Such fun! These two brought a lot of excitement to the ceremony (and afterwards as Randy slung Stacie over his shoulder and sprinted down the aisle- really!).
This has one of my favorite handfasting adaptations- promises personally written by the couple incorporated with the tying of the hands.
The Wedding of Stacie Kobylanski & Randy Long
August 24th, 2013
Welcoming Words
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.
-Albert Einstein
Stacie and Randy want to thank you for sharing with them on this special and joyous day. Those of you who have had the pleasure of spending some time with them, have seen for yourselves that they possess a very rare and exceptional love. We are here today to celebrate their love and participate in this most wonderful occasion.
Presentation of Stacie
Who, with love and support, presents this woman to be married to this man?
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, source of infinite love, bless us with a sense of your indwelling presence as we worship here. Keep us sensitive to the wonder of things which fill our days and give meaning to life. Deepen in us the level of our loving, both for those near and dear to us, and for those who, though strangers, need our concern. Especially do we pray your divine blessing on these two who come here in this high moment of their lives. Hear them as they take their promises to each other, that they shall pledge their vows with deepest sincerity knowing full well the meaning of the words they say. And do grant to us all, we pray, a heightened sense of the joy of life because we share this moment with them. In your loving spirit. Amen.
Officiant’s Address
Omitted here.
Declaration of Intent
Stacie and Randy, today I ask you to make a promise:
That whatever happens, you shall never walk alone;
That your hearts will be shelter to each other and your arms will be your
home;
That you’ll stand side by side and sleep in each other’s arms:
That Randy, you’ll watch over Stacie and keep her from harm;
That Stacie, you’ll be the joy in Randy’s heart and the food for his soul;
May you feel deeply loved for indeed you are; through your brightest days and your darkest nights.
That whatever happens, you shall never walk alone;
That your hearts will be shelter to each other and your arms will be your
home;
That you’ll stand side by side and sleep in each other’s arms:
That Randy, you’ll watch over Stacie and keep her from harm;
That Stacie, you’ll be the joy in Randy’s heart and the food for his soul;
May you feel deeply loved for indeed you are; through your brightest days and your darkest nights.
And so I ask, will you now take each other into your hearts and pledge your love in this moment and forever?
Personal Vows and Handfasting
In Europe, until the mid 1700’s, few unions were sanctified in a church or a synagogue.
Rather they were celebrated by a ceremony in which the couple joined hands over the village anvil, out in the fields or in a grove of trees.
The hands were then bound together with ribbon or rope.
This is where the terms ‘giving one’s hand in marriage’ and ‘tying the knot’ come from and not at all where the phrases “noose” or “bound in chains for all eternity” come from.
Today Stacie and Randy will build on this ancient tradition. They have each written vows that they would like to share with the other.
We begin with the traditional words of the ancient poet, Peter of Cook, who once said:
Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah and evah… So tweasuwe youw wove...
The Handfasting
Stacie, do you promise Randy that you will laugh with him and at yourselves in times of joy, and comfort him and cry with him in times of sorrow?
Randy, do you promise Stacie to keep your life full of wonder and adventure even if its just sitting on the couch and watching a new movie or climbing the highest mountain that you can't find just to say “I love you”?
Tie
Randy do you promise to always strive to make all of your dreams come true and lend Stacie strength in her pursuit to do the same?
Stacie, do you promise to forever be Randy’s best friend and love him unconditionally?
Tie
Randy, do you promise to cherish Stacie and her opinion even when you do not agree with it?
Stacie, do you promise that you will try really hard to remember to put the toilet seat lid down and to wash out your cereal bowl...and that any children you have will be raised to prefer pop over soda?
Tie
Stacie, do you promise to always walk beside Randy through your future together; never before him nor behind?
Randy do you promise to always stand by Stacie’s side for all of eternity and always keep her close... until the zombie apocalypse, at which point all bets are off?
Tie
As your hands are bound together now, so your lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust.
The knots of this binding are not formed by these cords, but rather by the vows you have made.
For always you hold in your own hands the fate of this union, and perhaps you can teach the zombies to put down the toilet seat lid.
Tie
May these hands be blessed that we see before us this day.
May they always be held by one another.
May they have the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment.
May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their wondrous love.
May these hands continue building a relationship founded in love, rich in caring, and devoted in reaching for perfection.
May Stacie and Randy see each other’s hands as healer, protector, shelter and guide.
Cords are removed
Rings
May I have the rings please?
From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love. An unbroken and never ending circle symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you have made today.
Randy/Stacie, take this ring and place it on Stacie’s/Randy’s, finger and repeat after me.
Will each of you repeat after me:
Randy: I, Randy / Stacie, give to you Stacie / Randy, this ring, as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you.
Stacie: I, Stacie / Randy, give to you Randy / Stacie, this ring, as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you.
Let these rings serve not as locks binding you together, but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever.
Final Blessing or Conclusion
Stacie and Randy, if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, may it be the love that brought you here today, not only the love of each other, but also the love of your families and friends.
It is only love which can make your marriage a glorious union, and by love which your marriage shall endure.
Today your separate lives with your individual memories, desires, and hopes have merged into one. You are now taking into your care and keeping the happiness of the one person in the entire world whom you love above all others. You are adding to your life not only the affection of each other, but also the companionship and blessing of a deep trust as well. You are agreeing to share strength, your weaknesses, triumphs, trials and responsibilities.
May you be a blessing and comfort to each other, sharers of each other’s dreams, consolers of each other’s sorrows, helpers to each other in all of life's challenges. May you encourage each other in whatever you set out to achieve. May you trust each other, trust life and be unafraid. May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you patience, tolerance, and understanding. And many, many years from now may you be able to look at each other and say “ With you I have lived the life I have always wanted to live. With you I have become the person I have always longed to be.”
Declaration of Marriage
Stacie and Randy, remember the promises you have made to each other today, carry them close in your heart, but most all live them, each and every day. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.
Friends and family, may I now introduce Mr. and Mrs. Randy and Stacie Long!
