Into The Garden: A Wedding Anthology: Poetry and Prose on Love and Marriage

I've been asked to officiate a Zen wedding in September, and knowing virtually nothing about Zen, I started looking for some good source material to help me put the ceremony together. I googled Zen wedding and this book came up in the search. I also found some reviews that recommended it for that purpose. INTO THE GARDEN: A WEDDING ANTHOLOGY by Robert Hass and Stephen Mitchell has been, at once, both a disappointment and a pleasant surprise.My quandary goes something like this; I still don't really know where to start composing a Zen ceremony as this book renders but slight direction in that arena, so my sourcebook search continues. I gleefully did find, however, a book laden with writings and poetry that I am sure to include in ceremonies of a broad scope. This book is one of the finest collections of wedding functional prose I have seen available anywhere. This is followed by a sample script of various types of wedding ceremonies, and yes, there is even a sample Zen wedding ceremony that I am sure I will use some variation of, but the book DOES NOT explain the Zen culture. I guess that's why it shows up on a google search.If you're planning a wedding, you're sure to find a reading here that fits perfectly with your ceremony. Even if you're not planning a wedding, you will enjoy reading this delightful book.Pastor Monty Rainey

This little book was a useful reference for the textual parts of our wedding. The officiant recommended it and it helped us to get a sense of what was available.

This a heartfelt book filled with sweet poetry and writing about love and commitment, and it does this without feeling sappy or unrealistic. The authors/editors have interesting insights of their own, and the book maintained a real sense of joy throughout. I used this to select readings for my upcoming wedding, and I think it contains numerous selections for anyone looking for thoughts about marriage that resonate with real people; it successfully represents modern love for me, straddling the line between practicality and magic.

Many lovely poems and other texts. Unfortunately, a lot of them assume a male speaker and a lot of others are generically about romantic love, and not specifically about marriage. But if you're digging for something to deliver at a wedding ceremony, you probably can't do much better than this.

This is a wonderful resource for the minister and/or the couple who is planning a wedding ceremony from scratch. There are multiple readings from a variety of faith traditions and several options for outlining a ceremony. If you are feeling stuck in your search for ideas for your wedding ceremony, this is a very helpful resource for practical ideas.

Into the Garden is an exquisite collection of very good poetry. It avoids the cliche and the "greeting" card versions of sentiment. These are words from skilled poets and graceful writers. I write marriage ceremonies for many couples in my work so I really appreciate the choices this book offers. It is my favorite along with the Australian classic: Ceremonies and Celebrations by Dally Messenger.Remi

I had been searching the internet for months for the right reading (i.e., romantic but not sappy) for my friends to read at my wedding without success. I eventually found it in this book!

Beautiful and useful collection of poetry and writings on marriage. The authors are clearly wordsmiths that have carefully considered everything in the collection. They have edited the poetry to make suitable readings for weddings, but the anthology was also thought-provoking for my fiance and I when we read the pieces together.

useful speech material

i bought this for my friends, who are planning their wedding, it has been really well received, helpful & appreciated. Thank you!