It happened, the day we'd both been waiting for..

Our Wedding Prayer

God in heaven above please protect the ones we love.

We honor all that You have created as we pledge our hearts and lives together.

We honor mother-earth - and ask for our marriage to be abundant
and grow stronger through the seasons;

We honor fire - and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts;

We honor wind - and ask as we sail though life to be safe and calm
as if in our father's arms;

We honor water - to cleanse and soothe our relationship
and that it may never thirst for love;

With all the forces of the universe You created,
we pray for harmony and true happiness as we forever grow young together.

Amen.

TheVows

We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Anusha and Shree. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls, has come our way through all paths, beliefs, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, both have come here today to be joined as one in marriage. Others would ask, at this time, who gives the bride in marriage, but, as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if she comes of her own will.

Which I did.

I, SHREE, in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take you, ANUSHA, to my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire and to be desired by you, to possess you and be possessed by you, without sin or shame, for nothing else can exist in the purity of my love for you. I promise to love you wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change you in any way. I shall respect you, your beliefs, your people, and your ways as I respect myself.

I, ANUSHA, in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take you, SHREE, to my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire and be desired by you, to possess you, and be possessed by you, without sin or shame, for nothing else can exist in the purity of my love for you. I promise to love you wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change you in any way. I shall respect you, your beliefs, your people, and your ways as I respect myself.

Then Shree put the ring on my finger and gave me the symbol of Ganesha which is, he said as he gave it to me, a family tradition. And we promised to love, cherish and be faithful to each other, with the giving of the ring as a symbol of our love.

By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto you.

And then Shree kissed me. 

Then we went to Merchant Court and ate lots of food with everyone. 
We were an international marriage with international guests, not only were there Shree's, and now mine also, Indian friends, but also S.C., who is a Singaporean, James and his charming wife, who are from Scotland, Sean, who is British, and his new wife, who is expecting their first baby in June, David and his wife, who are Chinese, and of course, one American, which was me.
And came home, to start the next part of it, the honeymoon.. 

Follow the link below to see some of the wedding pics.