Welcome/Convocation [Judge Jacobs]:

We are gathered here in the presence of God and of this company to join together in holy matrimony Mark and Eileen. On this day, we celebrate love.

When we see Eileen and Mark together, when we observe their joy in one another, we are overjoyed as well. For when we see them together, we know we are in the presence of love.

Love is a quality of spirit and an attitude of the emotions. Love is the foundation of a marriage. But a marriage is also a life's work, a spiritual art form. So this is an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility -- and we who partake in it bind ourselves as witnesses to the labor of love that Mark and Eileen are undertaking.

In acknowledgement of this holy purpose and of the power of this occasion, let us pray.

Invocation [Judge Jacobs]:

God of Light, we give you thanks for Eileen and Mark, for their open hearts and spirits, and for the example of love that they embody here in our presence.

Be with them on this joyous occasion of expressing their love and making their vows; and be with us, their witnesses, that we may find our lives uplifted by the love and the commitment they have asked us to share with them.

Music after Invocation: El Noy de la Mare (Torroba)

Address and Readings [Judge Jacobs]:

Mark and Eileen, today each of you is taking into your care and your trust the happiness of someone you love with all your heart. You are agreeing to share life's deepest and richest experiences. You are adding to your life not only the affection of each other, but also the companionship and the blessing of a mutual respect as well. And you have invited your family and friends to share in the celebration of your love, a love that now expresses itself in your union as husband and wife.

[Judge Jacobs, to everyone]:

Entering into marriage is entering into life's most important relationship. Marriage is built on the foundation of love. But the love on which a marriage is built is something far more than just feelings of romance. It is caring more about the well-being and happiness of our partner than our own needs and desires. Love makes burdens lighter because you divide them. It makes joys more intense because you share them. It makes you stronger together than when you are apart. And it makes you able to live your life in ways that you dare not risk alone. Love -- the real love that is the essence of marriage -- is the most glorious and the most satisfying element of life itself.

And indeed, when we see Eileen and Mark together, when we observe their joy in one another, we know we are in the presence of this kind of love -- the kind of love that has its greatest expression in marriage.

Here is what Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote about marriage ...

1^st Reading (Lindbergh):
[Judge Jacobs]

...[O]ne recognizes the truth of Saint Exupery's line: Love does not consist in gazing
at each other...but in looking outward together in the same direction. For in fact,
man and woman are not only looking outward in the same direction;
they are working outward. Here one forms ties, roots, a firm base....Here one makes
oneself part of the community of men, of human society.
Here the bonds of marriage are formed. For marriage, which is always spoken of
as a bond, becomes actually, in this stage, many bonds, many strands, of different
texture and strength, making up a web that is taut and firm. The web is fashioned
of love. Yes, but many kinds of love: romantic love first, then a slow-growing
devotion and, playing through these, a constantly rippling companionship. It is
made of loyalties, and interdependencies, and shared experiences. It is woven of
memories of meetings and conflicts; of triumphs and disappointments. It is a web
of communication, a common language, and the acceptance of lack of language,too;
a knowledge of likes and dislikes, of habits and reactions, both physical and
mental. It is a web of instincts and intuitions, and known and unknown exchanges.
The web of marriage is made by propinquity, in the day-to-day living side by side,
looking outward and working outward in the same direction. It is woven in space
and in time of the substance of life itself.

Yes, when we see Eileen and Mark together, when we see their joy in one another, we know we are in the presence of love. Karla Ekblaw, a friend of the bride and groom, will now read a selection of poetry. Karla ...

Music before, during, and after 2^nd reading: Estudio #12 (Sor)

The Sufi poet, Jelaluddin Rumi, wrote often about love. He wrote ...

You that love,
Lovers, this is your home. Welcome!
Today is a festival!
Clap your hands and say, 'This is a day of happiness!'
Who in the world is like this bridal pair?
The voices of Love are approaching from all sides.
We are on our way to heaven!
Once upon a time we played with angels.
Let's all go back up there again.

The earth and the sky are full of sugar.
Sugar cane is sprouting all around.
Watch the dust grains moving in the light.
Their dance is our dance.
We rarely hear the inward music,
but we're all dancing to it nevertheless,
directed by what teaches us,
the pure joy of the sun,
our Music Master.

Music before, during, and after 3^rd and 4th readings: Afro-Cuban Lullaby

My prayer for the two of us, and our family and friends, is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make us a channel of thy peace,
That where there is hatred, we may bring love;
That where there is wrong, we may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
That where there is discord, we may bring harmony;
That where there is error, we may bring truth;
That where there is doubt, we may bring faith;
That where there is despair, we may bring hope;
That where there are shadows, we may bring light;
That where there is sadness, we may bring joy.
Lord, grant that we may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood; and to love, rather than to be loved.

Music continues during and after 4th reading: Afro-Cuban Lullaby

Our wishes for Eileen and Mark are captured in the Apache Blessing:

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

Consecration [Judge Jacobs]:

Dear God, look mercifully upon your children, Mark and Eileen, and be generous with them so that in the unfolding veils of time they may truly stand for one another as emblems of the incarnation of your love. Help them maintain a sense of joy, excitement, possibility, and challenge about what they are undertaking here, the ever-unfolding and beautiful work of becoming the bearers of your love.

And knowing that this is a high and often difficult work -- that its rewards are uncommon, and often invisible in everyday life -- we pray for them the benediction of company, the encouragement of witnesses, the boundless joy of living always in the midst of love.

Give them peace of heart and strength of spirit so they may honor the vows they make here today. And may the promises they make inspire and instruct each one of us who celebrates with them. Amen.

Vows:
[Mark]

I have never known anyone as wonderful as you are, Eileen.
I'm the luckiest and the happiest man in the entire world because of you.
I love you more than I can express in words.
In fact, even the word "love" is inadequate.
So what really matters is what I promise to do for you:
I promise to never take you for granted.
I promise to always support you in everything you do.
I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy.
I will love you and be there for you, no matter what happens in our lives, for the rest of our lives.

[Eileen]

Mark, I love you. I choose now to take this journey with you
Wherever it leads,
Whatever the outcomes
No matter what may befall us
I take you to be my partner in marriage and in life,
To stand by you always,
To love you and honor you,
To be steadfast support in times of trouble and sorrow,
To share in your joys, celebrate your victories,
And create with you a living example of the beauty of a relationship between a man and a woman.

[Judge Jacobs]

Do you, Mark, take Eileen to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do you part? [Mark: I do]

Do you, Eileen, take Mark to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do you part? [Eileen: I do]

Ring Ceremony [Mark]:

This ring is a circle, without beginning and without end -- it's eternal, just as our love is eternal. I pray that you wear it always with joy and with love. With this ring I join my life to yours forever.

Unity Candle Ceremony:
[Judge Jacobs]