(Handfasting Rite)

Officiant (turning to groom)
Kurt, is it your wish to take Karen to be your wife and soul mate, to join together your heart until hers, uniting your spirit and hers into a common being, gifting her with your trust, respect and abiding love for so long as you both shall live?
(Answer: It is)

Officiant (turning to bride)
Karen is it your wish to take Kurt to be your husband and soul mate, to join together your heart until his, uniting your spirit and his into a common being, gifting him with your trust, respect and abiding love for so long as you both shall live?
(Answer: It is)

A union such as this unites not only these two people, but brings together two halves of a circle. When a man and a woman pledge their hearts to each other, they not only create a home and family of their own, they also carry with them, the support, good will and hopes of all that care for them as individuals. This union is a confirmation to the families from which you come that they are worthy and that their contribution to your lives shall be continued in the home that you have created. In a close and personal way, your marriage is a uniting of these two families that bore and raised you. By uniting together, each of you join the family of the other to bear its strengths and promise into the future as it lies within your ability to do.

(Spiritual Handfasting Rite)

Officiant
We are gathered here today, among friends and family, to witness the exchange of sacred vows to unite Kurt and Karen as one. This unity is not entered into lightly, it is a simple but earnest reflection of sincerity and commitment to each other as witnessed by those closest to them. While a faith may bless, and the state may make this commitment legal, neither state nor faith can create or invalidate this union. It is a sacred commitment between these two people responsible only unto each other, held true by their values and beliefs.

This is not the first cycle of their lives together. Rather than start new, this ceremony represents to Kurt and Karen a new season. Just as spring is a time of planting, and summer is a time of growth, this cycle represents the harvest of growth, maturity, and abiding respect. Past success, failures, disappointments and joy simply nourish this harvest, providing a rich and stable place from which to grow together as the cycle of life continues.

(Flower and Ivy Ceremony)

Officiant (placing wreath on altar):
This wreath symbolizes the marriage that Karen and Kurt are celebrating here today. We, their friends and their family, will create a visual symbol of their vows...A wreath that will decorate their home, as love decorates their lives. This wreath will let them remember the love shared by all of us here today.

Joe R
The wreath has been created from ivy, a traditional symbol of Matrimony and Friendship. The circular shape of the wreath mirrors the rings that Kurt and Karen will exchange and symbolizes the never-ending devotion that they pledge each other on this day. Ivy does not "feed upon" the tree or stone it clings to, and this is important to its symbolism. Nothing can separate ivy from a tree it has once embraced, and if the tree falls the ivy stays around it. But the ivy is held to the soil by its own roots. It gets nothing from the substance of its companion, and though it dies on the same spot, it dies in its own time, making its own independent gesture. Today Kurt and Karen have cemented the bond that they share but they have not ceased to grow as individuals.

Dennis
These are branches of larkspur, a traditional symbol of humor and levity, and dock, a symbol of patience. These are added with a wish that Kurt and Karen never lose the patience and humor which help to sustain their relationship through even the roughest times and which enrich their daily life.

Kim
This rosemary symbolizes remembrance. I add this to the wreath with the wish that Karen and Kurt never allow each other to forget the way that they feel today, and that they will always recall the romance and passion that they felt on the day of their meeting. This tarragon symbolizes the unselfish regard with which they should treat one another, today and always.

Sam
I add violets and snowdrops, which symbolize faithfulness and hope. Karen and Kurt will need these traits throughout their lives together. Their faith and trust in one another will be strengthened as time goes on. Without hope, there is no chance of success. With hope they will realize that they can achieve every goal.

Beth G
These roses symbolize the passion (hold up red roses before adding to wreath) and beauty (hold up burgundy roses) and unity (hold up red & white roses) that Karen and Kurt feel today. May they always take the time to find the beauty around them, the passion within them, and to feel strength that their unity provides them. May they always recall and honor their vows made this day.

(Rose Ceremony)

Groom (as he hands his bride a long-stemmed white rose)
Karen, take this rose as a symbol of my love. It began as a tiny bud and blossomed, just as my love has grown and blossomed for you."

Bride (as she places the rose into a bud vase filled with water)
Kurt, I take this rose, a symbol of your love, and I place it into water, a symbol of life. For, just as this rose cannot survive without water, I cannot survive without you.

Groom
In remembrance of this day, I will give you a white rose each year on our anniversary, as a reaffirmation of my love and the vows spoken here today.

Bride
And I will refill this vase with water each year, ready to receive your gift, in reaffirmation of my love and the vows spoken here today.

Bride & Groom together (as the groom and his bride join hands around the rose-filled vase)
And so now united, this rose and vase will be a symbol of our commitment to each other, now and forever.

(Kurt offers his personal vows)

(Karen offers her personal vows)

(Rings)

Officiant
A ring is an unbroken circle, a symbol of unity and love, representative of the greater circle of life of which we all spiritually are a part. Having neither beginning nor end, but a continuous cycle of which you are an element. For you, it begins with the gift of life, and will continue through the end of time.

Please present the rings.
Will you, Karen, accept this ring as a loving symbol of Kurt's vows this day?
(Answer: I will)

Will you, Kurt, accept this ring as a loving symbol of Karen's vows this day?
(Answer: I will)

And now, each in your own way, please join me in prayer....

This is now a sacred place, for here life has been touched by love and love by life--radiating joy like the warmth from fire. Here now, between Kurt and Karen, lies hidden all the future of their lives together. May that future be blessed with deepening love. May they trust each other wholly, as they trust themselves, so that together they are equal to the needs of their tomorrows. May they be at home wherever they dwell, and gather wisdom from all the seasons of their lives.

So will it be.