Two weddings in November.

I was honored to officiate at two weddings in November.
Both were based on a Catholic wedding structure, but the similarity mostly ends there.

The first one completed was for a mixed faith couple. The groom was a lightweight Catholic of Philippine  descent, his bride's ancestry was Korean Buddhist. I had the pleasure of watching many of the Buddhist rituals in the short version of a wedding ceremony that honored her faith and family before the western ritual that I was to officiate. It was a beautiful ceremony.
After a short break for the wedding party to change change their attire while the crowd reassembled outside for the second ceremony, I led the wedding party down the aisle to the western ceremony space. At their request I substituted prayers with a Buddhist flavor into the western ceremony and wrote a narration about the light of Gods love and the cycle of family love for the candle lighting as a symbol of unity. I read the narration as the parents of the couple tried to light their candles to start the process. The wind was just enough to prevent this. So as I finished reading the written narration, I realized that either this was going to take longer than expected or it might fail. I quickly thought up a few more bits of wisdom about how sometimes love doesn't seem to be going as planned but if we persevere and don't give up it usually does work out. ( I was hoping the candles would cooperate and make my words true. I'd be lying if I claimed they did.) The rest of the ceremony went very well.
Afterward I was complimented on the "ad lib" that it was well spoken and added to the moment. (My past experience in front of crowds of unwilling teenagers has its rewards! Now I'm good with keeping my cool and thinking on my feet because.)
This couple wrote their own vows which were very moving. I only had to help the groom with printing them out bigger and in shorter lines to make reading them easier as he was prone to tear up a little. Their vows were quite beautiful.

The second one was for a couple who had both been married before and had the teenage and young adult children to prove it. For their ceremony we went with a symbol of unity that involved the children who were also going to be the wedding party. I had the bride and groom face the audience and hold hands then offer their free hand to their eldest child who offered their free hands down the line to the youngest child. Then I had those two join their free hands to complete a circle.  I wrote a lovely liturgy about how their family shared a love like a circle. Never ending and always connected. That even when they were far apart that circle would still be there for them.
When it came to exchanging of the rings, I blessed the rings as a reminder of that circle.
For vows this couple wanted me to stay closer to the catholic liturgy and to lead them through the vows. That was a lovely moment.

November has been a great month for me and weddings. I still get chills when I think about the special moments of which I was chosen to be a part.

Another First!

I got up really early on a recent Friday Morning.
Yes, I meant to.

I had a wedding to perform on the beach at sunrise.
The couple wanted a quick ceremony at the very top of the weekend to move their relationship to the next level.
It would be just the three of us in the early morning twilight.
Amy and Tim found me on Thumbtack.com.
She and I had talked and pared down the wedding ceremony to the bare minimum length, with just enough mention of our Lord to make it clear this is a Christian ceremony.
A quick introduction.
I'd prompt each them to share their vows.
I'd ask the "I do" question of each of them.
I'd guide them through the exchange of rings.
Then I'd get to pronounce them Husband and Wife.

So, I got up early, really early.
Since I planned to come back after and go back to sleep.
I left my morning tea for later.
I put on my pants, shoes, shirt with the collar, and my cassock, and then my cross.
The smaller sliver and crystal cross.
I had hoped it would catch the light of the rising sun just right.

I got in my car and it was still fairly dark out.
There were no stars visible though.
By the time I got the the beach there was a general glow to the cloudy sky.
I hadn't planned on the effect of the classic marine layer we experience here.
The morning air was cool and crisp.

I saw my couple in the distance.
We met up, said a brief hello, and walked out onto the sand.
The ceremony was beautiful and poignant.
Their vows were heartfelt and touching.
Then I spoke that line and they were married.
(Well except for the paper work.)

We walked back off the beach toward there car to sign the license.
We had to pause for Amy to put her shoes back on.
Tim, lightheartedly cajoling her that the ceremony was quicker.

Back at their car I signed the license and it was official.
(Except it needed to be filled with the county.)

It was a beautiful reason to get up so early.
Being able to make the brides wish for a sunrise beach wedding come true was well worth getting up so early.

My only disappointment was that the change in the morning light was so subtle it went unnoticed.

A prayer.

For the Animists, Celtic pagans, and others who value the forest.

Prayer of the Woods
"I am the heat of your Hearth on the cold winter nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on."
"I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat."
I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin."
"I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty."
Ye how pass by, listen to my prayer:
"Harm me not"

First Wedding Ceremony. WOW!

This past Saturday I performed my very first Wedding Ceremony.

What a amazing thrill!

It was for my long time friends Greg and Jeff.

They Share my love of Disney, and are also fans of Halloween.
Jeff started wearing kilts two years ago when I encouraged him to buy one.


They were constant advocates and protesters for Equal Marriage Rights and wanted their ceremony to be on the beautiful court house steps where they had so often protested for the cause.



Their desire was for a ceremony full of personal meaning and symbolism, maybe a little bit of spirituality, but not at all a religious event.

And to include their pit bull Leia.























Hearing that Jeff was concerned that important members of his chosen families might not be able to show up for the wedding, I took a chance and contacted a few directly to make sure they didn't miss the event. With that I ended up picking up one couple on my way to the location.

There was a point in the recent months of planing (or  more accurately waiting to plan) where I was concerned if this event would even happen. Greg had been quite ill and wasn't willing to plan or commit to an event he might have to miss. But once he felt better, they were able to plan the event with only a two week notice. I was able to craft most of the language of their ceremony the Tuesday before the ceremony. With a few quick discussions on Thursday and Friday I was able to script the language for their symbolic act of unity to be included, just in time for a ceremony Saturday afternoon.

Even on such short notice this event was really a touching affair.