An excerpt from our vows

To marry is to form an equal partnership, tied together by the tenuous bonds of emotion and love. It is at once the most fragile of relationships and the strongest. Fragile because it requires exactly the right mix of freedom and inter-dependence, of caring and of sharing, of being together and of being alone. But it is strong because it involves the unseen forces of something we call love - mutual devotion, concern for the happiness of the other, and joy in each other's company. For there is no stronger force involving human relationships that this silent bond love.

Remember that this wedding day is only a symbol, a celebration, a public recognition of what already exists in the silent places of your hearts. It is your marriage and not something created by the state or the Church - it is yours to define, yours to make real, yours to live. Nothing I can say can make it anything more than what already exists in your hearts. Remember also that marriage is a shared relationship, not a matter of possession. It is a means of showing your commitment to one another, not a blind surrendering of personality. It is not an excuse to become limited in your outlook; it is an opportunity for mutual growth.


I thought I would share part of our wedding vows as it may be helpful for any brides looking for readings or to be inspired to write your own. Unfortunately I do not have the writer's name, but wanted to share it anyway. Patrick and I had been together for almost 8 years prior to our wedding, so we wanted a reading that didn't talk about starting our lives together, as we were well underway, but more about the mutual respect we have towards one another and about what has existed in our hearts for so long.