Wedding Toast to the Groom

On this day you step through a gateway in your life. At your bachelor party, you received blessings and farewell to your life as a single man by your single friends. On this side, I bid you welcome from those that share your new station. I take the floor to speak the wisdom and welcome you with blessing from the deep hearts of the husbands, fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers.

You have lived to date as explorer, warrior, and young lover. You have mastered the sword of steel, the sword of the world. This is the sword forged of ambition, honed by challenge, and polished by achievement. With it you have carved out your vocation and selected your friends. It is the sword that has prepared your manor and bested your competitors so that you alone now stand joined here to this beautiful woman.

Today, as you cross this threshold, you ascend into the new roles of Magician and King, and receive now the talisman of the Golden Sword. The Golden Sword is magic. It is tailord to fit only a man's hand, so that if you do not answer its calling, it will languish and our world will be diminished.

• It is the sword of magic that gives you the energy for the 29th consecutive horsey back ride and convinces your children that their Daddy can do anything.
• It is the sword of protection, that makes bed time safe from the monsters that hide under the bed.
• It is the sword of love that illuminates all the scars of sadness, shackles of self-doubt, disappointment, and feelings of unworthiness that bind the joy of your wife and children. Its edge gently guided by your loving hand severs these bonds to release their joy.

Most importantly, it is the sword of the King's blessing.

• This is the sword you will use to annoint your daughters, looking into their eyes with open loving heart and telling them 'You are beautiful. I love you.'.
• This is the sword you will use to bless your sons, looking them in the eyes with expanded chest as you say 'You are worthy. I am proud of you'.
• This is the sword you will hold when greeting your wife every day, the sword that suspends time and allows you to listen to every hurt, disappointment, and fear brought in like briars from the world, and to gently cut them away to pile on the floor as you welcome her into your home and into your arms.

But I must now strongly caution you. Though now King of our castles, we yet must go out each day as warriors, carrying with us our sword of steel. Many times we will return home wounded, tired, frustrated, and angry. Beware that you do not tempt the reflexes of the warrior. They are quicker than thought and quicker than love. The warrior's sword of steel is the sword of power. It's edge is sharp and its blade is quick. As King you must decree now and be ever vigilent that in your home the sword of steel may not enter, but must remain at the door on guard. Only the Golden sword is trustworthy to be with your family, providing strength and courage in moments of fear and loneliness.

You are a fine and worthy man, and you honor us as you increase our number. To you I offer this toast and blessing.

• May you wield your sword of steel in the world for success. May it defend your integrity and the honor of your household.
• May you wield your golden sword at home to richly bless your family and our world for many generations.