For All Eternity ~ An Anniversary Ritual

Wedding anniversaries are a great time to do a little ritual of your own. I searched the internet for 'vow renewal' and 'handfasting' to come up with ideas for the ritual we did at our last anniversary.

First I spent some time writing a sort of vow renewal. I knew there would not be an officiator, and in my case I was doing it as a surprise for my husband, so I knew he would not have anything to read back to me, so I didn't worry about it being a bit on the long side (it was almost a full page).

I gathered a bunch of tealights, and one larger candle, and arranged them in a spiral on our table. The spiral is a symbol for "eternity" and since we have a temple sealing, we are married for eternity and I wanted a symbol of that. I laid them out on a ribbon because without the ribbon it just looked like a bunch of candles, the spiral wasn't clear. (The ribbon and central candle were different shades of blue, which was what we'd had for our wedding colors.)

Then, after the kids were in bed, I turned out all the lights, lit the candles, and brought my husband into the room. We held hands and I read him the things I had written.
Here is an excerpt:

And so, seven years later, I still give myself to you, to be your faithful partner, constant friend, devoted lover, and imperfect housekeeper for time and all eternity. With the knowledge that there is opposition in all things, I still commit to walk together with you on the path toward eternity, whether in the valleys or on the mountain tops or on the monotonous switchbacks in between. I promise to follow the Lord by your side, as priest and priestess, supporting one another on our way to become the god and goddess we have the potential to become.
And when the road is long, or the journey hard, I still covenant to stand with you against the whirlwind. For all eternity.

Source ideas for what to write/read:

• search the internet for "personalized wedding vows" or "vow renewal"
• lyrics of romantic songs (especially if you have a song that is special to you as a couple)
• consider metaphors for married life: such as harmony, a growing plant, or riding together in a car (can you think of others? please comment!)

 A few other ideas:

• Share some ritual food or drink, perhaps foods that you had at your wedding, or maybe feeding each other.
• Have yourself some Hieros Gamos!