Valley of the Trolley Dollies

Registrar: Good afternoon, and welcome to the Spread Eagle Hotel. David and Derek would like to thank everyone for coming today. Your presence here makes this day more special and meaningful for them.
Please stand to welcome David and Derek.
[Entrance]

               All of my life I’ve been in hiding. 

               Wishing there was someone just like you. 

               Now that you’re here, now that I’ve found you, 

               I know that you’re the one to pull me through. 

‘Deliver Me’ The Beloved.

Registrar: We are here today to witness the union of David and Derek, to celebrate their love and to support their commitment to one another. David and Derek, today you will both be making a formal and public declaration of your love, and a promise of a lifelong dedication to each other.
You are different people today than you were when you first met sixteen years ago. Sixteen years from now, you will be different still. Yet, you are about to make promises which are meant to last a lifetime.
Over the past sixteen years, your love for each other has grown strong, and in the future it will continue to grow. The love and support of the friends and family here in this room today has been a part of your story up till now, and will continue to be a huge factor in your lives going forward.
Derek’s Dad Paul will now read a poem of love and support for two people as they start the next phase of their journey together.
[1^st Reading ]

Paul Farrell:        A passage from ‘Song of the Open Road’ by Walt Whitman
Listen, I will be honest with you,
I do not offer the old smooth prizes,
but offer rough new prizes
These are the days that must happen to you
You shall not heap up what is called riches
you shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve
Come, we must not stop here
however sweet these laid up stores
however convenient this dwelling we can not remain here
however sheltered this port
however calm these waters we must not anchor here
however welcome the hospitality that surrounds us
we are permitted to receive but a while
Come, I give you my hand
I give you my love more precious than money
I give you myself before preaching or law
will you give me yourself?
Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Registrar: David and Derek, there is no doubt that you love each other, but today you are here before your friends and family to publicly reaffirm that love, and to make certain promises to each other. David, will you please make your promise to Derek.

David: Today is my lucky day.

I am lucky that I met you, and lucky that you love me.

I believe in the power of Love. It is the source of all joy, the unifying strength which links spirit to spirit. The capacity to Love is our great chance for happiness.

On this wonderful day, my heart overflows with feelings of love. I love my family and friends; I love all of the people who came to witness this wedding.

Most of all, I love you, Derek. I believe so strongly in love’s great power that I now promise to spend the rest of my lifetime with you.

I promise to do everything I can to make you feel lucky too.

Registrar: And now, Derek, will you please make your promise to David.

Derek: I’m already the luckiest man alive.

Every day, since I met you, the first words we’ve said to each other every morning, and the last words we’ve said to each other every night have been “I love you”. That’s 16 years, twice a day, each way. That’s almost 24,000 ‘I love you’s’. That’s a lot of love.

You’ve been my best friend through good times and bad.

I promise I will always be your friend, because you bring out the best in me. I will never stop saying “I love you”, and I will mean it ‘til the day I die.

Registrar: When two people come together, they may face many challenges. To surmount these challenges, they rely not just on their own strengths, but also, as we have seen, on the support of their families. But beyond their families is the love and support of their friends. These are the people whose presence here today invites them into a wider community.

To represent Derek and David’s friends, and to explain what today means to David and Derek, we have Ms Pamela Hardman to read a traditional verse.

[2^nd Reading ]

Pamela Hardman: The Apache Wedding Prayer

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
For each of you will be the companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
But there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead
And through all the years.
May happiness be your companion,
And your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Registrar:  Love cannot be explained, defined; it’s there: You love someone. They love you. After that, if we are honest, nothing counts.

Couples, sometimes, choose to publicly exchange symbols of their commitment.
A ring runs eternally; it has no beginning, no end. It says I have always loved you, and always will.

Hannah and Toby have brought some rings which David and Derek will now exchange. In doing so, David and Derek will commit themselves to each other.

[Miss Hannah Cross and Master Toby Cross offer the Rings]
 
                                      
David: Please give me your hand. I give you this ring, a symbol of my unending love and devotion. May its presence on your hand serve always to remind you of my love, and the promises we have made today.

Derek: I will wear it proudly. Please give me your hand. I give you now this ring, a symbol of my unending love and devotion. May its presence on your hand serve always to remind you of my love, and the promises we have made today.

David: I will wear it proudly.

Registrar: And now, if the witnesses could step forward, we need to sign the official register.

[Mister Philip Smith & Mister Raymond Farrell to witness the signing of the register.]
[Signing]

            But you know what it feels like            ‘Cos you’re like me            And you won’t give up            ‘Till an all time love            ‘Cos nothing else is good enough            I want an all time love to find me

‘All Time Love’ Will Young