Deb & Peter’s Handfasting Ceremony

“Where’s the park? Has anyone got a copy of the invitation?”

Here’s the bridal party (and horse) rambling through the suburban streets.

Sophia smelling the roses.

The ‘Men in Black’. Waiting for the fashionably-late Bride.

“Here comes the Bride”

The Ceremony

Tying the knot

After copping flack for not updating this blog, I have gotten it together to post the script for the ceremony.

Some of you folks couldn’t hear Deb on the day, and have been waiting to hear her lovely words, so here they are in all their glory on the Handfasting Ceremony page.

The photos are on the way.

I’m not sure exactly what else we can put up here, other than stuff related to the day… but feel free to drop in from time to time (or subscribe to the feed, and that way you’ll know when its updated.)

We’re also hanging to hear some feedback from all of you who came, so please leave comments and let us know how much fun you had!

OK, OK…. its taken me a few days to recover, but I have finally updated this site….

WE DID IT!! HUZZAH!

And what a wonderful day it was for everyone. The weather deities kept up their part of the bargain and gave us a wonderful rainless day; our friends and family that were stuck behind flood-waters in East Gippsland made it up at the eleventh hour; and there was enough food and drink to satisfy everyone’s tummies!

Thank you heaps to all our friends who came to both ceremony and feast; it meant so much to us that you came to share with us this day. And of course thank you to everyone that assisted in some way. It really was a communal effort, and for us that was one of the most important things: that our community would gather and help bring it all together, just like in old times where weddings/etc were seen as community events.

And thanks also to all of you re: gifts. We were so pleased to see that you all put so much thought into how your gifts would impact environmentally. There were so many inventive ways of wrapping gifts, and giving cards, it was truly inspiring. And we estimate that the carbon-footprint left behind by our event was minimal compared to most weddings.

We are still trying to bring the house back to a relative state of normalcy, but we’re pretty much there. It seems strange not to see the marquee in the back yard! We will be heading down to Bruthen for a break next week, so we’ll finally be able to let our hair down.

We’re meeting with Niki (photographer) tomorrow to check out her pics. I will endeavour to post some images up when we get them. If others have nice photos they’d like to share, let me know and we’ll work out how to post them up.

A few people also asked for a copy of the ceremony. I’ll get onto posting that up too.

So even though the event is over, there’s still a few things that can be done here.

Again, thanks all for coming. We are truly blessed to count you all as part of our circle.

Mitakuye oyasin,

Pete & Deb

Its Nine O’clock on saturday morning, and the sky is clear, the sun is shining and we’ve got nothing better to do today than celebrate! Hooray!

We are in the park for the ceremony folks - but just in case the “showers” predicted come through, bring an umbrella and other appropriate rain gear.

Also (for those of you who have been waiting eagerly) we have a case of very fine Mead from a small family-run business in South Australia: Martin Mead . So there will be some mead-tasting for those who veer that direction….

Well, there’s not much else to talk about now. We’ll take some photos, shoot some video, and then I will endeavour to post up here as soon as the hang-over clears.

See you in a few hours…..

P

Yeah well we haven’t posted for a while, but I have had some drafts up which I need to actually finish and post up… or maybe just summarise what’s been going on….

Work has progressed steadily on the house, including the erection of a fence, the laying down of tonnes of mulch, painting of rooms, etc etc…. The catering is well under control, the drinks are ordered, the music has been selected….

…Now for the important stuff - how have we been internally? How have Deb and I been dealing with the impending change….?

Well, we have found for the most part that the concept of ‘marriage’ is not daunting us, as we came to that realisation fairly early on into the piece. Traditionally, Handfastings were held a year and a day from a moment of commitment. In some cultures in native North America, marriages only took place after the birth of a child (a way nomadic cultures ensure continuation of the tribe/culture/species - no point in marrying if you can’t produce offspring..!)

We’ve been together for almost three years now. Sophia has been walking this planet for nigh on 21 months. We can certainly say we have had our ‘year and a day’.

However, there is still the element of commitment. The ceremony we are writing follows the themes of two lives coming together, and becoming inter-twined (see my posting on the handfasting ribbon). For both of us, we have been re-visiting our past lives and dealing with past pains, healing past wounds, and resolving past difficulties - tying up loose ends, if you will…

For those of you familiar with the Tarot, this is the theme of the final Major Arcanum, The World. Both of us are approaching the end of our respective journeys as individuals, and approaching a new beginning as an inter-dependent unit (whilst still retaining some semblance of individuality). Especially given the responsibility of raising children, decisions, words and actions need to represent a form of unity - yet unity is best served as a diverse whole, not as an homogenous one; and so we must also learn to temper our unity with some degree of our unique, individual personalities. Yin may transform into Yang (and vice versa), but there is still always the relativity of the two, which allows for further transformation and complementarity.

So whilst we have ‘been together’ for a while now, we are still daunted and excited about the new journey that is to come. Performing this ceremony in the presence our community is taking that important next step to formalising our commitment to each other.

See you on the day….

Pete & Deb

It’s been a couple of weeks since the las post, but we have been busy (more or less) organising this little soiree…

The latest update is that we have organised a civil celebrant to perform the necessary ‘legal’ aspects of marriage. According to the laws of the Land, a union is no considered “lawful” unless witnessed and performed by either a Celebrant or recognised Spiritual Leader (like a Priest!). There are only a couple of authorised Celebrants who are ‘pagan’ - and whilst that may be good, I wouldn’t ask anyone to facilitate a Spiritual Ceremony if I was not totally trusting of their energies.

So the spiritual ceremony is to be conducted by Joanne de Lacy, a good friend of ours (and of many of you…) and someone we both recognise as having some spiritual credence as well as a loving, nurturing and humble energy. Weaved into this ceremony will be the legal aspects (there are certain things that need to be done and said), and that will be presided over by Livia Rushworth, a local authorised Celebrant who is very accepting, open and friendly.

We were originally looking at doing two ceremonies. But then we thought it would be better instead to weave the two together; symbolic of course of the way we have to weave our spiritual practices with every day life in this modern, secular society. This is the problem faced by many who do not fit into the mainstream categories of society. Its not just pagans that are faced with this dilemma - other minor religions and Homosexuals also face these problems; but Paganism is such that it is not an organised religion or community. We are sporadic with a diversity of faiths, beliefs, and practices. Many modern pagans (sometimes termed neo-pagans) have a spirituality that is an eclectic mish-mash of many ideas. I think I’ve even stated this before, but I do not consider myself ‘pagan’ in the true sense of the word, but rather associate with it for the convenience of a label. Herein lies the downfall with subjective spiritual solipsism…

LOL

And so onwards we go with this funny little adventure…