The Wedding Ceremony of Leif Brown and Kathy Bateman

Blade magically appears at the trellis at 6:25pm

Processional (6:30pm):

music: Trumpet Voluntary - Clarke
Caitlin & Granddad (Matthew Laura)
Cassandra & Grandmom (Dorothy Laura)
Nissa & Ken
Tim B. & Leslie
Frank & Sabrina

music: Peter Gunn - Blues Brothers
Leif & Kate

music: Ride of the Valkeries - Vagner
Kathy & Bob


First Ring: "In God"

BLADE: I'd like to thank you all for joining Leif and Kathleen on this
most sacred of occassions.

BLADE: Today, we stand on a cusp. I do not only mean the the cusp of the
new life that Leif and Kathleen are now creating, however. Honestly, Leif
and Kathleen began creating that new life years ago, when they first met.
I am also speaking a different milestone. All of us are looking down the
business end of the next millenium. The big Y2K is almost on top of us and
whether you believe the machinery of the world will come to a screeching
halt or not, the next millenium is a turning point for everyone. We are
entering a new era where the nature of the entire world might change from
one year to the next.

Thus, we are at a perfect time to reflect on our future. The creation of a
new marriage on the threshold of a new thousand years of history. And, it
will be events like this that create this future legacy. Every little
connection, every smile, every tear, every proclamation of love is like
the wing flap of the mythical butterfly whose fluttering creates
hurricanes. Every action we take shapes those after it and those after
that. In the words of Frank Herbert, "The beginning is a very delicate
time."

And that brings us back to this beginning. The union of two people, the
most sacred of connections. But in light of the new era upon us, we have
to determine what marriage is and what marriage will mean in the years to
come. 

A marriage is not about children.  Many couples have gone to their graves
without producing any children. This doesn't make them any less married or
committed to each other. Marriage transcends children.

A marriage is not a contract with society. A society that does not
recognize marriage dies. It isn't a contract of law to be governed by
those elected to public office, but a contract of love between
individuals. Marriage transcends society and statutes.

Marriage does not belong to a church. Every major religion that has ever
appeared on this earth has recognized marriage in one form or another.
Marriage is sacred not due to the blessings of the church, but often
despite it. Marriage transcends religion.

Marriage does not make a family. Families can encompass many, including
relatives, friends, and loved ones. But a family without marriage, without
commitment, degenerates into petty politics. Marriage even transcends
family.

But there are things marriage does not transcend. Honesty, respect,
perception, sensitivity. The willingness to learn, the acceptance of
change, the desire to compromise, to build a life. The commitment to not
just cultivate these qualities in yourself but in your partner as well.

To promote not only betterment of one, but of both. That, more than
anything else, is what make marriage so important, so incredibly sacred
and vital to the fabric of life. These bonds of love which bolster one
another are our rigtheousness, no matter what form they take or what
ceremony is used.
With marriage, we become more in the sight of God, no matter what name of
Him we use. 

Second Ring: "In Water"

KATHY takes a chalice of water and holds it in her hand

KATHY:  This water is the essence of my life. I give this essence freely,
that it might mingle with yours and become more. And with my life to
sustain you, may you never thirst.

BLADE: And will you promise to open your eyes to Leif as you open your
body and heart to him?
And with all these will you admire and honor and praise his beauty?
And will you help him change and grow with life while remaining constant
when all the world is change?
Will you speak wisdom to his fear and comfort him in the dark?
And do you trust him beyond trust, beyond words, even beyond these oaths?

KATHY: I do, that I be made complete in water, in God, and in thee.
(KATHY pours water into chalice Blade is holding)

LEIF: This water is the essence of my life. I give this essence freely,
that it might mingle with yours and become more. And with my life to
sustain you, may you never thirst.

BLADE: And will you promise to open your eyes to Leif as you open your
body and heart to him?
And with all these will you admire and honor and praise his beauty?
And will you help him change and grow with life while remaining constant
when all the world is change?
Will you speak wisdom to his fear and comfort him in the dark?
And do you trust him beyond trust, beyond words, even beyond these oaths?

LEIF: I do, that I be made complete in water, in God, and in thee.
(LEIF pours water into chalice Blade is holding)

BLADE: As they mingle these two waters, do Leif and Kathleen mingle there
lives. In water is their new life born. (Hands chalice to LEIF. LEIF
drinks half, hands it to KATHY who drinks the rest) 

Third Ring: "In Thee"

(SOMEONE hands BLADE the RINGS(tm). BLADE gives a RING(tm) to LEIF)
BLADE: Do you, Leif Marten Brown, accept Kathleen as your wife and
partner? Do you choose to drink deeply of her life, her sorrows and her
triumphs?

LEIF: I do.  I give this ring as a symbol of your love, of my love, and of
these vows that bind us together, that all three be remembered and
reflected in water, in God, and in thee.
(LEIF puts the RING(tm) on KATHY's FINGER(c))

(BLADE gives a RING to KATHY)

BLADE: Do you, Kathleen Suzanne Brown, accept Leif as your husband and
partner? Do you choose to drink deeply of his life, his sorrows and his
triumphs?

KATHY: I do.  I give this ring as a symbol of your love, of my love, and
of these vows that bind us together, that all three be remembered and
reflected in water, in God, and in thee.
 (KATHY puts the RING(tm) on LEIF's FINGER(r))

(KATHY AND LEIF hold each other's HANDS. BLADE stops using stupid CAPITALS
 and puts his hands on top of theirs)

BLADE: And with these rings do you bind yourself together. And as a circle
has no end, so shall it be with your love. Forever can you look to each
other and say "In God, in water and in thee, I am complete."
  
Presentation of the couple

BLADE: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my privilege and my honor to present to
you and to the world, Leif Brown and Kathleen Bateman. Husband and wife.

The Kiss (tongue optional, but encouraged)

Whooping and hollering