Non religious, unique wedding readings please

An Apache Blessing

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be a shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no loneliness for you, for now there is no more loneliness. Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into your days together. And may your days be good, and long upon the earth.

I Love You by Larry S. Chengges.

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 heaped-up 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 have done

More than any creed

Could have done

To make me good.

And more than any fate

Could have done

To make me happy.

You have done it

Without a touch

Without a word,

Without a sign.

You have done it

By being yourself,

Perhaps that is what

Being a friend means,

After All.

I've pinned some quotes, poems, etc. that are non-religious that I've come across the past few months here - http://www.pinterest.com/fabkimberly/circle-of-love-quotes/

We are writing our own ceremony, so I've just wanted to keep track of all the random things I see that we may want to possibly incorporate.

What is marriage?

Marriage is more than the exchange of rings and the sharing of a household;

it is much more than just living together.

It is the desire to truly want to know and understand another human being; to feel and share in that person's happiness, as well as their pain.

Marriage is to never feel alone; but rather, to know that you always have a friend; a partner in life that you can laugh and cry with. To know that you always have that

special someone to share your innermost thoughts and fears, and know that you will be heard.

Marriage is helping your partner to be the absolute best that they can be, while still being able to experience your own need and goals.

Marriage is love; true love that goes far beyond passion; It is a love that you can reach for in times of crisis as well as joy, and know it will be there to comfort and to share.

Marriage is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal, a 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 a husband are each other's best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. 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.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through all seasons of life.

CONT

When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer that any spoken or written words.

Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.

YAY! Thanks ladies.

Good lord, @Laudie. I know I can always count on you.

My priest gave me a bunch of non-secular readings so I had them all handy :-)

I have more if you want lol

I just found this one:

“In the Middle Ages, a favorite image that occurs in many, many contexts is the wheel of fortune. There’s the hub of the wheel, and there is the revolving rim of the wheel. For example, if you are attached to the rim of the wheel of fortune, you will be either above going down or at the bottom coming up. But if you are at the hub, you are in the same place all the time. That is the sense of the marriage vow—I take you in health or sickness, in wealth or poverty: going up or going down. But I take you as my center, and you are my bliss, not the wealth that you might bring me, not the social prestige, but you. That is following your bliss.”

Joseph Campbell, in The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers

This was read at my aunt & uncle's wedding in 1974:

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”

― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

We had a secular ceremony and I had my officient read a passage from "The Art of Marriage". I thought it fit both DH and I perfectly.

"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 at no time 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 the wings of an angel.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

CONT

My pinterest page has a number of officiants who post things, and many of them are non religious. http://www.pinterest.com/Celiamilton/wedding-vows-and-readings/

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 not only marrying the right partner,

it is BEING the right partner.

This is “The Art of Marriage”."\

It was perfect for us and our guests loved our ceremony

Sorry for all caps, that is how officiant asked for it

WHEN TWO SOULS, WHICH HAVE SOUGHT EACH OTHER FOR HOWEVER LONG IN THE THRONG, HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER, WHEN THEY HAVE SEEN THAT THEY ARE MATCHED, ARE IN SYMPATHY AND COMPATIBLE, IN A WORD, THAT THEY ARE ALIKE; THERE IS THEN ESTABLISHED FOREVER BETWEEN THEM A UNION, FIERY AND PURE AS THEY THEMSELVES ARE, A UNION WHICH BEGINS ON EARTH AND CONTINUES FOREVER. THIS UNION IS LOVE, TRUE LOVE, SUCH AS IN TRUTH VERY FEW MEN CAN CONCEIVE OF, THAT LOVE WHICH IS AS A RELIGION, WHICH DEFINES THE LOVED ONE, WHOSE LIFE COMES FROM DEVOTION AND PASSION, AND FOR WHICH THE GREATEST SACRIFICES ARE THE SWEETEST DELIGHTS.

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 TO ONE ANOTHER ARE ALL OF THE HOPES AND DREAMS THAT YOU’VE DREAMT OF TOGETHER, PROMISED EACH OTHER AND WISHED FOR THE FUTURE.

Hands of the Bride and Groom

http://www.weddingtips.com/wedding-vows/hands.html?vm=r