Now you will feel no rain
for each of you will be shelter for the other
Now you will feel no cold
for each of you will be warmth for the other
Now there is no lonliness
Now you are two persons
but there is only one life before you
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the
days of your life together and may your days
be good and long upon the earth

("Wedding Braids" by Stan Davis)

On this day of sacred days, in this place of sacred places, you will become my dearest friend, my love.
My partner on a life journey so rich and swift and memorable, that the end of it will seem but a moment from now.
You and I are bound to give to one another the sacred love of generations who stayed in the place of creation, forgetting the outside world in order to build from within.
Our marriage is a shrine to holy love, where the Creator placed everything of value for us to discover,
the way our parents discovered their own world, and passed it on as witness to their loving time.

(by Nancy Wood)

When the earth was first made, all things were present, but people saw only their isolation from one another and from the mountains and rivers that had created them. For a long time, each creature followed a separate path, until the first man looked at the first woman and envisioned a unity not yet seen before. From their love, happiness was created and a thread soon connected man to woman, stars to trees, and the tongue of the ocean to the thrust of rock. Some called it nature, others called it the plan of the universe. But between men and women arose a bond of love, unbroken to the present day. 

(by Nancy Wood)

The groom enters one end of the council house and the bride the other. 

The couple then meets in the center by the sacred fire.

The priest faces east as does the door of the council house.. 

The grooms mother stands by him and the brides beside her .

She holds the brides gifts of corn bread and a blanket..

The brides mother stands beside her and her brother beside their mother 

symbolizing his responsibility to his sister and her children. 

The bride and groom wear blue blankets representing their old ways and life . 

The priest blesses the fire and the union of the two .

He asks for a long and happy life for them . 

It is custom for the bride to give the groom a red and black belt she has made , 

but any gift of the heart will do .. 

The mothers give gifts to their children who exchange gifts with each other . 

They join together their blankets symbolizing their mutual support within the marriage . 

They each drink a corn drink from a double sided wedding vase . 

They drink from east to west then from north to south giving their blessings and 

respect to the earth and all her creatures .

The vase is thrown down upon the earth and broken to seal their wedding vows 

as now being united as one . 

The broken fragments are then returned to our mother ( the earth). 

A white blanket is placed around the shoulders of the couple symbolizing their union . 

The bride then holds the basket of bread, the groom the basket of meat and the entire wedding 

or just the wedding party (depending on size ) takes a piece of bread and meat as a sign of their 

approval . 

Following this a feast is held for the entire gathering...........