​     Angie Tien Tran​
 

The Art of Marriage

Wilferd A. Peterson

 

The little things are the big things.

It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day .

It is never going to sleep angry It is at no time taking the other for granted;

the courtship should not end with the honeymoon.

It should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

 

Today I Married My Best Friend

Rachel Elizabeth Cooper

 

Today I married my best friend,

Our bond complete, it hath no end,

We share one soul, we share one heart,

A perfect time - a perfect start.

With these rings we share together,

Love so close to last forever,

This special day - two special hearts,

Let nothing keep this love apart.

 

The Wedding Vow

Author Unknown

 

You are not the air that I breathe,

You are the sweet scent that drifts upon it

You are not the food that I need,

You are the nourishment of my soul

You are not my will to survive

You are my reason for living

It is with you that I experience the wonders of the world

It is with you that I triumph over the challenges in my path

It is your partnership that will lead me to the fulfillment of my dreams

It is your friendship that guides me as I learn and grow

It is your patience and wisdom that calms my restless nature

It is through you that I know my true self

I do not take you for granted, I cherish you

I do not need you, I choose you

I choose you today in witness of all the people who love us

I choose you tomorrow in the privacy of our hearts

I choose you in strength and weakness

I choose you in health and in sickness

I choose you in joy and sorrow

I will choose you, over all others, every day for all the days of my life

 

I love you 

Author Unknown

 

I love you not only for what you are,

But for what I am when I am with you

I love you not only for what you have made of yourself

But for what you are making me

I love you for the part of me that you bring out.

I love you for passing over all my foolish and weak traits,

That you can’t help but see

I love you for drawing out into the light my beauty,

That no one else had looked quite far enough to din

I love you.

 

Blessing For Marriage

James Dillet Freeman

 

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite

excitement marriage should bring,

and may life grant you also patience,tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another -not so much to fill your emptiness

as to help you to know your fullness.

A mountain needs a valley to be complete;

the valley does not make the mountain less, but more;

and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.

May you want one another, but not out of lack.

May you entice one another, but not compel one another.

May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.

May you succeed in all important ways with one another,and not fail in the little graces.

May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!"and take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart,

may both of you hope to havegood sense enough to take the first step back

May you enter into the mystery

which isthe awareness of one another'spresence -

no more physical than spiritual,

warm and near when you are side by side,

and warm and near whenyou are in separate rooms

or even distant cities.

May you have happiness,

and may you find it making one another happy.

May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

 

How DO I Love Thee?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being an Ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to useIn my old grief's, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints,

I love thee with the breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life!

and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death

 

Devoted

Charles Ghigna

 

My heart can be your home.

My soul can be your refuge.

You can turn to me when you are weak.

You can call to me when the way is not clear.

I will be your promise, your prayer, and Iwill always be there.

Constant, complete.

Run to me, reach out for me and I will loveyou in a unique and tender way.

Bring your love to me.

Share your love with me.

Sing your love to me, and I will give youpeace, ease and comfort.

 

Today

Author Unknown

 

Today I marry my friend,

the one I laugh and cry with,

the one I have learned from and shared with.

This one I have chosen to support,

encourage and give myself to,

through all the days given us to share.

Today I marry the one I love.

 

Why Marriage?

Mari Nichols

 

Because to the depths of me,

I long to love one person,

With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,

Who won't hold them against me,

Who loves me when I'm unlikable,

Who sees the small child in me, and

Who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night

With someone who thanks God for me,

With someone I feel blessed to hold...

Because marriage means opportunity

To grow in love in friendship...

Because marriage is a discipline

To be added to a list of achievements...

Because marriages do not fail, people fail

When they enter into marriage

Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this,I promise myself to take full responsibility

For my spiritual, mental and physical wholenessI create me,

I take half of the responsibility for my marriage

Together we create our marriage...

Because with this understanding

The possibilities are limitless.