Weddingbee Blog

After a few more lovely words from our officiant, the Dude and I did something called the “expression of intent.” It was separate from our vows, and though it might have seemed repetitive, I thought it was a lovely sentiment. We declared to the world (well, to the room, at least) that we were ready to do this thing!

Spike: The Dude, will you take Miss Mouse to be your lawfully wedded wife and travel the rest of life’s road with her? Will you love her, laugh with her, comfort her, honor and protect her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

The Dude: I will.

Spike: Miss Mouse, will you take the Dude to be your lawfully wedded husband and travel the rest of life’s road with him? Will you love him, laugh with him, comfort him, honor and protect him, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

Miss Mouse: I will.

This was a special moment, where we got to really look at each other and soak everything in.

Then it was time for our second reading. We asked the Dude’s sister, J Dawg, to do this one. J Dawg is more than a SIL to me—she’s my friend, and now that the Dude and I are married, I really feel like she is my sister. She’s the Dude’s only sibling, and they are very close. Needless to say, having her do this reading was a huge honor.

Look how proud the Dude is of his little sister.

I knew when I started writing the ceremony that I wanted to incorporate something in support of those who do not yet have the right to marry in this country. Luckily, I found this amazing reading that someone left as a comment on A Practical Wedding.

It’s from Plato’s Symposium:

Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.

To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men called the children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a third made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought for a way to end the humans’ insolence without destroying them.

It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of humankind.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, is but the indenture of a person, and we are always looking for our other half. Those whose original nature lies with the children of the Sun are men who are drawn to other men, those from the children of the Earth are women who love other women, and those from the children of the Moon are men and women drawn to one another. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.

Because I don’t have a close-up of J Dawg doing the reading, here is a photo of her looking hot in her amazing dress. (Photo by MOH Deniz.)

J Dawg did such an amazing job doing this reading—I didn’t even know how nervous she was until afterward! I absolutely loved this reading, and I’m so glad we were able make our tiny statement for the GLBTQ community. However, I didn’t quite realize how long the reading was until about halfway through. If I could do it over again, I’d cut it down a bit, if only to save J Dawg from having to stand up there so long!

We then segued into the next part of our ceremony, the handfasting. I’d been in love with this idea since I saw Mrs. Cherry Pie’s recaps.

Spike bound our hands together (for some reason this was very funny to us!), as she explained the meaning behind handfastings.

Handfastings are an ancient European tradition, dating back to the 16th Century. The joining of the hands became a feature of betrothals in Scotland and in England during the medieval period.

(OK, confession: everything I know about handfastings I learned from a 20-minute Google/Wikipedia search.)

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.

Then Spike removed the handfasting cord and handed it to Best Man Curtis for safekeeping. Hmm, now that I think about it, I’m not sure where that thing is! (But wherever it is, I’m sure it’s still tied, as love between the Dude and Mrs. Mouse definitely still lasts!)

Next up: the vows and the rings!

All photos by the Nichols, unless otherwise noted.

Previously, on Our Rainy-Day Wedding:
The Rehearsal
Bridal Party Gifts
Getting Ready
First Look
The Dude (Still) Looks Pretty Hot in a Suit
Da Bride
Just Us Part I
Just Us Part II
The Super-Fly Bridal Party
When Stuff Gets Wack Pre-Ceremony
Here Comes the (Bride) Sun