Cape Cod Celtic Weddings- Happy St. Patrick's Day

 I first heard this Ancient Irish Blessing at Kate and Alex's Wedding at Chatham Bars Inn. It is so beautiful to pair it with the Crowning Ceremony from the Greek and Eastern Orthodox traditions.

Update on Monday, March 17, 2014 at 5:11PM by Soulful Wedding Ceremonies

 Ancient Irish Wedding Blessing

 You are the star of each night,

You are the brightness of every morning,

You are the story of each guest,

You are the report of every land.

No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,

In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.

Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,

Nor on shore, in skies above,

Nor in the depths.

You are the kernel of my heart,

You are the face of my sun,

You are the harp of my music,

You are the crown of my company.

This Cape Cod Celebrant loves poetry in a wedding ceremony

Fidelity to Love- Hafiz

Your fidelity to love, that is all you need,

No day will then match your strength.

What was once a fear or problem will see

You coming, and step aside….or run.

This fidelity to love means you now walk through life with your  true love beside you. One with whom you can laugh and cry, grow old and feel forever young. We bless you on your way-

Photography by Julia Cumes

Cape Cod Wedding Celebrants, Officiants, Ministers

Thank you Rebecca Arthurs and Julia Cumes for the photographs.  How do you chose what type of officiant you want to preside over your wedding? I often have couples from different faith traditions seek me out for spiritual yet not necessarily religious ceremonies. They say they want to bring some cultural aspects into the proceedings.

As an interfaith minister with a truly unorthodox view of religions, who was raised Irish Catholic, I love to share and to learn about all kinds of traditions, religious as well as cultural. I so enjoy hearing about and working into the ceremony some little ritual that is meaningful to your particuliar family.

Our family always sings and has a few recitations every time we gather for birthdays, graduations, weddings and yes, even at funerals- "we play the best of all." ( From McNamara's Band one of the many Irish American songs we performed as children.)

I am blessed to belong to a family that loves to celebrate and I carry that tradition into my ceremonies.

So I feel more like a celebrant with an interfaith seminary education than I do an officiant, although I do believe it is important to stand on ceremony and give this nuptial rite of passage its proper gravitas.

That doesn't mean we can't have fun!

 

 Hello Love Photography

The time has come to cross- Naturally Elegant Wedding Ceremonies

Key Thresholds “It is wise in your own life to be able to recognize and acknowledge key thresholds: to take your time; to feel all the varieties of presence that accrue there; to listen inward with complete attention until you hear the inner voice calling you forward. The time has come to cross.”    John O’Donohue from 'To Bless the Space between Us'

Update on Friday, November 15, 2013 at 10:42AM by Soulful Wedding Ceremonies

Cape Cod Chapels- Going to the Chapel and we are going get married

This Cape Cod Wedding Celebrant/Officiant/Interfaith Minister, had the pleasure of presiding over two weddings in Historic Yarmouth Port this past weekend. I have to say the chapel atmosphere is different and equally lovely to the outdoor settings we have here on Cape Cod. There is something more hushed and softly solemn in the best way about an indoor chapel.

The Kelley Chapel has a quality of  sweet silence, so cozy with the woodburning pot belly stove to keep us all warm. In keeping with the setting, Jenniefer and Keith chose the Quaker Vows and the Celtic Blessing of the Hands for their ceremony.

"In the presence of God and these our friends, I take thee, to be my wife, promising with Divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband so long as we both shall live."

"In the presence of God and these our friends I take thee, to be my husband, promising with Divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful wife, so long as we both shall live."

An excerpt from the blessing of the hands:

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.
These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.