June 2010 Weddings Have Begun!

Wedding season has truly begun!
So far in June I've officiated:
A sunny outdoor wedding at the gazebo of The Bethwood (Totowa) for Claudia and Norman. Norman's heritage is part Lenape (Native American) from the Ramapough Mountain Nation of NJ, so we included some Lenape spirituality in the ceremony. We honored the Grandmother and Grandfathers of the Four Directions and what each represents in marriage and in our lives, as the bride and groom offered tobacco in a seashell to the East, South, West and North. I used some Cedar & Sage incense for the blessing. We also honored Claudia's Mexican heritage with a special wedding poem, said to date back to pre-Colonial times in Mexico: 

I know not whether thou has been absent:

I lie down with thee, I rise up with thee,
In my dreams thou art with me.
If my eardrops tremble in my ears,
I know it is thou moving within my heart.

A sunny morning ceremony at The Mill (Spring Lake Heights) by the pond, as a swan swam by... the highlight was when I related the heartfelt and often humorous things Regina and Matt had to say about their love and how they met via a questionnaire that I offer to all couples. People loved it! There was laughter and it was very sweet.

the joyous and moving nuptials of Kara and Laura, two beautiful brides who wed each other at The Berkeley Hotel (Asbury Park). God bless them for embracing the possibilities in this amazing world.

the muy linda backyard wedding of Estela and Moe in Passaic, NJ, who have a love story resembling "The Notebook" going back over 10 years; and were so thrilled to finally be together surrounded by their loving children and family.

a moving Baptism for Kollet, 9 weeks young, in the gazebo of Town Hall Park (Lyndhurst). Kollet's cousins had hand-painted seashells in which we held water and the other liquids for her anointing. Her dad Charlie said, "Everyone was blown away by the ceremony... it's different! It's REAL." Other guests loved how personal the ceremony was. 

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