The Whimsical Ceremony

Officiant greets

Please know how very much Jack and Jill appreciate you being here today – your presence is the most precious gift of all and they want to thank you, from the bottom of their hearts.

To open the ceremony, Jack and Jill have prepared two readings that they would like to share with you.

The first is a celebration of the fun and child-like joy of building a new life together, sharing new adventures, and achieving your dreams.

Please, everyone join us in the reading of “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss.

Jan, if you would please do the honor of starting us off…..

“Oh the Places You’ll Go”

“Congratulations! Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the couple who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “We don’t choose to go there.”

With your heads full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down, any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there in the wide open air,
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to great heights!
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have all the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang, and you’ll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t. Because sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so, but, sadly it’s true that bang ups and hang ups can happen to you.

You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know
You’ll get mixed up with so many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with great care and great tact
and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
KIDS, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So, be your name Taylor or Hill or Bass
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So get on your way!”

While marriage is a time to celebrate the joining of two families, it is also a serious and solemn vow that is shared by husband and wife.

This second reading comes from “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

(MINISTER READS)

“Your friend is your needs answered. He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving. And he is your board and your fireside. For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you with
hold the “aye.” And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend. If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also. For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill? Seek him always with hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”