Wedding Poems and Blessings

True Love

True love gives nothing of itself
And takes nothing but from itself
Love does not possess, nor would it be possessed
For love is sufficient unto love.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself
To awake at dawn with a winged heart
And to give thanks for another day of loving.
To rest at noon and meditate upon love’s ecstasy,
To return home at evening with gratitude
And then to sleep with a prayer for your beloved in your heart
And a song of praise upon your lips.

Native American Wedding Blessing

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be the shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be the warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you,
Because now you are no longer lonely.
Now you are two bodies,
Yet there is only one life set before you.
Go therefore into your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
That your days may be good and beautiful and long upon this earth.

Love Sonnet

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz,
Or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
In secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride.
I love you because I know no other way than this.

So close that your hand on my chest is my hand.
So close that when you close your eyes, I fall asleep

Closing Ceremony Prayer

Our Father, we come here today asking for your blessing upon these two lives and this home being established. We are thankful for the love we see here and even more for the love we feel from You. May we never take this love for granted. We pray that Your love will be a shield for (Groom) and (Bride). When joy comes, may they share it together, when sorrow threatens, may they bear it together. In gladness or in tears, in sunshine or in shadows, may they draw ever closer to each other and to You.

Grant them patience, gentleness, forbearance, and understanding, and protect their home from those forces that would break it apart. We ask for health, long life, for the fulfillment of every good dream. May their love continue through life and finally be blended into eternal life. Give them such fulfillment and mutual affection that they may reach out in love and concern for others, and grant that all married persons who have witnessed these vows, find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.