Reverend Jonny Diane Thompson

Officiant: 

A handfasting & Wedding ceremony is the eternal joining of two people in love. Of which goes long back into the history of love & commitment to all they stand before today ... Barbara & Ryan have chosen to use the symbolic handfasting in place of the traditional exchange of rings ...

Now, I ask you both to look deeply into one another's eyes and hearts to see only each other, to hear only your words and hearts as we move through this day as these moments will be what takes you through each bump corner and curve in this new journey you are starting today ... I ask you now to cross your hands over each other, and take one another's hands. Hold them tightly as you hold your love and intent ... I ask that you will always remember that at no time is anyone or anything more important than the love you are sharing from this moment on ...

(Officiant wraps the cord(s) around the Barbara and Ryan’s wrists, binding them together loosely and tying a soft knot.)

Barbara and Ryan, these cords symbolizes so very much. It is your life, your love, and the eternal connection that the two of you have found with one another. May you be bound together by your love, now and forever.

In times past it was believed that the human soul shared characteristics with all things divine. It is this belief which assigned virtues to the cardinal directions; East, South, West and North. It is in this tradition that I offer this blessing:

Blessed be this marriage with the gifts from the east -- new beginnings that come each day with the rising sun, communication of the heart, mind, body and soul.

Blessed be this marriage with the gifts of the south -- the light of the heart, the heat of passion, and the warmth of a loving home.

Blessed be this marriage with the gifts of the west -- the rushing excitement of a raging river, the soft and pure cleansing of a rainstorm, and a commitment as deep as the ocean itself.

Blessed be this marriage with the gifts of the north -- a solid foundation on which to build your lives, abundance and growth of your home, and the stability to be found by holding one another at the end of the day.

Barbara and Ryan, these four simple blessings will help you on your journey that begins today. However, they are only tools. They are tools which you must use together to create the light, the strength, the infinite energy now and forever of a love you both so richly deserve.

Friends and family I now ask you to please send all of your loving energy towards our newly married & handfasted couple so that they may begin their life together with all of your blessings and warm wishes...

May your lives be full and your hurts be few. May you draw forth, each from the other, the highest and the best. May you express poise, patience, kindness and understanding with each other. May your lives blend together in harmony and joy and may you days be good and long upon the earth. By the Winds that bring change, by the Fire of love, by the Seas of fortune and the strength of the Earth, do I bless this union.

(Officiant will announce to all while holding your hands and the cord while saying:)

The ties of this handfasting are not formed by these cords, or even by the knots connecting them. They are formed instead by your vows, by your pledge, your souls, and your two hearts, now bound together as one.

Either of you may drop the chords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making or breaking of this union. 

Pronouncement:

Officiant:

Your two hearts now beating as one, your two souls now deeply joined anew - walk forward together, forever hand in hand, May your marriage be a lifelong celebration of love! Now that the ceremony is complete, you have your promises, and exchanged your commitment out loud. May your lives together be filled with love and laughter. By the power vested in me as an Officiant and the laws of this state of Kansas, I now pronounce you as united partners from this moment forward...

As Barbara and Ryan celebrate their love sealed with a kiss ... I ask all to come to surround and embrace this newly wed couple as a symbol of celebration on this day of love light and joy ... As it is with my great honor I now present to you for the very first time Ryan and Barbara Papps ...

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