Falling For You: Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart (Ceremony, part 1)

After we took our places, Father C addressed the congregation. I have chosen to transcribe the ceremony in its entirety in hopes that it will be useful for any bees planning catholic weddings. If you recall, we also had a bilingual ceremony incorporating my Cuban heritage; I've chosen to transcribe the Spanish parts with their translation, in case any bilingual bees are looking for some examples of bilingual ceremonies. If that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip the text and just look at all the pretty pictures ;)

 "Dear Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, I want to to welcome you here in the name of this parish. Your family, your friends and myself accept you in joy today. For we are here to celebrate a blessed love and we thank you for your testimony of love in your lives. Let us now celebrate that love together. Really, you are welcome here. Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, nuestra celebracion no es solo un acto de la sociedad, es ante todo la union de dos personas que se aman, como ustedes se aman, y quieren en la presencia de Cristo, de sus familiares, de sus amigos, y de toda la comunidad, comprometerse para vivir el uno para el otro con un amor fiel para siempre. Sean bienvenidos, sinceramente, me siento orgulloso de bendecir su matrimonio. (Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, our celebration is not only an act of society, it is above all else the union of two people who love eachother like you do, and want to commit to love each other  faithfully and forever in the presence of Christ, their families, their friends, and the entire community. Welcome, I feel sincerely proud to bless your marriage)." 

Let us pray: "Father, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery, a symbol of Christ's love for our community. Hear our prayers for Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall. With faith in you and in each other they pledge their love today. May their lives always bear witness to the reality of that love. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, May you be seated, please."

After the welcome prayer, it was time for BM Green Eyes to deliver the first reading from the Song of Songs. A lot of people complain about the lack of romantic readings in the bible, but we just love the Song of Songs, because it's basically a love poem! As Green Eyes walked up to the podium, she smiled at me and whispered "I love you", and I just lost it. Here was my best childhood friend, reading at my wedding, it was beyond surreal. The girls and I had a bit of a bet going as to who would be the first to cry, but I never would have guessed that it would BM Green Eyes! Apparently, after she saw Mr. Waterfall tear up during my walk down the aisle, she started crying (and continued to do so during the remainder of the ceremony). BM Green Eyes can be a bit shy, so when I first asked her to do one of the readings, she wasn't too sure, but I can't imagine having anybody else. She did a beautiful job, and managed not to sob throughout the whole thing.

"The voice of my beloved!Look, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely. My beloved is mine and I am his.My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise my love, my fair one, and come away";Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. The Word of the Lord"
[Song of Solomon 2. 8-10, 16a; 8. 6-7a] 

The reading was followed by Psalm 145, I Will Praise Your Name Forever, My King and My God. Many people came up to us after the ceremony raving about "the beautiful opera singer with a voice like an angel", but I can't take credit for her since the church supplied the organist and the soloist as part of our package. She was truly amazing though! You can see the reading and the psalm in this little video, which I love, because there is so much emotion in it, as you can see, there wasn't a dry eye in the house!

The Song of Songs from Mrs.Waterfall on Vimeo. Video by Cinemomento

After the Psalm, Friend M walked up to the podium for the second reading, Corinthians 1:12. We almost didn't use this reading, simply because it's used so often, but then we realized how silly it would be to deprive ourselves of such a lovely reading, simply for the sake of being "unique".

"Strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends." The Word of the Lord. [1 Corinthians 12:31-13:18]

After the second reading, our soloist sang the Alleluia and Father C read from the Gospel according to Matthew:

"Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock." This is the Gospel of the Lord. [Matthew 7:21, 24-29]

My dear friends, Miss Waterfall and Mr. Waterfall, Today is for you both one of the greatest days in your life. A special day that you will remember forever; a special day because God blesses you, God blesses your house, and everything you have. God is with you every day so everything is possible with love, trust, and faith. So whatever happens, your life is built on the rock; on the rock of yourselves, on the rock of your faith, on the rock of your marriage. 

Absolutely, both of your families will support you. Everybody, your family, your friends and myself, we are here because of you, because of your love. They wish the best for you. Please, don't be afraid, because God will support you, and your family and friends will support you. And now I invite you to come up here, and before your family and friends, and before God, state your intentions... 

Next up, we exchange vows, rings, and other goodies!

What readings are you using in your ceremony?

All photos courtesy of the amazing Bachmann Photography unless otherwise specified

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Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food
• We stuff our faces with chocolate
• The girls get pretty, oh so pretty
• The men suit up
• I put on my wedding dress
• I put on my veil and my entourage loses their sh*t
• I show you all my somethings
• We ride a vintage limo to the church
• The bridal party walks the walk
• We have a tearful "first look" on our walk down the aisle