational Prayers and Blessings for Weddings

Nondenominational Prayers and Blessings for Weddings

Apache Wedding Blessing

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 will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead
and through all your years remaining.
Go now to your dwelling place,
And enter into your days together.
May happiness be your companion and your days be good and long upon the earth.

Cherokee Prayer

God in heaven above please protect the ones we love. We honor all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together.
We honor mother-earth - and ask for our marriage to be abundant
and grow stronger through the seasons. We honor fire - and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts.
We honor wind - and ask we sail though life safe and calm as in our father's arms.
We honor water - to clean and soothe our relationship - that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness as we forever grow young together.

Nature prayer

We give thanks for places of simplicity and peace.
Let us find such a place within ourselves.
We give thanks for places of refuge and beauty
Let us find such a place within ourselves.
We give thanks for places of nature’s truth and freedom, of joy, inspiration and renewal places
Where all creatures may find acceptance and belonging.
Let us search for these places: in the world, in ourselves and in others.
Let us restore them. Let us strengthen and protect them and let us create them.
May we mend this outer world according to the truth of our inner life and
May our souls be shaped and nourished by nature’s eternal wisdom.

Navajo Wedding Blessing

Now you have lit a fire and that fire should not go out.
The two of you now have a fire that represents love,
understanding, and a philosophy of life.
It will give you heat, food, warmth and happiness.
The new fire represents a new beginning -
a new life and a new family.

The fire is to be kept burning; you are meant to stay together.
You have lit this fire for life, until only old age separates you.

Blessing For A Marriage by James Dillet Freeman
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a 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.
So let it be with you and you. 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!

Bible Verses for Weddings

Some wedding parties like to give a deeper spiritual feeling to their ceremonies by including religious or semi-religious passages in their weddings. Here are some suggestions.


Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.


Psalm I

Blessed are the man and the woman
Who have grown beyond themselves
And have seen through their separations.
They delight in the way things are
And keep their hearts open, day and night.
They are like trees planted
near flowing rivers,
Which bear fruit when they are ready.
Their leaves will not fall or wither.
Everything they do will succeed.

Ruth 1:16

“Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.”


First Corinthians 13:4-8a

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way;
It is not irritable or resentful;
It does not rejoice at wrong
But rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.

Song of Soloman 8: 7

Deep waters cannot quench love,
Nor floods sweep it away.
Were one to offer all he owns
to purchase love,
He would be roundly mocked.