A Wedding Reading from the Mother of the Groom

My son and his bride asked that I write my thoughts on their union. The passage would be read at their wedding ceremony, held atop the heavenly snow-covered peaks of the San Juan Mountains. The groom bespoke my message of unity to his bride...

You come together today in the unity of marriage.
Today, two become one.
Where one ends and the other begins becomes blurred.
You both become more than individuals.
You are a distinguished entity of two.

Where there were gaps in one, the other fills in.
Where there is abundance, the overflow is shared, not wasted.
Where there were boundaries, unity reigns.
Where there were two, now there is one.

Where there was one, now a unit of two marks your bond.
From now on, one without the other will seem incomplete.
It is the nature of commitment that makes such unions so.
You are lost in each other, having found your wholeness in one another.
Yesterday, uniqueness defined you.
Together today, you are perfection.

The vows that you speak to each other this day are the words that bind.
Nothing more.
Seemingly small in spoken syllables, they hold invisible powers that unite you forever.
They arise from the powerful love you have for each other, which binds you even without words.
It is what is between you, an incredible uniting force.

Today you are married.
Your individuality has expanded in the unity of your unceasing honor, regard, and respect for one another, above all else.
Let no unseen circumstance intervene.
Let nothing you do or say in tomorrows relieve the binding powers of your words today.
Because your love unites and reigns forever.

--from nuptials at Revelation Bowl, Telluride, March 26, 2011.