Weddings at SPC
The Trysting Tree
THE TRYSTING TREE
at Sausalito Presbyterian Church, 112 Bulkley at the corner of the Excelsior Lane/Stair - www.sausalitopresbyterian.com - 415-332-3790 for more information
"Under the ancient Trysting Tree
Please stay with me for a spell;
Through its twining branches hold my hand
And the truth of my heart I'll tell."
- Jim Burklo, pastor, Sausalito Presbyterian Church
The Trysting Tree is a Japanese euonymus vine which may have been planted by John McLaren, the chief gardener of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, in the early 20th century. The vine died in 2003 and Sausalito Presbyterian Church decided to preserve the wood as a natural sculpture piece. With funds from the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation, and with help from the City of Sausalito, the church contracted with landscape architect Stan Heacox to complete the project.
The tradition of the Trysting Tree goes back hundreds of years in Britain. They were places of meeting for lovers or for other encounters of "trust". Robert Burns, the great 18th century poet of Scotland, wrote about such a tree in "The Soldier's Return":
"At length I reached the bonnie glen,
Where early life I sported,
I pass'd the mill and trysting thorn,
Where Nancy aft I courted..."
The Sausalito Trysting Tree is a place for sharing from the heart. It is a place to propose marriage by placing reaching hands between the twisting branches to place the engagement ring (an old British and Irish tradition). It is a place to make peace and offer and receive forgiveness. It is a place to entrust another with one's soul.
The Trysting Tree is dedicated by Sausalito Presbyterian Church to the thousands of couples who have been married in its sanctuary since it was built in 1909, and to all who share the truths of their hearts, everywhere.