Native American Wedding Vase Ceremony

       The traditional Native American wedding ritual in which the bride and groom share water from a two-spouted vase is gaining popularity with modern couples. The ritual fits nicely in an outdoor ceremony such as Pat and Julie's farm wedding that took place in front of a field of ripe corn.

       In this ceremony, the bride and groom take turns drinking from a single vase to symbolize the life they will share as husband and wife. The two separate spouts remind them that they will remain two separate and unique individuals even as their lives become one.

       As Pat and Julie drank from the vase, I said: "Pat and Julie, as you share this life-sustaining water from two spouts, so may each of you share contentment, comfort and happiness from the common cup of your marriage. May you find life's joys great, its bitterness sweetened, and all things enriched by your companionship and love."

       Indian Wedding Vases come in a wide variety of designs and make a beautiful memento of your special day. Vases can be purchased from My Spiritual Wedding. 

       Here are a couple of examples:

       After your Indian Wedding Vase ritual a Native American blessing would be appropriate. There are several of these that are used in modern wedding ceremonies. This one is a Navajo Wedding Blessing: 

Be swift like the wind in loving each other.

Be brave like the sea in loving each other.

Be gentle like the breeze in loving each other.

Be patient like the sun who waits and watches

the four changes of the earth in loving each other.

Be shining like the morning dawn in loving each other.

Be proud like the tree who stands without bending in loving each other.

Be brilliant like the rainbow colors in loving each other.

Fire-Theme Wedding

       For their June wedding, Nick and Chrissy had their guests gather in a circle around a bonfire - a reminder of the divine light that blazes within their hearts and the hearts of each one of their loved ones. Before telling their love story, I read a poem called "Love is Friendship Caught Fire" by Laura Hendricks:

Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving.
It is loyalty through good and bad times.
It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses.
Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past.
It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations,
problems, compromises, small disappointments,
big victories, and working toward common goals.
If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack.
If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.

       After I declared Nick and Chrissy to be husband and wife, they lit two individual candles from the bonfire to symbolize the way their unique energies radiate from the same source of love and light. Then they used their individual flames to light a sky lantern, which they released after it was full of hot air, to symbolize the way their united energies of life and love will enable them to achieve their highest dreams.

       All of the guests watched in awe as the sky lantern sailed above the treetops and disappeared into the clouds, and then Nick and Chrissy sealed their vows with a kiss.