• Bride walks down the aisle after flower girls, page boys, and bridesmaids
• Bridal couple stands in front of wedding officiant, usually Henry Kong
• Henry starts with "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to witness..."
• Henry gives a prayer
• Henry reads from Genesis: The One about the Rib
• Henry talks about the origin of mateship
• Couple repeats vows after Henry, which almost always goes as follows:

I, [insert name]

take you, [insert partner's name]

to be my lawfully wedded husband/wife

to have and to hold from this day forward

for better, for worse;

for richer, for poorer;

in sickness and in health;

to love and cherish till death do us part

and with this ring, seal my vow...

• Some couples in times past have also used other vows, which have lines such as "token of my pledge to you", and "keep myself pure" if I remember right.
• Some couples in times past have also gone on to light a candle together (minding the veil), popped champagne and poured it down wine glasses, etc.
• I've really only seen 2 weddings where the signing of the marriage certificate is done during the ceremony
• And then, permission is granted to kiss the bride.

Or something like that. I'm sure there are a few other prayers in between. However, after witnessing many such wedding ceremonies, I had decided very early on in my dating life that if some kind gentleman out of his wits were willing to marry me, I'd have a ceremony that is more... personal to us.

Which is why it is a happy coincidence (I'm sure God has a huge hand in this) that Stephen Randall feels very much the same way, and almost insists that each ceremony is unique to the couple. Vows, he insists, should be mulled over, created and declared to each other without prompting. As to when the couple should kiss each other at the end. Steve is almost squeamish about having to say, "And now, you may kiss the bride..." because, as he reckons, who is he to sanction kissing during the ceremony anyway?

After Stephen left, Tony and I knuckled down and started writing thank you notes to those who gave engagement presents. One of the gifts we received was a matching pair of DKNY watches, which were really tasteful indeed. As Tony was musing over a non-cheesy, non-corny line to write in the thank you note ("It's TIME for us to say thank you", "I know we're gonna have a good TIME with this..."), I came up with this short ditty:

Thank you for the watch so cool,

'Cos now Velle won't be late for school

And Tony's watch's seen better days

Yes, DKNY really pays...

Okay, I know it ain't awesome. But Tony, who's a brilliant thinker but who also professes not to ever "get" poetry, much less write it, quipped, "Maaan... you're gonna write the BEST vow, and mine's gonna SUCK!"

So yes, we're gonna write our own vows... anyone got a good idea of how to start?