Bing and Mat

~ Opening Words ~

“Happy Valentines Day! I can’t think of a more romantic day for your wedding than
this, the one day of the year reserved for lovers. Your letter said that you began
your journey half a world away from one another. Mid-western Missouri and
Shanghai China, who would have guessed that somewhere between these two places
was a Starbucks in Los Angeles where the love of a lifetime was waiting for each of
you. Your love is proof that dreams come true. Your letter also spoke of the cultural
diversity, yet I suspect that love, commitment and a strong sense of family values
are as universal as the knowledge that with a good foundation there is no limit to the
heights that marriage will take you. There was a movie called “An Affair to
Remember” that began the tradition of getting married at the top of the Empire State
building on Valentines Day. It called this place “the nearest thing to Heaven we have
in New York“. Today we happily take second place on that, to the feeling you have
in your hearts and have found in one another’s arms. We are honored that this place
will forever hold such special memories for you and it is our pleasure to have you
here today as you renew your promises to one another.

Bing and Matt have chosen to include in their ceremony to share with you a reading
that was written in China by an anonymous writer in the first century. It is amazing
how the ideals of love and marriage transcend differences of time and culture to
speak to the soul of we human beings..

Their reading is entitled “The Key To Love”

“The key to love is understanding ...
The ability to comprehend not only the spoken word,
but those unspoken gestures,
the little things that say so much by themselves.

The key to love is forgiveness ....
to accept each others faults and pardon mistakes,
without forgetting, but with remembering
what you learn from them.

The key to love is sharing ...
Facing your good fortunes as well as the bad,
together; both conquering problems,
forever searching for ways to intensify your happiness.

The key to love is giving ...
with out thought of return,
but with the hope of just a simple smile,
and by giving in but never giving up.

The key to love is respect ...
realizing that you are two separate people,
with different ideas;
that you don’t belong to each other,
that you belong with each other,
and share a mutual bond.

The key to love is inside us all ...
It takes time and patience to unlock all the ingredients
that will take you to its threshold;
it is the continual learning process
that demands a lot of work ...

but the rewards are more than worth the effort ...
and that is the key to love.”

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