Guests assemble
Music: Prelude by Loreena McKennitt

Casey Frith-Smith, the Groomsman, escorts Brownie Willott, Grandmother of Bride, to her seat. Chris Livingston, the Best Man, escorts Kathy Willott, Mother of the Bride, to her seat.

Ian, Chris, Casey and the Minister take their places at the Wedding Arch.

Celeste Gilman, the Bridesmaid, enters and takes her place at the Arch. Alicia Dashiell, the Matron of Honor, enters and takes her place.

The Minister gestures audience to rise.

Christina enters, accompanied by her two grandfathers, John Barney and John Willott. They pause at first row of chairs.

Minister: Dear ones, those present in body and those present in spirit, welcome to this garden and this celebration of life and love, family and friendship.
Ian, is it your intention to unite yourself in marriage with Christina?

Ian: It is.

Minister: Christina, do you come to this marriage of your own free will?

Christina: I do.

Minister: And with whose blessings do you come?

John Barney: She comes with the blessings of her entire family.

Grandfathers kiss Christina, shake Ian's hand and sit down. Ian & Christina take positions facing each other in front of Minister.

Minister (to guests): Please be seated...

We are gathered here today to witness and to participate in the most time-honored celebration of the human family, uniting a man and a woman in marriage. We are here to publicly acknowledge the love which Ian and Christina have for each other, a love born in romance, rooted in trust, and flowering in all weathers. Like ripples on still water, spreading ever on and outward, their love embraces all of us gathered here. By gifting them with our presence, we remind them they are loved in return. And thus, today is not only a celebration of the union binding Ian and Christina to one another, but the union of families and friends. This may be their wedding, but the marriage shall include us all.

Ian and Christina, today you embark upon a great journey together, a journey of mind, body, and spirit, a journey made in love, a journey that will last a lifetime. No one knows what the future holds, but you have chosen to discover it together and create it anew, day-by-day. As you enter that future, remember: Love is not something you find, then store away in a crystal vase. Rather, like a garden, it must be tended and cared for that it may surprise you with fresh blossoms every day.

Ian and Christina have asked me to share with you with this passage from The Velveteen Rabbit:

"What is Real?" Asked the rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side..."Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick out handle?"

"Real isn't how you're made," said the skin horse. "It is a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" Asked the rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the skin horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once... You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Minister: Ian and Christina, your love for each other has made you Real. And though time may make you faded and shabby and loose in the joints, to each other you will always be plush and well stuffed, with bright shining eyes, facing forward and leaping down the road together.

May I have the rings, please?

Chris removes the rings from their boxes and hands them to the minister. Christina hands her bouquet to Alicia for her to hold until after the kiss.

Minister: For thousands of years lovers have exchanged rings as a token of their vows. The circle reminds us of eternity, having neither beginning nor end; while gold is so incorruptible, it cannot be tarnished by use or time. Let these rings be a sign that love has a past, a present and a future, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle of joyous wonder and delight.

Ian (repeats after Minister):

Christina, I take you to be my wife, my friend, my love;
I will laugh with you and cry with you,
grow with you in mind and spirit,
listen to you and encourage you,
always be open and honest with you,
loving you without reservation,
for as long as we both shall live.

With this ring, I join my life to yours.
Wherever you go, I will go.
Whatever you face, I will face.
My heart and my home are within you.

Ian places the ring on Christina's finger.

Christina (repeats after Minister):

Ian, I take you to be my husband, my friend, my love;
I will laugh with you and cry with you,
grow with you in mind and spirit,
listen to you and encourage you,
always be open and honest with you,
loving you without reservation,
for as long as we both shall live.

With this ring, I join my life to yours.
Wherever you go, I will go.
Whatever you face, I will face.
My heart and my home are within you.

Christina places the ring on Ian's finger.

Minister: Ian and Christina, you have exchanged vows and tokens of your love before these witnesses. Therefore, before all that is sacred and by the power vested in me by the State of California, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your marriage with a kiss.

(Kiss. Applause)

Minister: In the words of the poet Kahlil Gibran:

Love one another, but make not a bond of love;
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping,
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Minister: Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Ian and Christina Gilman.

(More applause)

Minister: The Gilmans invite you to enjoy refreshments on the deck behind the house while they complete their wedding photographs with their families. They will then join you there for their wedding reception.

Please stand for the exit of the Bridal party.

Bridal Party exits in reverse order: Ian & Christina followed by Chris & Alicia, then Casey & Celeste, then Mother of the Bride and Father of the Groom, with Minister last.