11/11/2011
Ceremony
Rev Tim: Let's join together as we pray. For Almighty God, we come together as friends and family and bring in good wishes for these two who have chosen to join their lives together. We pray that, Lord, today you will bring the gift of patience and the gift of understanding. May it be as they look back upon this afternoon, it will be a time of a good decision, and may their love grow from this day forward. For it is in the name of God we pray, amen.
Who of you here today blesses this marriage?
Daddy: My wife, Nancy, and I.
Love you, sweetheart.
Rev. Tim: Christopher and Danielle, we are here this afternoon for the purpose to fulfill your absolute desire to unite in marriage. Here and now you will take your marriage vows, exchange wedding rings, and make a total commitment to each other. Marriage is a covenant made in the hearts of two people who deeply feel that their lives are, and always will be, be shared as one. The decision to marry is one of the most important and sacred commitments in life, and today when you, Christopher and you, Danielle, pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, you will create a spiritual bond which will bind you closer than any spoken or written word. By stating your vows, you are effectively pledging to the other your love, friendship, fidelity and trust. A promise which will take a lifetime to fulfill. For a poet said it this way, "When I met you I had no idea how much my life was about to change. But then how could I have known? For a love like ours happens only once in a lifetime and you were a miracle to me. The one who was everything I had ever dreamed of and the one that I thought existed only in my imagination. And when you came into my life, I realized that what I always thought was happiness, couldn't compare to the joy and love you have brought to me. For you are a part of everything I think, and do, and feel. And with you by my side, I believe anything is possible. Thank you for the miracle of you. You are, and always will be, the love of my life."
Now, The Bible says a great deal about marriage, for it was at the wedding feast that Jesus began his miracles. And Paul and his writings spoke that marriage is the most noble of agreements entered into by two people. But, the best story is found in the very beginning of the book, for there it says, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and God created the first man and named him, Adam. God gave Adam dominion over all the world, but after a season, God looked and saw it wasn't good that Adam was alone, so he created a help-mate when he created, Eve. We believe, likewise in this generation, that God creates one to help the other. Now the manner of the creation of a woman suggests several truths about a happy marriage, for the woman wasn't taken from man's foot to be trampled on by. Neither was she taken from his head to dominate or to rule. But rather, she came from his side, to walk with him as a companion. She was taken from under his arm, to be protected and embraced by him. Near his heart, to be loved and cherished by him. Adam recognized a woman as being a bone in my bone and flesh in my flesh.' And the writer of this beautiful story, sums up Adam's expression by saying, 'and they became as one'.
Now this is the ideal understanding of marriage. Your dreams and desires are now becoming one. Your successes and your failures will be shared mutually. It will be as though one heart were beating in two bodies and one purpose controlling two destinies. For true love does not always consist of constantly gazing into each other's eyes of one another, but true love grows by looking outward together, in the same direction. And so it is then, Christopher, that you and Danielle having come to me to signify your desire to formally be united in marriage. And being assured there are no legal, moral, or religious entrances that would stop this union. I'm going to ask you to give her your flowers, and turn and join hands, one with the other.
Chris: Danielle, I love you with my entire being and want you to be my wife.
Today I give myself to you without reservations and ask that you share your life with me,
for all time and eternity, durning health or illness, good times or bad, and in joy or sorrow.
I promise to love you, Danielle, like no other can.
To be your best friend, and to give you my complete loyalty, fidelity, and trust.
Do you accept me as your husband?
Me: I do.
Me: Christopher, I love you with my entire being and want you to be my husband.
Today I give myself to you without reservations and ask that you share your life with me,
for all time and eternity, durning health or illness, good times or bad, and in joy or sorrow.
I promise you, Christopher, to love you like no other can.
To be your best friend, and to give you my complete loyalty, fidelity, and trust.
Do you accept me as your wife?
Chris: I do.
Rev. Tim: That was the right answer, Christopher.
And the poet said it this way, 'All I want is to love you for the rest of my life, to wake up every morning with you by my side and knowing that no matter what happens, I'll be able to come home to your loving arms. All I want is to share everything with you, talk to you about our ideas and dreams, the little everyday things that make us laugh. And the not so little things that we can't help but worry about. All I want to do is to give you a place that you can always come to for acceptance or the simple comfort that silence brings when things left unspoken can still be understood. All I want is to grow old with you, to watch our life unfold, and watch our dreams one-by-one come true. All I want is to love you...forever'.
And from the beginning of time, the ring has had special significance in history. Kings would place their signet upon their ring, so everyone that saw it would know it belonged to the king. Today high schools, colleges, universities, and organizations of all types, use a ring. But in a marriage ceremony we use it to show to the entire world that you two have chosen each other. And that all who have seen these rings will recognize as an honor of that choice. So, I'm going to ask that you take the ring, place it upon her finger, and hold it there. Christopher, do you give this ring to Danielle as a token of your love for her?
Chris: I do.
Rev. Tim: And Danielle, will you wear this ring as a token of your love for him?
Me: Yes.
Rev. Tim: Likewise, if you'll take this ring, place it upon his finger, and hold it there. Danielle, do you give this ring to Christopher as a token of your love for him?
Me: I do.
Rev. Tim: And Christopher, will you wear this ring as a token of your love for her?
Chris: I will.
Rev. Tim: Put your hands on top of each other, all four. Let's join together as we pray. For Almighty God, we ask your blessings to come upon the ones that gave these rings and the ones that wear them. May their love continue to grow from this day forward, and may your blessings just pour out upon this home. For it is in the name of our God we pray, amen.
And before you, you see two lighted tapers, each representing the families from which you've come. I'm going to ask that you step forward, each take the light from one, and hold it yet to the third. In accordance with the teachings of the scriptures, the two shall become as one.
"I See the Light" from Tangled was playing
Rev. Tim: There's an old American-Indian blessing that says, 'For now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be sheltered together. You will feel no cold, for each of you will be warm for the other. Now there is no more loneliness for you, for each of you are a companion for the other. You are of two bodies, with only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into your days of togetherness. And may your days be good and long upon the earth'.
And so it is then, Christopher and Danielle, having pledged your faith and love to another, and having sealed in your marital vows by the giving and receiving of the rings. Acting in the authority vested in me by the laws of the state of Florida, and looking to heaven for divine sanction, I pronounce you husband and wife. Therefore, what has been joined together, let no man put asunder. Christopher, you may kiss your wife!
Rev. Tim: And I give you, Christopher and Danielle--Husband and wife!
To be continued...