Interfaith, International Wedding for Hoang Anh and Barlowe in my Wedding Garden!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Barlowe contacted me in February to plan his and Hoang Anh's wedding on May 6, 2014. We spoke of different locations but they decided my garden would fit them best followed by dinner at Winston's, a great choice. Hoang Anh is Vietnamese and follows the Buddhist spiritual path. Barlowe is more inclined to the Celtic Pagan spiritual path. So, I wrote a ceremony for them that was basically spiritual in tone with elements from Buddhism (some words by Thich Nhat Hanh) and the Celtic hand fasting ritual. It was truly both an international and interfaith wedding. It was also a first marriage for both of them. They live in Florida but because Barlowe's mother has difficulty traveling, they wanted to have the ceremony near Pittsboro where she lives.

All have arrived so we began.

Hoang Anh had a gorgeous silk gown with sparkling embellishments. Barlowe wore what I believe is a Vietnamese garb for weddings. I should have asked! It is a beautiful shade of blue with gold imprints.

I have bound their left hands together with the hand fasting cord which represents love. Then they joined their right hands together. Their hands thus bound, formed the symbol of infinity blessing their marriage in the eternal ebb and flow of the universe. They exchanged vows while their hands were bound.

Then I removed the cord and they exchanged rings which symbolically took the place of the cord.

"With this ring, I marry you and pledge my heart to yours."

They are now husband and wife!

Hoang Anh was a little shy but quite happy! She had only recently arrived from Vietnam where the couple enjoyed a large traditional Vietnamese engagement celebration.