{"id":508,"date":"2021-11-10T16:32:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T16:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/?p=508"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:51:17","slug":"including-children-in-a-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/2021\/11\/including-children-in-a-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Including children in a ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"508\" class=\"elementor elementor-508\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0e49cc3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0e49cc3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7df007c\" data-id=\"7df007c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5415e81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5415e81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Children are an important part of every family, may it be your own child, nephew, neice or even just a child that is important yo you.\u00a0 You may like to involve them\u00a0in your ceremony in some of the following ways:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p><ul><li>Have them bring the rings forward\u00a0<\/li><li>Have them do a reading\/poem\/song<\/li><li>Tie the knot for a hand-fasting ceremony<\/li><li>Giving the child(ren) a ring or gift as a welcome to new family unit.<\/li><li>Holding the stone in an Oathing Stone ceremony.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-96f02b1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"96f02b1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f9aa334\" data-id=\"f9aa334\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42c7951 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"42c7951\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Example wording<\/span><\/h2><p>I would like to ask if\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">[name]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0,\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">[Party 1]<\/span>\u00a0&amp;\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">[Party 2]&#8217;s <\/span>son\/daughter\/child who has prepared a reading called <span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">[reading name].<\/span><\/p><p>You select a suitable reading from this list or choose one of your own.<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 1<\/span><\/h3><p>Getting married means you&#8217;ll have Someone&#8217;s hand to hold,<\/p><p>Even when you&#8217;re feeling sick, Even when you&#8217;re old.<\/p><p>It means when you sit down to eat, Someone will be there,<\/p><p>So you won&#8217;t have to tell your day To an empty chair.<\/p><p>It means that when you need some help, Someone will help out,<\/p><p>Someone always near to you So you won&#8217;t have to shout.<\/p><p>But best of all is when it&#8217;s time To turn out all the lights:<\/p><p>You won&#8217;t have to be alone Those long and scary nights.<\/p><p>So even though you don&#8217;t have toys, You don&#8217;t have to care:<\/p><p>Once you&#8217;re married you can be Each other&#8217;s teddy bear<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 2<\/span><\/h3><p>I love you to the Earth and back, Professed the giant, gentle moon.<\/p><p>Scared as he gazed upon her face, Had he learned to love too soon?<\/p><p>Was he still too young to understand? Too na\u00efve to feel real love?<\/p><p>Like those below who feel such faith, As they wish on stars above?<\/p><p>But love is strange, you cannot see it, Or hold it in both hands.<\/p><p>To take the leap, have faith and feel it, Is one of life\u2019s great plans!<\/p><p>As the moon released his fears, And saw the stars so bright,<\/p><p>He never felt real love so deeply, As he had felt that night.<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 3<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Extract from the The Velveteen Rabbit<\/span><\/p><p>Margery Williams (1881-1944)<\/p><p>\u2018What is REAL?\u2019 asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. \u2018Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?\u2019 \u2018Real isn\u2019t how you are made,\u2019 said the Skin Horse. \u2018It\u2019s a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, buy REALLY loves you, then you become Real.\u2019 \u2018Does it hurt? Asked the Rabbit. \u2018Sometimes,\u2019 said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. \u2018When you are Real you don\u2019t mind being hurt.\u2019 \u2018Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,\u2019 he asked, \u2018or bit by bit?\u2019 \u2018 It doesn\u2019t happen all at once,\u2019 said the Skin Horse. \u2018You become. It takes a long time. That\u2019s why it doesn\u2019t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don\u2019t matter at all, because once you are Real you can\u2019t be ugly, except to people who don\u2019t understand.\u2019 \u2018I suppose you are real?\u2019 said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled. \u2018Someone made me Real,\u2019 he said. \u2018That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can\u2019t become unreal again. It lasts for always.\u2019<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 4<\/span><\/h3><p>Wherever I am, there&#8217;s always Pooh,<br \/>There&#8217;s always Pooh and Me.<br \/>Whatever I do, he wants to do,<br \/>&#8220;Where are you going today?&#8221; says Pooh:<br \/>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s very odd &#8216;cos I was too.<br \/>Let&#8217;s go together,&#8221; says Pooh, says he.<br \/>&#8220;Let&#8217;s go together,&#8221; says Pooh.<\/p><p>&#8220;What&#8217;s twice eleven?&#8221; I said to Pooh.<br \/>(&#8220;Twice what?&#8221; said Pooh to Me.)<br \/>&#8220;I think it ought to be twenty-two.&#8221;<br \/>&#8220;Just what I think myself,&#8221; said Pooh.<br \/>&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t an easy sum to do,<br \/>But that&#8217;s what it is,&#8221; said Pooh, said he.<br \/>&#8220;That&#8217;s what it is,&#8221; said Pooh.<\/p><p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s look for dragons,&#8221; I said to Pooh.<br \/>&#8220;Yes, let&#8217;s,&#8221; said Pooh to Me.<br \/>We crossed the river and found a few-<br \/>&#8220;Yes, those are dragons all right,&#8221; said Pooh.<br \/>&#8220;As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.<br \/>That&#8217;s what they are,&#8221; said Pooh, said he.<br \/>&#8220;That&#8217;s what they are,&#8221; said Pooh.<\/p><p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s frighten the dragons,&#8221; I said to Pooh.<br \/>&#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; said Pooh to Me.<br \/>&#8220;I&#8217;m not afraid,&#8221; I said to Pooh,<br \/>And I held his paw and I shouted &#8220;Shoo!<br \/>Silly old dragons!&#8221;- and off they flew.<\/p><p>&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t afraid,&#8221; said Pooh, said he,<br \/>&#8220;I&#8217;m never afraid with you.&#8221;<\/p><p>So wherever I am, there&#8217;s always Pooh,<br \/>There&#8217;s always Pooh and Me.<br \/>&#8220;What would I do?&#8221; I said to Pooh,<br \/>&#8220;If it wasn&#8217;t for you,&#8221; and Pooh said: &#8220;True,<br \/>It isn&#8217;t much fun for One, but Two,<br \/>Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. &#8220;That&#8217;s how it is,&#8221; says Pooh.<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.poemhunter.com\/alan-alexander-milne\/poems\/\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.poemhunter.com\/alan-alexander-milne\/poems\/\">Alan Alexander Milne<\/a><\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 5<\/span><\/h3><p>Once upon a time you two met<br \/>You&#8217;ve shared much love and laughter<br \/>May your marriage be a fairy tale<br \/>Happy ever after<\/p><p>I&#8217;m glad I&#8217;m in the fairy tale<br \/>And you are too I guess<br \/>Congratulations, King and Queen<br \/>From your fairy tale Princess<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 6<\/span><\/h3><p>Today you\u2019re getting married; some say you\u2019re getting wed<br \/>There\u2019s crowds of people in our house, and strangers in my bed!<br \/>We had to get up early, take breakfast all together<br \/>Allowed to have the TV on to listen to the weather<br \/>Shower time was hectic, should have seen the queue<br \/>Girls were taking twice as long and air was turning blue<br \/>Hair was being straightened, perfume being sprayed<br \/>Nails were being painted, the boys of course delayed<br \/>Lots of make-up lots of shoes, sparkles in the hair<br \/>Pretty cards and parcels, flowers everywhere<br \/>Everyone had new clothes, Dad even wore a suit<br \/>Mum is looking stunning, and I look kinda cute<br \/>Posh car turned up at the door, took my Mum away<br \/>Left me with the other kids but told I couldn\u2019t play<br \/>Lots of photos lots of fuss, what\u2019s it all about?<br \/>Parties are for having fun, there\u2019s no need to shout!<br \/>Mummy looks real pretty, Daddy\u2019s not too bad<br \/>Someone here is crying but doesn\u2019t look real sad<br \/>Lots of people laughing, sometimes very loud.<\/p><p>Then it goes all quiet, lady talking to the crowd Daddy holds Mum closely, putting on a ring<br \/>Says some words and makes a speech and makes them cry again<br \/>Mummy takes another ring and puts it on his finger<br \/>Says some words and makes a speech and then we hear a singer<br \/>Someone says a poem, lots of people clap.<\/p><p>Waking up the funny man who\u2019s taking a quick nap<\/p><p>Now we are all standing, watching them both kiss<\/p><p>They look so very happy, think they call it bliss!<\/p><p>Time to do some writing in a great big book<\/p><p>And with all thos cameras, which way shall we look<\/p><p>Is it nearly over, can I go and play?<\/p><p>Lets come back tomorrow, we can do it all again.<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 7<\/span><\/h3><p>Mum and Dad get married today<\/p><p>I\u2019d like to help them on their way.<\/p><p>So here\u2019s some special advice from me,<\/p><p>To help them with our family.<\/p><p>Keep the drawer filled with sweets<\/p><p>And give us children lots of treats<\/p><p>Make sure you spend time together<\/p><p>To keep your happiness forever<\/p><p>Make sure you spend lots on us<\/p><p>And then us kids won\u2019t make a fuss .<\/p><p>But the most important thing for you,<\/p><p>Is to show your love in all you do.<\/p><p>A caring word, a kiss, a touch,<\/p><p>And those family cuddles that mean so much<\/p><h3 style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bolder;\">Reading 8<\/span><\/h3><p>Congratulations! Today is your day.<\/p><p>You\u2019re off to Great Places!<\/p><p>You\u2019re off and away!<\/p><p>You have brains in your head.<\/p><p>You have feet in your shoes.<\/p><p>You can steer yourself any direction you choose.<\/p><p>You\u2019re on your own.<\/p><p>And you know what you know.<\/p><p>And YOU are the couple who\u2019ll decide where to go<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children are an important part of every family, may it be your own child, nephew, neice or even just a child that is important yo you.\u00a0 You may like to involve them\u00a0in your ceremony in some of the following ways:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Have them bring the rings forward\u00a0 Have them do a reading\/poem\/song Tie the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ceremonies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10660,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/10660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.argyll-bute.gov.uk\/marriage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}