Ode

The Spacious Firmament on high,
With all the blue Ethereal Sky,
And spangled Heav’ns, a Shining Frame,
Their great Original proclaim:
Th’unwearied Sun from Day to Day,
Does his Creator’s Power display,
And publishes to every Land
The Work of an Almighty Hand.

Soon as the Evening Shades prevail,
The Moon takes up the wondrous Tale,
And nightly to the list’ning Earth
Repeats the Story of her Birth:
Whilst all the Stars that round her burn,
And all the Planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the Truth from Pole to Pole.

What though, in solemn Silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial Ball?
What tho’ nor real Voice nor Sound
Amid their radiant Orbs be found?
In Reason’s Ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious Voice,
For ever singing, as they shine,
“The Hand that made us is Divine.”

Wedding symbolism

All weddings have symbolism. In fact, they’re absolutely drenched in it. But I’m sure none of you ever thought that I would get on the same symbolism train as every other bride, right? So for the interested, a run-down of the various symbolism you’ll find in our wedding come October…

Golden sandals
Peacock feathers
Magnolias
Peonies
Blueberries
Thistle

Love Don’t Roam

Music and lyrics by the incomparable Murray Gold.

Well, I’ve roamed about this Earth
With just a suitcase in my hand,
And I’ve met some bog-eyed Joes,
I’ve met the blessed, I’ve met the damned.
But of all the strange, strange creatures
In the air, at sea, on land,
Oh my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
I love you, you understand.

So reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home,
‘Cause my body’s tried of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam, no no.

I have wandered, I have rambled,
I have crossed this crowded sphere,
And I’ve seen a mass of problems
That I long to disappear.
Now all I have’s this anguished heart,
For you have vanished too.
Oh my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
Just what is this man to do?

So reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
‘Cause my body’s tired of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam.

Yeah reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
‘Cause my body’s tired of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam, no no.

Well you took me in, you stole my heart,
I cannot roam no more.
Because love, it stays within you,
It does not wash up on a shore.
But a fighting man forgets each cut
Each knock, each bruise, each fall.
But a fighting man cannot forget
Why his love don’t roam no more.

Oh reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
‘Cause my body’s tired of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam.

Yeah reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
‘Cause my body’s tired of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam.

Yeah, walk with me, my love, my love,
Walk tall, walk proud, walk far.
For you know my love, you are, you are,
You are my shining star.

Walk with me, oh my love,
Walk tall, walk proud, walk far.
For you know my love, you are, you are,
You are my shining star, you are, you are, yeah.

Reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
My body’s tired of travelling
And my heart don’t wish to roam.

For the beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

Out of the stars

Out of the stars in their flight, out of the dust of eternity,
here have we come,
Stardust and sunlight,
mingling through time and through space.

 

Out of the stars have we come,
up from time.
Out of the stars have we come.

 

Time out of time before time
in the vastness of space,
earth spun to orbit the sun,
Earth with the thunder of mountains newborn,
the boiling of seas.

 

Earth warmed by sun, lit by sunlight;
This is our home;
Out of the stars have we come.

 

Mystery hidden in mystery,
back through all time;
Mystery rising from rocks
in the storm and the sea.

 

Out of the stars, rising from rocks
and the sea,
kindled by sunlight on earth,
arose life.

 

Ponder this thing in your heart,
life up from sea:
Eyes to behold, throats to sing,
mates to love.

 

Life from the sea, warmed by sun,
washed by rain,
life from within, giving birth,
rose to love.

 

This is the wonder of time;
this is the marvel of space;
out of the stars swung the earth;
life upon earth rose to love.

 

This is the marvel of life,
rising to see and to know;
Out of your heart, cry wonder:
sing that we live.

There will be a great big sign that says, “Danger, Cliff Approaching!”

That is what Meghan tells me, anyway.

——————

 The Dress. THE dress. It took an hour drive, two and a half hours with a bridal salon all to myself, and about 11 dresses, but ‘the dress’ has been located. It wasn’t the dress I, or anyone else, was really expecting. But it stood out from the others with all the clarity of a vividly remembered dream — like a lock with all the tumbers clicking in to place.

 It’s way more ornate than I thought I would go with. I worried that it was too ornate, too frou-frou, too overdone, too cliché. And yet, it was gorgeous. I was afraid that the dress was going to take this wedding places I didn’t want it to go. Meghan assured me that when I started getting in to Princess Diana territory, there would be a great big sign saying, “Danger, Cliff Approaching!” Yes, I asked her, but would that sign be hidden behind a tree?

 My mother is convinced that this dress requires tuxedos for the civilians and mess kit for the Father of the Bride. I fear that that is the sign Meghan told me I would see. Neither I nor Meghan nor Jenn nor Bonnie the Bridal Lady thinks that tuxedos are required here; a nice crisp black or charcoal grey suit would be just as complimentary and a little more modern.

 In the event that Jim sneaks on to the blog, I won’t describe the dress here. May it suffice to say, the train goes on forever and the color makes me glow, and the details are charming. My vision of the wedding style has shifted a little back toward my original fantasies, but I think that I can pull it off. Just have to convince Jim that my ideas are good ideas.

 No, just kidding. I don’t have to convince him of anything. He’s a really good sounding board and he has helped some of my fledgling ideas evolve in to real ideas. Too bad I can’t get him to do that for my artwork.