From: ssalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (-=[SLS]=-)
Subject: Wedding and etcetera [ Part 3 ]
Organization: OFSA
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:07:58 GMT

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September 19, 1992 - Continuation of Wedding - Part 3
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(Directly following is the written ceremony that Julie and I worked
up, following that, my lines again appear with a ">" before them -SLS)

> Following is the wedding ceremony:     
> =======================================
> 
> Wedding Ceremony for Julie Rose Malone and Steven Leslie Salter
> September 19, 1992 - Twin Lakes Park, Bloomington, Indiana
> 
> 	Friends, we are gathered to celebrate and witness the love and
> commitment of  Julie Rose Malone and Steven Leslie Salter in marriage. 
> 
> 	Love is friendship that has deepened to the ultimate level. It
> is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It
> is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than
> perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content
> with the present, it hopes for the future but does not brood over the
> past. It's the daily sharing of irritations, problems, compromises,
> small disappointments, big victories and working towards common goals.
> If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things
> you may lack. If you don't have it, no matter what else there is, it
> is not enough.         
> 
> 	Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
> boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
> not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
> delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
> always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres. True love never
> fails.       
> 
> 	Who gives this woman to this man ? 
>  	[ Father of the Bride says: "Her mother and I" ]
> 
> 	I ask you, Julie and Steven, now in the presence of this
> gathering of family and friends to declare your intent. 
> 
> 	Julie, will you have Steven to be your husband, to live
> together in marriage. Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep
> him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and
> in bad, and forsaking all others be faithful to him so long as you
> both shall live? 	[ Julie says "I will" ]    
> 
> 	Steven, will you have Julie to be your wife, to live together
> in marriage. Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in
> sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and in
> bad, and forsaking all others be faithful to her so long as you both
> shall live?	[ Steven says "I will" ]]    
> 
> 	The marriage of Julie and Steven unites two families and
> creates a new one. They ask for the blessing of family and friends in
> recognition of the vows they will make here today.  
> 
> Family and friends, join me in bestowing our best wishes upon this man
> and woman who come now to join in marriage, that they may give their
> vows to each other in the strength and spirit of everlasting love.
> Wish for them vision and adaptablility, and the hope to perservere in
> trust and friendship all their days. Let them grow together and be
> enriched by their life together, in friendship and in love, deepening
> with the passage of time. Let them always listen to one another and
> let them fully experience and appreciate the love that is uniquely
> theirs.        
> 
> 	Julie and Steven, you have come here according to each of your
> wishes to be together. Now, before these people, say your vows to each
> other.  
> 
> [ Joshua, oldest son of groom,  hands Julie's ring to Steven. Steven
> takes Julie's hands in his and speaks his vows :  
> 
> " I will cherish you and hold you first among all others. I will
> protect and help you, for you are my heart and soul. I will fight for
> you, I will lie for you, yes, I will die for you. I pledge my complete
> love to you alone, Julie, with perfect honesty and trust. Though my
> body will someday wither and pass away, my love for you will remain
> throughout eternity."     
> 
> [ Steven then puts the ring on Julie's finger ]
> 
> [ Lisa hands Steven's ring to Julie. Julie takes Steven's hands in
> hers and speaks her vows:] 
> 
> " From this day on, I will be eternally yours. I will stand by your
> side and support you through all the days - good and bad. I love you
> completely and unconditionally, Steven, and that love will never die,
> only deepen and grow. I will cherish you and be with you to my dying
> day...and beyond."    
> 
> [ Julie then  puts the ring on Steven's finger ]
> 
> Keep faithful to your love and  friendship for each other and to the
> commitment you have made here today. Share your love and joy that you
> may build a home where no one is a stranger. Strive for a joyous and
> fulfilling life together each and every day.    
> 
> 	[Julie and Steven read together..]
> 
> 	"Now we will feel no rain
> 	For each of us will be shelter to the other.
> 	And now we will feel no cold
> 	For each of us will be warmth to the other.
> 	We are two bodies with one life and home.
> 	I take your hand and you'll take mine.
> 	And we'll look back at the road we travelled to reach this:
> 	The hour of our happiness.
> 	It stretches behind us even as the future lies ahead
> 	A long, winding road whose every turning means
> 	Discovery of old hopes, new laughter and shared tears.
> 	Everything in our separate pasts were worth it
> 	For it led us to each other.
> 	Our lives have just begun anew."
> 	
> 	Now that Julie and Steven have given themselves to one another
> by their solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving of
> rings, I pronounce you husband and wife. Go in love and in peace.  
> 
> 	You may kiss the bride !
> 
> 
> (NOTE: I hope that was the correct version of the ceremony...I had
> about three different copies in different directories on my computer!) 
> ================================
> 
> Whew!....actually, I said about half my vows before my mind went blank
> and Julie did the same. Fortunately, no one noticed, except maybe Pam
> and  we kiss and k issss .... and kissss. We suddenly are aware of
> chuckles from the audience and realize we must have been kissing for
> almost a minute. Sheepishly, we break the clinch and walk down the
> path, flashbulbs and videocameras popping and whirring. Kenny Rogers
> warbles the song "Lady" as we walk away.        

Our first kiss as a married couple was so beautiful.  Steven has graduated
from the School of the Art of Kissing...with honors..and he took my breath
away...again.  This one was so special.  A long slow kiss...a little tongue
thrown in for good measure, and then, little nibble kisses to seal it.
Everyone one was snickering.  And I looked up at Steven and smiled at him.
I was thinking so many things...one of them....THIS IS *MY* HUSBAND!
Fortunately, Erin captured that smile....its one of my most cherished
pictures from the wedding.

> 
> I find it astonishing to see all these people that I wasn't aware were
> there. I was standing up there all by my lonesome and just didn't see
> all those people. I mean, I saw that there were PEOPLE there but it
> didn't register who they actually were. *grin* Yeah, musta been
> nervous or something after all. Michelle and Lee are here as well as
> Ruthie and LisaD and her husband, Q..John Turner is in evidence as
> well as Erin, our photographer. Hmmm, who else? Lots of friends from
> our respective work places and of course, family.       

	I too was shocked to see those people sitting there.  Heck, I
hadn't even noticed my Mom until I turned around!  I'm not sure if
it was nerves or tunel vision.  Probably a little of both.....

> 
> We finally finish up with the reception line and load the car with
> chairs again and head to the shelterhouse for the reception. I will
> let Julie relate that part!  

One thing I shall always remember is hugging Steven immediately after the
ceremony.....our tears flowed as we both realized that we were finally
married...to one another!  It finally happened....and it is FOREVER!




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End of part 3 - NEXT post is the reception...(Part 4).
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