Weddingbee Blog

When Mr. Dalmatian and I started planning our ceremony, Mr. Dalmatian had one request: keep it short and sweet. So we spent A LOT of time looking for the perfect readings to express what we wanted to express, and compiling the perfect vows to say exactly what we wanted to say, but in doing so we made strict edits to be sure it remained short and sweet. So, without further ado, here is the Dalmatian ceremony:

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to unite Bride and Groom in holy matrimony. Mr. and Mrs. Dalmatian have asked all of you to be here with them today because each of you have given something of yourselves into their lives. Your guidance and encouragement have shaped them and strengthened them, and in so many ways, it is you who has led them to each other.

Mr. and Mrs. Dalmatian, there are no obligations on earth sweeter or more tender than those you are about to assume. There are no vows more solemn than those you are about to make. There is no human institution more sacred than that of the home you are about to form. Please join hands.

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. They will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children, and help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch (modified version of “Blessing of the Hands”, unknown author).

The Bride and Groom now invite their friend to share a reading.

Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two (Louis de Bernieres, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”).

Thank you. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Dalmatian have chosen to commemorate their marriage through the pouring of two individual containers of sand into one.

The sand that each of you pours represents all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be.

At this time, the bride and groom would like to share their promises to each other.

Mr. Dalmatian:

Today, I give my heart to you, and only you.

I give you my trust, my support, and my unconditional love.

I promise to be your constant source of strength and comfort.

And I promise you our love will be endless.

(modified version of “Wedding Day” by Mary Huff Chandler)

Mrs. Dalmatian:

I promise to give you the best of myself, and to grow along with you.

I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see though the window of my world into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams.

I promise to love you in good times and bad, with all I have to give and all I feel inside, the only way I know how, completely and forever.

(modified version of “I Promise” by Dorothy R. Colgan)

Do you, Mr. Dalmatian, take thee, Miss Dalmatian, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?

I do.

Do you, Miss Dalmatian, take thee, Mr. Dalmatian, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?

I do.

May we now have the rings.

Mr. Dalmatian, as you place this ring on Miss Dalmatian’s finger, repeat after me: With this ring, as a symbol of my love and affection, I thee wed.

With this ring, as a symbol of my love and affection, I thee wed.

Miss Dalmatian, as you place this ring on Mr. Dalmatian’s finger, repeat after me: With this ring, as a symbol of my love and affection, I thee wed.

With this ring, as a symbol of my love and affection, I thee wed.

By virtue of the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Mr. and Mrs. Dalmatian!

*All photos by Lotus Blossom Photography

Girls Get Ready

Arriving at the Venue

The Dalmatians Rehearse

Dress Me Up

An Ode to My Bouquet (and the ’Bee)

The Dalmatian First Look

Solo Shots

The Boys and Girls

Last Photos as Fiances

Prepping the Scene