Our Jewish Pagan Wedding Script
Here is the wedding script that Leah and I wrote/complied. Feel free to use any portion. A lot of the content below was also borrowed from the interwebs.
Processional: Rev. Keller, Opi, Jason, Xavier and his parents, Lisa, Audrey, Leo and Jorge, and then Leah and her parents.
Marti will take position at the pulpit. Xavier will remain in the middle of the circle. After giving kisses to Xavier, Xavier’s parents will sit. Jason and Lisa will take position. Audrey, with Jorge and Leo, will drop flowers up to Xavier. Xavier will kiss to all the kids and they will sit with Xavier’s Parents. Leah will enter with her parents, reach the edge of the circle, and receive kisses from her parents. They will sit with Xavier’s parents and the kids.
Leah will walk the circle three times. The first time around she will stop to plant the seeds. The second time around she will pour water on the fountain. The third time around she will uncover the Doves. Then she will invite Xavier to light the Chalice together.
They then walk under the chuppah together.
Marti:
The circle in which you all stand is a sacred space for a sacred event to take place. Much of the symbolism of the chuppa and the wedding band hold true in the circle, the sacred womb from which the two are born again as one and the symbol of eternity.
Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass, remember; Like a stone should your love be firm, like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly.
Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for God is with you always.
Be with us here, O beings of the Air
With your clever fingers
Tie closely the bonds between these two.
Be with us here, O beings of Fire
Give their love and passion
your own all-consuming ardor
Be with us here, O beings of Water
Give them the deepest of love
and the richness of the body, of the soul and of the spirit.
Be with us here, O beings of Earth
Let your strength and constancy
Be theirs for so long as they desire
to remain together
Be with us here, oh Lord our G-d, Sovereign of the World,
who hath created joy and gladness, Bridegroom and Bride,
mirth and exultation, pleasure and delight,
love and brotherhood, peace and friendship.
Blessed art thou, O Lord,
who gives the Bridegroom joy in his Bride.
This is your first drink together. May you never thirst!
Xavier and Leah sip the wine.
Marti:
Xavier, I have not the right to bind thee to Leah, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.
Xavier:
Behold, with the circle of protection and love you created and with the wisdom of the earth, you are betrothed unto me with this ring, according to the Law of Moses and Israel.
Marti:
Leah, I have not the right to bind thee to Xavier, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in his hand.
Leah:
Behold, with the circle of protection and love I created and with the wisdom of the earth, you are betrothed unto me with this ring, according to the Law of Moses and Israel.
Marti [to Xavier]:
Repeat after me: I, John Baptista Xavier Ashe, in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, Leah Grant Ingram, to my hand, my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee and be possessed by thee without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people and thy ways as I respect myself.
Marti [to Leah]:
Repeat after me: I, Leah Grant Ingram, in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, John Baptista Xavier Ashe, to my hand, my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee and be possessed by thee without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people and thy ways as I respect myself.
1. Praised are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
2. Praised are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who created all things for Your glory.
3. Praised are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Creator of man.
4. Praised are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who created man and woman in Your image, fashioning woman from man as his mate, that together they might perpetuate life. Praised are You, O Lord, Creator of man.
5. May Zion rejoice as her children are restored to her in joy. Praised are You, O Lord, Who causes Zion to rejoice at her children's return.
6. Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, as You did to the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. Praised are You, O Lord, who grants the joy of bride and groom.
7. Praised are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who created joy and gladness, bride and groom, mirth, song, delight and rejoicing, love and harmony, peace and companionship. O Lord our G-d, may there ever be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem voices of joy and gladness, voices of bride and groom, the jubilant voices of those joined in marriage under the bridal canopy, the voices of young people feasting and singing. Praised are You, O Lord, Who causes the groom to rejoice with his bride.
Is it also your wish today that your hands be fasted in the ways of old?
Leah and Xavier:
It is.
Marti:
Woven into this cord, imbued into its very fibers, are all the hopes of your friends and family, and of yourselves, for your new life together. With the fashioning of this knot do I tie all the desires, dreams, love, and happiness wished here in this place to your lives for as long as love shall last.
In the joining of hands and the fashion of a knot, so are your lives now bound, one to another.
By this cord you are thus bound to your vow. May this knot remain tied for as long as love shall last.
May this cord draw your hands together in love, never to be used in anger. May the vows you have spoken never grow bitter in your mouths.
The cross creates the Rune Gebo which is the Rune of partnership and union. As your hands are bound by this cord, so is your partnership held by the symbol of this knot. May it be granted that what is done before God be not undone by man.
Xavier then break the glass. Mazel Tov!
Recessional: Xavier and Leah, Leah’s parents with Jorge and Leo, Xavier’s parents with Audrey, Lisa & Jason together, Opi, and Rev. Keller.
