Wedding Vows, Passages, Poems

Amy & Russell
Groom & BrideYou are my lover and my teacher,You are my model and my accomplice,And you are my true counterpart.I will love you, hold you, and honor you,I will respect you, encourage you, and cherish you,In health and sickness,Through sorrow and success,For all the days of my life.

Love reflects love in return:The Divine Comedy by Dante
" The love of God, Unutterable and perfect, flows into a pure soul the way light rushes into a transparent object. The more love we receive, the more love we shine forth; so that, as we grow clear and open, the more complete the joy of loving is. And the more souls who resonate together, the greater the intensity of their love for, mirror like, each soul reflects the other."

William Shakespeare's:

One half of me is yours, the other half yours-Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours, And so all yours!

Upon that I kiss your hand, and I call you my queen

If music be the food of love, play on...

I love thee, I love but thee. With a love that shall not die, Till the sun grows cold, and the starts grow old

Doubt though the starts are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt, I love thee

My heart is ever at your service

Hereafter in a better world than this, I shall desire more love and knowledge of you
I'll be as patient as a gentle

Love comforteth like sunshine after rain

(Percy Bysshe Shelly)

All love is sweet. Given or returned. Common as light is love. And its familiar voice wearies not ever. They who inspire it most are fortunate, As I am now but those who feel it most are happier still

(John Hay)

Each shining light above us has its own perticular grace; but every light in heaven is my darling's face.

(Phoebe Cary)

I think true love is never blind, but rather brings an added light, an inner vision quick to find the beauties hid from common sight. No soul can ever clearly see anothers highest, noblest part; Save through the sweet philosphy and loving wisdom of the heart.

(Mary Ashley Townsend)

How much do I love thee? Go ask the deep sea. How many rare gems in its coral caves be; or ask the broad billows. That ceaselessly roar, How many bright sands do they kiss on the shore

(Auguste Mignon)

One heart's enough for me-One heart to love, adore-One heart's enough for me-O. who could wish for more? The birds that soar above, and sing their songs on high, Ask but for one to love and therefore should Not I?One pair of eyes to gaze. One pair of sparkling blue, In which sweet love betrays Her form of fairest hue; One pair of glowing checks, Fresh as the rose and fair, Whose crimson blush bespeaks the health that's native there.One pair of hands to twine Love's flowers fair and gay. And form a wreath divine, Which never can decay; And this is all I ask, One gentle form and fair-Beneath whose smiles to bask And learn love's sweetness there.

By Mitch Albom
“Still,” Morrie said, “there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.“And the biggest one of those values, Mitch?” Yes?“Your belief in the importance of your marriage.” He sniffed, then closed his eyes for a moment. “Personally,” he sighed, his eyes still closed, “I think marriage is a very important thing to do, and you’re missing a lot if you don’t try it.” He ended the subject by quoting a poem he believed in like a prayer: “Love each other or perish.”

I Love You
You're kissable and cuddly;
You're lovable and sweet;
You thrill me every minute,
And sweep me off my feet.

You're charming and disarming,
Desirable and true.
You inspire and impress me,
And that's why I love you!

(Carl Sandburg)

I love you, Not only for what you are But for what I am When I am with you. I love you Not only for what You have made of yourself But for what You are making of me. I love you For the part of me That you bring out; I love you For, putting your hand Into my heaped—up heart And passing over All the foolish, weak things That you can’t help Dimly seeing there, And for drawing out Into the light All the beautiful belongings That no one else had looked Quite far enough to find. I love you because you... Are helping me to make Of the lumber of my life Not a tavern But a temple; Out of works Of my every day Not a reproach But a song. I love you Because you have done More than any creed Could have done To make me good And more than any fate Could have done To make me happy. You have done it Without a touch, Without a word, Without a sign. You have done it By being yourself. Perhaps that is what Being a friend means, After all.
I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be. I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals. I pray for your desires that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little. A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. The most beautiful rose is one hardly more than a bud wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for a larger and finer growth. Not always shall you be what you are now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and therefore I love you.

Thomas Campbell

Love! the surviving gift of Heaven, The choicest sweet of Paradise, In life's else bitter cup distilled

Owen Meredith

That old miracle-Love at first sight- Needs no explanations. The heart reads aright Its destiny sometimes.

(Walt Whitman)
Listen, I will be honest with you I do not offer the old smooth prizes But offer rough new prizes These are the days that must happen to you: You shall not heap up what is called riches, You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve. However sweet the laid up stores, However convenient the dwelling, you shall not remain there. However sheltered the port, however calm the waters, you shall not anchor there. However welcome the hospitality that welcomes you, You are permitted to receive it but a little while Afoot and lighthearted, take to the open road Healthy, free, the world before you the long brown path before you, leading wherever you choose. Say only to one another: Camerado, I give you my hand! I give you my love more precious than money; I give you myself before preaching and law: Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?