Celtic Wedding Ceremony

Celtic Wedding Ceremony

[Officiate] We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Bride and Groom. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls, has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of Earth.

If we learn no more in life, let it be this.

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, Groom and Bride have come here today to be joined as one in marriage. Others would ask, at this time, who gives the Bride in marriage, but, as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if she comes of her own will and if she has her family's blessing.

Bride, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?

[Bride] Yes, it is true.

[Officiate] With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you.

[FATHER] She comes with me, her father, and is accompanied by all of her family's blessings.

[Officiate] Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am about to say. Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass, remember...

Like a stone should your love be firm like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly.

Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for God is with you always.

Ring Blessing:

These rings are made of precious metals a symbol of the riches that reside in each of you; and as any metal is purified by the white heat of testing, so will your love be purified by the test facing you through the many seasons of your life.

These rings are made with precious jewels; and as the elements from which these jewels are formed are ancient as the stars, as mysterious as moonlight and as shining as the miracle of your new-bonded radiance, wear them as the sign of the love ignited between you, the love unquenchable which now your hearts embody and your words express.

To your friends, family and society, wedding rings are an outward and visible sign—signifying to all the uniting of a man and a woman in matrimony

Groom, I have not the right to bind thee to Bride, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.

[GROOM] It is my wish.

[Officiate] Bride, if it be your wish for Groom to be bound to you, place the ring on his finger. (places ring on Groom's left ring finger) Bride, I have not the right to bind thee to Groom only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in his hand.

[BRIDE] It is my wish.

[Officiate] Groom, if it be your wish for Bride to be bound to you, place the ring on her finger. (places ring on Bride's left ring finger)

(to Groom) Repeat after me:

I, Groom, in the name of the spirit that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee Bride's full name to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.

(to Bride)

I Bride, in the name of the spirit that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, Groom to my hand, my heart, and my spirit to be my chosen one. To desire and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.

Loving Cup Ceremony (Source: Irish Wedding Traditions by Shannon McMahon Lichte)

Officiant/Friend:

On this your wedding day, we celebrate the Celtic spirit of the anam cara. Anam cara is translated from the Gaelic as "soul friend." By entering in a partnership with your anam cara, you are joined in an ancient and eternal way with this person whom you most cherish. In everyone`s life there is a great need for an anam cara and so I ask you to toast one another by repeating the following and May you drink your fill from the cup of love

(The Bride and Groom hold the loving cup as they repeat the following)

Bride/Groom:

Today I recognize you, my anam cara

And ask that you become a part of me, in sacred kinship.

With you, I have lost all fear and have found the greatest courage.

I have learned to love and let myself be loved.

With you, I have found a rhythm of grace and gracefulness.

Love has reawakened in my life; a rebirth; a new beginning.

With you my anam cara,

I am understood, I am home.

[Couple Lights a Unity candle]

Officiant/Friend:

And now, please drink to the love you`ve shared in the past.

(The couple take turns sipping from the loving cup)

Officiant/Friend:

Drink to your love in the present, on this your wedding day.

(The couple take turns sipping from the loving cup)

Officiant/Friend:

And drink to your love in the future and forever more.

(The couple take turns sipping from the loving cup)

Officiant/Friend:

The Celts believed that the way you view your future actually shapes it. I now ask everyone here in the room to take a moment to visualize a future for the Bride and Groom. As a group let`s think of the happiness in store for Bride and Groom. Let`s put their joyous future out to the universe.

(Officiate)

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 for the other.

Now there is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you.

Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness.

And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

May the light of friendship guide your paths together,

May the laughter of friends and family grace the halls of your home.

May the joy of living for each other trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your eye.

And when eternity beckons, at the end of the life heaped high with love,

May the goodness of life embrace you with the arms that have nurtured you the whole length of your joy-filled days.

May the gracious spirit hold you both And, today, may the Spirit of Love find a dwelling place in your hearts

By the power vested in me by the Great Spirit and the State, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto you.

(The officiate then offers the loving cup; a final toast)