DavidV Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 In just a few months, I will be getting married to the future Mrs. GreedyCapitalist. We'll be getting married in Maroon Bells National Park in Aspen, Colorado. We are creating our ceremony from scratch, and I am writing our vows. I have asked my friends and searched online to see what their ceremony was, but I have not found much. No one I've found had a wedding of our scope. I intend to put a lot of thought into the ceremony and publish it online as a template for others. Would anyone here care to share their wedding with me? What made it different from a traditional wedding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chops Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 (edited) We didn't write any custom vows, but I did write the "readings", and pretty much all the material that was spoken at the wedding (with the exception of a few Rand quotes). We also had a rand quote about love on the program. the other unique thing we had was during the ceremony, I played a piano piece I had written for her years ago. Aside from the piano thing, we pretty much followed the standard christian structure of a wedding (intro, reading, more talking, reading, me on piano, vows, completion). And for our music, we had a brass quintet which produced a very rich sound for the music. I would totally recommend it (I was hesitant at first, as I thought it wouldn't appropriate at all for a wedding, but after hearing them at another wedding, I was totally convinced). The "readings", if you're interested: The Nature of Love (you shouldn't have too much trouble finding the Rand quotes). Love, friendship, respect and admiration are the emotional response of one person to the virtues of another, the spiritual payment given in exchange for the personal pleasure derived from the virtues of another's character. It is with one's sense of life, the totality of one's personality, that one falls in love. One falls in love with the embodiment of the values that formed a person's character, which are reflected in the widest goals or the smallest gestures, which create the style of the soul – the individual style of of a unique, unrepeatable, irreplaceable consciousness. Romantic Love is the most intense emotion experienced by a person, and is one of total integration of the values, virtues, and personality with respect to another. It is the most intense form of friendship possible, and by it's nature, one of exclusivity. The nature of love ensures that to love someone romantically is the biggest compliment one can give to another; it is a statement that everything you are, your virtues, values, goals, sense of life, and personality are exactly that for which I would rather die than lose. There is no more complete a compliment, nor one of more intensity possible. The Nature of Marriage Romantic love is an emotion felt for the person whom, above all, you love the most. By this very nature, Romantic Love requires exclusivity. When one finds that person whose very existence gives you pleasure, for whose life you would gladly trade your own, and with whom you wish to spend the rest of your life, then marriage becomes an option to further solidify that relationship. Marriage begins with the wedding, which is the formal announcement and celebration of that love which already makes them inseparable. It's the way of bringing the families and friends together to celebrate the love between the bride and groom. The exclusivity of a marriage is symbolized in the exchange of rings. The rings serve a dual purpose. One, for yourself, as a physical and symbolic representation of the love for your spouse, and two, as a way to tell the world “Hands off, I'm taken.” Marriage is ultimately the formality of the love that makes two people belong to one another, and something that no force beyond their love alone is required to maintain. The phrase “til death do us part” is a representation of the strength of the love, such that there is no force capable of emotionally separating the husband and wife, except death. Marriage is the ultimate public and formal expression of romantic love. There were a few tweaks to these (ad I don't remember really what they were), but these are the quickest copies I could find. It's funny you mention how you are planning on posting it as a template. That was something I was always planning on doing as well, making something like "athiestwedding.com" or whatever. But after the wedding wasn't totally fresh anymore, the interest faded. Oh well. Best of luck Oh yeah, and you're free to use any of that material for your wedding if you like (pretty much the first half of the first reading is all Rand anyway). Edited April 14, 2009 by Chops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 (edited) We are creating our ceremony from scratch, and I am writing our vows. I have asked my friends and searched online to see what their ceremony was, but I have not found much. This is one I remember sending to Stella Daily before, that I had come across online. No one I've found had a wedding of our scope. I intend to put a lot of thought into the ceremony and publish it online as a template for others. Would anyone here care to share their wedding with me? What made it different from a traditional wedding? When I had gotten married 6-7 years ago, (but I have divorced her since then) I was still more a Satanist than anything else philosophically, so our JP just secularized our vows and made them simple. Nothing dramatic, or really meaningful, or personalized. I did not have a way with words then, as I do now. Edited April 14, 2009 by intellectualammo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidV Posted April 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 The website for our upcoming wedding is up at DavidLovesSarah.RationalMind.Net. We used quotes from Ayn Rand, Robert A. Heinlein, Bruce Lee, and Lucille Ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) The website for our upcoming wedding is up at DavidLovesSarah.RationalMind.Net. We used quotes from Ayn Rand, Robert A. Heinlein, Bruce Lee, and Lucille Ball. Awww...thanks for sharing this site with us, David. My favorite pic of you two would have to be the one in the "Welcome" page that's in the menu (having trouble directly linking to it) It actually kind of reminds me of like a Wilkinson acrylic sculpture that's come to life. :-) (like her "north", in the sense that Edward Cline means, which can be found in his Sparrowhawk Series, mentioned in this post of mine). And I must say, I love that Heinlein quote you guys have on there too: Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own Edited April 27, 2009 by intellectualammo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEgoist Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 As I told Kelly (K-Mac): Gangster rap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Yes, Ryan was a HUGE help! Here's what I told Santiago when we got married a few weeks ago... A great philosopher once said, "A man of self-esteem, a man in love with himself and with life, feels an intense need to find human beings he can admire - and a spiritual equal he can love." When one finds that "spiritual equal," there is no better way to celebrate and honor that achievement than with marriage. Santiago, you came into my life so quickly after my disastrous first marriage ended, that it made my head spin. My emotions were correct, but I wasn't sure if I was psychologically ready for a serious relationship; however, we kept the lines of communication open, I consulted with trusted friends, read books, introspected and figured out what I want. I made some mistakes along the way, but we worked through them, and in the long run, they made me a better person and made me love you all the more. Your ability to stay calm and rational through the toughest of situations is such an inspiration to me. You always manage to say the right thing with that wonderfully soothing voice. You always ask me good questions to get me thinking for myself, without just giving me the answers. Your thoughtfulness, benevolence and intelligence are not just appreciated, but are the key ingredients to my sincere adoration of you. I love everything about you. Everything from the physical things…the tone of your voice, the big bear hugs you give me frequently and your handsome smile…to the more essential things, such as your sense of life and values. It's with that sense of life, the way you approach life and face existence, that essential sum of your being, that I am in love with. The things that you value, I value, and that's what makes you my "spiritual equal" and my lover. [Put the ring on his finger.] Santiago, will you accept this wedding band as a symbol of our deep affection for one other, and accept me as your wife? I would like to again quote the great philosopher, Ayn Rand. Without the influence of her philosophy, not only would I be in an awful, unhappy place in my life, but I never would have met you. "Love is the expression of philosophy-of a subconscious philosophical sum-and perhaps, no other aspect of human existence needs the conscious power of philosophy quite so desperately. When that power is called upon to verify and support an emotional appraisal, when love is a conscious integration of reason and emotion, of mind and values, then-and only then-it is the greatest reward of man's life." Santiago, you are the greatest reward of my life. I love you. Then he read a fantastic poem by Berton Braley, Negation, then he read his vows, which I don't have with me, so I can't post them here. Basically, when it comes to vows, I think it's important to define what marriage and romantic love is/means to each of you, then why you love each other, not just that you do. I wasn't sure how to get started, so I just started brainstorming and writing down random thoughts and quotes as they came to me. Then when I sat down and got serious about writing, I was able to take those notes and pull everything together. I was surprised how much of the notes I did not directly use; however, they still helped me get thinking in the right direction. Also, reading this website has helped me a ton since my divorce, and I reread the pertinent sections after getting engaged. I agree with a lot of what the author has to say about relationships and marriage. Hope any or all of this helps a bit. I can't wait to see you guys in Aspen! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEgoist Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Beautiful vows, Kelly. I hadn't seen them before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Thanks! I'm not much of a writer, but by the time I finished, I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. I guess when you are truly inspired, it just flows out better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Thanks! I'm not much of a writer, but by the time I finished, I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. I guess when you are truly inspired, it just flows out better. Oh yeah! You got that right, Kell! Santiago, you are the greatest reward of my life. I love you. Thank you for sharing your vows with the rest of us here, particularily for ones like me, who haven't exactly kept up on your life's events since they are so concerned with their own. ;-) Occasionally I do look around me. Edited April 27, 2009 by intellectualammo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Ha ha! I understand! Here's our wedding website if you're interested. I had plans to add our vows, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet. Sorry if I did, but I didn't mean to hijack David's thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Ha ha! I understand! Here's our wedding website if you're interested. *looks up at site* Awww! Thanks for sharing the link with me, nice pics of you two together. I do like seeing people happy together. I like taking the time to see that, especially those involving fellow Objectivists; then I have a good indication that that is actual happiness shared between two people that I am seeing. *looks back down* =) Oh and quickly, sometime have your hubby comment on that book that he was getting, that we talked about in the Berton Braley thread. I'm curious about it, and can't find anything about the real substance of it's contents. Edited April 27, 2009 by intellectualammo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllMenAreIslands Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials, GC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Link Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Would anyone here care to share their wedding with me? What made it different from a traditional wedding? My wife and I got married in 2004 in a dance studio we decorated for the occasion. I arranged all of the music played by the brass quintet (two trumpets, French horn, trombone, and tuba). The first piece was Modeste Mussorgsky's The Great Gate of Kiev, the final section of Pictures at an Exhibition (written for solo piano and then orchestrated by Ravel and many others). The brass quintet continued with Bless This House, a hymn that Lori's father used to sing every Thanksgiving. Lori's entourage entered to the sounds of Chopin's Prelude No. 15 (another piece composed for solo piano). As the brass quintet played the middle section in C# minor everyone waited (a full three minutes!) for Lori to appear. With the return of the main theme in Db major Lori began her walk up the aisle with her brother Jim. At the conclusion of the ceremony, presided over by a judge, Lori and I walked down the aisle (after a big, long kiss) to Mendelssohn's famous Wedding March from A Mid-Summer Night's Dream. You can read our bios, how Lori and I met, and how I proposed, here: http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_ma...219129874181047 That page also has a picture of the two of us either before or after the big kiss. John Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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