I really want to be able to finish off our Order of the Day programmes and for that I need to know what order our ceremony will take. It is scary because I really have no clue whatsoever to expect - I've never been to a civil ceremony before!
So I called up the Registrar's office and explained that I wanted to make this programme and could they let me know what happens and when.
She was very helpful and we discussed everything for about 10 minutes. She said The Reid Rooms would do a rehearsal with us a couple of days before the wedding, so at least we will know what to expect!
Ceremony Order:
Brides Entrance (From This Moment On - Shania Twain) Introduction by Superintendent Registrar 1st reading (Apache Blessing) Declarations & Contracting Words 2nd reading (extract from 'The Velveteen Rabbit') Exchanging of Wedding Rings Marriage Vows (our own) 3rd reading (Love is The Reason) Signing of the Register Exit of the Newlyweds (Forever & For Always - Shania Twain)
Here is the front cover to our wedding programmes:
I basically cut an A4 piece of black card in half lengthwise and folded it in half to create a booklet. I then added the purple card on top and then the printed cover. I plan on tying all the pages together with some white organza ribbon.
My sister has a fantastic singing voice and is singing Ave Maria at my [other] sister's wedding in May... it got me to thinking that I'd love for her to sing at our wedding too...
We were out the other evening at a P!nk concert and I asked if she would sing Bette Middler's 'The Rose'
She said how much she LOVES that song and would be delighted to sing it... in addition to the reading she is going to, err, read.
Because of this, I thought it was only fair that H2b have someone do a reading.... as long as he found one - I had struggled to find the two that I actually liked! So he found this:
Apache Blessing
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship – as they threaten all relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives – remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Which his sister will read.
So ceremony elements are now all picked and confirmed and everything is sealed in an envelope ready to be sent by recorded delivery to the Registry Office in the morning! No going back now!!!
As we are having a civil ceremony we are not allowed to have anything with religious content, including the readings. Civil ceremonies are notoriously short (10 mins?) which is over just too quick! So we are allowed to interject the ceremony with readings and poems.
I looked high and low - Googling contemporary wedding readings, wedding poems, civil ceremony readings.... found lots but none that struck a cord - they were either all too gushy and mushy or too vomit inducing!
I then stumbled upon an extract from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. I've never read the book, and the only reason I know about it is because of that episode of Friends where Chandler buys a 1st edition copy for Joey's girlfriend for her birthday...
Here is the extract:
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"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."
It's not glaringly obvious what it is about (IMO) but I *got* it and LOVE it. I can't read it aloud with out a shake in my voice. It's a go! The last line gets me every time...
My Chief Bridesmaid (CBM), my gorgeous sister will be reading this on - she *got* it too! (’-’*)
Our second choice is a poem which I found - I don't know where, or what website, or even who wrote it - by that point I was pulling out my hair trying to find something that made me say "that's it". This one will be read by my 10 year old son, who is also our Pageboy.
The Loving Heart Someone may love you because you are clever Someone may love you because you are wise Someone may love you for beauty or humour The fun in your heart or the light in your eyes. But if there is one who discovers your failings And love all the good and bad that is you This is the love that will last you forever This is the love that will always be true.
And yes, I cried at this one too!!
I really am gonna be an emotional wreck on the big day!!
