Gathering of Guests: Ben and Tammy, Kris and Tami, Tom and Margaret
Greet guests, pass drinks, and hand out programs.
Circling of Guests: Owen and Marijo
Circle group around sand dollars. Leave opening on the water side for us.
Greeting: Marijo Martini
Welcome Everyone! As Cindi and Nick take their final steps towards this ceremony, they ask that we take a minute to reflect on their individual journeys. Think of how you have known them along the way; of the experience and the change that has shaped them into the individuals who approach us now.
Procession of Bride and Groom:
Cindi and Nick enter from North and South, face each other and then turn to face the guests.
Welcoming of Guests: Cindi and Nick
(Cindi) Welcome. Thank you for being here today for us. We have had quite a journey in getting to this point, and we thank all of you for your efforts in getting here as well. We asked you here to Cabo Pulmo because you are the most important people in our lives. You are our role models, our mentors, our family, and our friends. You are the people we trust to support and celebrate this marriage. While we are clear on our love and commitment to each other, we want to introduce our relationship to you - for you to know and recognize it.
(Nick) We chose this place, in part, because it does require a commitment to get to. It is a very special place. This area of transition; where the desert meets the sea, where the reef meets the land - supports an incredible abundance and diversity of life. It is an area of interplay and interdependence, one where relationships form and flourish. To begin our ceremony, we would like to start with a reading from Sunni.
Reading: Sunni Landis
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Vows: Cindi and Nick
(Nick) Cindi, I love you. I love you, accept you, and support you completely. You are the person I want to spend my life with. I understand you, and I think that you get me. Cindi - Do you accept me completely, now and in the future, and vow to support me to become the individual I want to be?
(Cindi) Nick, I love and accept you. I am completely committed to you. Your ability to reflect on your experience allows you to embrace change. I want to include in our marriage a commitment to support and embrace reflection, change, and growth - both together and as individuals. Do you share this commitment?
(Nick) Cindi, You are truly committed to living intentionally. I am refreshed by how you actively direct your life, and interact deliberately with the world around you. Your ability to throw stuff out amazes me: to reduce and combine ‘til everything has more value. I love that you insist that our possessions continue to earn their keep. I like that you appreciate space that serves its function. I like that you force us to keep our electrical use to within our solar production, that you embrace technology that helps us to simplify, not complicate. I love that your decisions about how to use your time are intentional. I want to continue to live intentionally in my world. Will you continue to help us achieve this?
(Cindi) Nick, I love that we met while we were teaching. Right away I could see your passion for education and your ability to motivate everyone around you to learn. You take this excitement everywhere with you. I am constantly amazed at your willingness to not only sign up for a class, but to take on challenging new projects and commit to mastering the skills to complete them. I love that you have a hard time turning off the lights at night because you feel you have so much more to learn every day. I love that our favorite days are spent observing, exploring, and interacting with our environment regardless of where we are. Do you vow to continue to bring this love of learning and exploring to our marriage?
(Nick) Cindi, I love your commitment to our health. I love our tradition of long runs and your ability to ski uphill indefinitely. I love how you are respectful, but not scared, of the natural world you play in. I love how you look finishing a marathon. I love your attention to our food, and your insistence that it be wholesome. I love your scientific objectivity, and your reluctance to repeat unsupported information. I love your incredible knowledge of healthcare and your quest to make sure that everyone gets it. I love how you recognize that health involves more than just physical fitness. Cindi - I want to continue in our marriage a commitment to our health. Will you work with me to assure that this remains a priority?
(Cindi) Nick, everyone here knows we live our lives fairly close together but it is not just about our 38 ft. space. We are completely present in each other’s lives. While we may be separated by thousands of miles at times, we are still sharing our lives. When I am with you, I am home. I promise in our marriage to think and direct our energy together, placing you and our home as a priority. Do you share this commitment?
Reading: Pat Rathbone
“Yes” by Muriel Rukeyser
Ring Ceremony: Cindi and Nick
Cindi – I’d like to give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you. It is the circle of my completion, the powerful meeting of water and land; it is my love that surrounds you. I give it to you through all of our friends and family – so that their love may surround you as well. Could you please pass this around the circle to Cindi?
Nick – I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you. It’s repeating pattern and connected yet free moving pieces symbolize our union and my love for you. I pass this ring to you through our friends and family – as a symbol of their love and support of our marriage. Please pass this around the circle to Nick.
Changing Ceremony: Andy
Cindi and Nick, could you please step to the center of the circle so we can recognize your change to husband and wife.
Will the attendants please prepare the changing room? (curtain rises)
Cindi and Nick are undergoing their change to their new roles as husband and wife. When they are finished, applause and photos are appropriate. Then the bride and groom will leave us to spend the first moments of their married life together. We will all walk back to the Coral Reef Restaurant to celebrate their union and they will join us when they are ready.
Introduction of the couple: Andy
I’d now like to introduce you to Nicholas Charles Rathbone and Cynthia Lee Rathbone. Their marriage witnessed and supported by all of you here today and recorded by the State of Washington, interestingly, one year ago on this same date.
Recessional:
Cindi and Nick swim alone. Guests return to Coral Reef Restaurant. Mariachis announce arrival.
