The Heirloom Hourglass Unity Ceremony

(Instructional Version – To Be Read By Wedding Officiate)
We have all joined here on this day to witness  __________(Bride) & _________ (Groom)  join their lives and become Husband and Wife. What better way to symbolize this union than to share a gift that will continue to become more a combination of the two of you as each day goes by and your lives grow and truly become one life shared with someone you love so deeply?  This gift for your Wedding Day will become a cherished heirloom that can be passed on for generations to come and will always symbolize your love for each other.
You now have what remains the most honorable title which may exist between a man and a woman - the title of Husband and Wife. For your first gift as Husband and Wife, that gift will be an Hourglass, one that you each will fill with sand that holds a personal memory to you and it will combine over the years together, as will you, and become even more beautiful because it will carry with it every time it flows the special memories of this day and your many years of memories together as Husband and Wife.

For centuries, the Hourglass has been considered an enduring symbol of the passage of time, so it is appropriate that your first gift as Husband and Wife be an Hourglass to represent the beginning of your new lives as Mr. and Mrs.____________ (Surname).
Please accept this gift. ( Here the Wedding Officiate hands the Hourglass to the couple. The couple each pours their sand into the hourglass, seal it with the Ship’s Wheel and the sand begins to flow. You can also have the Bride & Grooms’ mothers hand them the sand to pour in, or involve children if the couple wishes. We also recommend playing light music throughout the entire ceremony or just at this point in the ceremony – this is dependent upon the couple’s wishes.) In  some ways, tomorrow will seem to be no different than yesterday. But today, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you will always remember - the gift of true love felt for each other on this first day of the rest of your new life together.
____________(Bride) and __________(Groom), I ask that wherever you make your home now and in the future - whether it be large and elegant or small and modest - that you both pick one special place for this hourglass and every night before you fall asleep, you turn it over together and watch the sand flow through it and remember how you felt for one another on this, your wedding day, and how your love continues to grow.

In every part of life, there are challenges. Marriage is no different. It is sometimes easiest to hurt or be hurt by the ones we love the most. It might be difficult at times to find the words to say what you really mean. If this should happen, simply look to the sand flowing through the hourglass in the place you have selected - for that hourglass says with its memories what matters most of all. This hourglass will bring you back to this very moment in time when you first filled it together, and you will remember the love. It will say the words you perhaps cannot - such as “I am sorry”, “I forgive you”, “I love you.”
_____________(Bride)  and ____________(Groom), as you think back and remember this marriage ceremony, always remember that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which will make it a perfect marriage, and  it is only by true love that your marriage shall last forever.    

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