Do you think I'm going to be able to get through reading this at my civil ceremony without collapsing into a heap of tears..?

[Dottydot]

I Will Be Here
Steven Curtis Chapman

If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.
I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.
I will be here,
And you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we're older.
I will hold you, to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me.
We'll be together and I will be here.
I will be true to the promises I've made,
To you and to the one who gave you to me.
I will be here.

What do you think?!

hmm - might miss out the second to last line - no-one's giving her to me - I'm taking her all by myself!

Lovely
I could never do a ceremony of this sort-would be snivelling wreck (and dh even worse...)

To answer your question....no

That's lovely - no way could I read it without crying. Have got tears in my eyes now from reading it. Does the 'one who gave you to me' refer to God?

It's lovely - but I agree about the second to last line. And no, I couldn't read it without dissolving into a snivelling, red-nosed snot-fest

Snap, 006

definately not -i'm sure you and many others will be crying

why don't you change the lines to:
'and the ones you gave to me'
as in your dss?
(know it's not strictly correct but it's a lovely sentiment)
and no, wouldn't be able to stop blarting. i still cry when i see our reading written down!

btw i'm pretty sure you can't mention god in any way in a civil ceremony

that's funny 'cos I was interpreting it as dp's Dad - as in your Dad gives you away at a wedding! But could be either. Either way she's not the kind that would be given away by anyone so I'll need to change it. Just loved the sentiment behind the rest of it and thought it would be nice to say something. We're having someone else do a reading - this one:

Love is a temporary madness (from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin)

Love is a temporary madness
It erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.
And when it subsides you have to make a decision.
You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness,
it is not excitement,
it is not the promulgation of eternal passion.
That is just being “in love” which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,
and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground,
and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches,
they find that they are one tree and not two.

We'll all be flipping wrecks by the end of it..!

i has the capt corelli one as well - and 'the confirmation' by edwin muir

Yes, yours, my love, is the right human face,
I in my mind had waited for this long.
Seeing the false and searching the true,
Then I found you as a traveller finds a place
Of welcome suddenly amid the wrong
Valleys and rocks and twisting roads.
But you, what shall I call you?
A fountain in a waste.
A well of water in a country dry.
Or anything that's honest and good, an eye
That makes the whole world bright.
Your open heart simple with giving, give the primal deed.
The first good world, the blossom, the blowing seed.
The hearth, the steadfast land, the wandering sea,
Not beautiful or rare in every part
But like yourself, as they were meant to be.

blimey - everyone will be in buckets.

neither me nor DH could say anything other than "yes" at ours

didn't you fancy my idea of changing the line then?

Yes, can't mention God - he's not allowed in and will be struck down at the register office doors if he makes an appearance...

Getting all excited now - 6 weeks to go.

sorry Moomin - yes!!! Will practice it with your new improved line - and credit you with it, of course!

[puffs chest out proudly]

That's so lovely