Ceremony Location
Image 1 via Grounds for Sculpture. Images 2-4 (left), unknown.
Isn't this place gorgeous? As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to get married here.
"Here" being The Nine Muses sculpture by Carlos Dorrien, located at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.
($$$ permitting of course, I know this place is pricey)
"Here" being The Nine Muses sculpture by Carlos Dorrien, located at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.
($$$ permitting of course, I know this place is pricey)
Ceremony Readings
"Union" by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks—all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will”—all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”—and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another—acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world--
This is my husband. This is my wife.
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another—acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.
For after today you shall say to the world--
This is my husband. This is my wife.
"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 they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. 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.
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.
Music
Pre-Ceremony/Guest Arrival: no specific preferences (yet), just quiet jazz
Processional: TBD
Bride's Processional: instrumental version of "Arms of a Woman" by Amos Lee
Recessional: TBD
Processional: TBD
Bride's Processional: instrumental version of "Arms of a Woman" by Amos Lee
Recessional: TBD
Misc. Inspiration Pics
Image via The Knot.
Image via The Knot.