The wedding of Brooke & John
The wedding I cobbled together with bits and pieces of inspiration from here and there and was honoured to perform as the officiant on behalf of my beautiful sister and her now husband. (Yes, I became an internet minister just like Joey on Friends)
The Wedding of Brooke Kirby & John Warn, 21 March 2015
Welcome
Welcome everyone, and on behalf of Brooke and John, let me express their joy at having you here to help them celebrate today.
As we begin, I would like to share a few words with you written by Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for penning the bestseller “Eat, Pray, Love”, but less well known for her follow-up book “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage”. Both books are favourites of Brooke’s.
There are two quotes from the book that seem perfect for today — one stunningly beautiful in its simplicity, and the other — and those of you who are here and have been married many years will probably agree — a simple truth.
The first one is: “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow — this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”
The second one is: “People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other’s personalities. Who wouldn’t? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that’s not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner’s faults honestly and say, ‘I can work around that. I can make something out of it? Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it’s always going to be pretty and sparkly, but the stuff underneath is the trick.”
Prayer & Blessing
Friends and Family of Brooke and John, welcome and thank you for coming on this important day. We are gathered together today to celebrate the very special love that Brooke and John share, and to witness the joining of them in marriage.
Brooke and John, as you know, your marriage is the public and legal joining of your souls that has already been united as one in your hearts.Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another.
To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience and a really good sense of humor.
So, let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other all over again.
This is an opportunity for us to share not only in the joy of Brooke and John’s love but also to reaffirm and appreciate the love and the friendship we experience in our own lives. May we all celebrate by being fully present during our short time together.
A marital commitment includes the willingness to be open and vulnerable, and the courage to take risks.
Love isn’t just a word; it’s an action. Love isn’t something you say, it’s something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn’t know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes.
In the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies.”
There are many different kinds of love, all of which are represented here today. There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends.
Not only do Brooke and John share romantic love, they also love one another as friends. That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage.
In addition, the love collectively in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and wife.
Giving of the Bride
Who gives this woman in marriage? [Mom & Dad respond — “we do”.]
Reading
I invite Betsy Duncan up to share the reading Brooke & John have chosen for today
BLESSING FOR A MARRIAGE ~ James Dillet Freeman ~
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another — not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces. May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery, which is the awareness of one another’s presence — no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side-by-side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.
Exchange of Vows & Rings
Brooke & John, marriage is much more than your signatures on a marriage license.
You are promising, in front of all these people you love, and that love you, that you want to be with each other, and only each other, for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honour the promises you are making here today.
Exchange of Vows (couple wrote their own)
John, as you look into Brooke’s eyes, please say your vows.
Brooke, as you look into John’s eyes, please say your vows.
Introduction of the Rings
The wedding ring is a symbol of married love. The precious metals symbolise that your love is your most precious possession, and the unending circle represents that your love may never cease, and that love that is given comes back around again. Love has no beginning and has no end.
Your rings are precious because you wear them with love. They symbolise your commitment in marriage. They remind you of who you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. And as you wear them through time, they will reflect not only who you are as individuals, but also who you are a couple.
(Kristine) May I have the rings, please? John, please place the ring on Brooke’s finger and repeat after me: Brooke, I give you this ring as a daily reminder of my love for you.
(John repeats) Brooke, I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.
(Kristine) Brooke, please place the ring on John’s finger and repeat after me: John, I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.
Brooke: (repeats) John, I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.
(Kristine) Brooke & John, you have made your marriage vows to one another, witnessed by your friends and relatives. You have sealed your vows with the giving and receiving of these rings.
So now, by the power vested in me, and recognised by the State of New Jersey, I pronounce you husband and wife. John, you may kiss your wife.
(Big smooch!)
Closing & Blessing of the Marriage
Brooke and John, you came here today, in the presence of family and friends, to express your love for, and commitment to, each other. Your lives are forever changed.
Love is not a wall; it is a bridge. Love does not confine; it sets you free.
Now, you can face your fears, for you each will be strength to the other.
Now, you can brave the wind, for you each will be shelter to the other.
Now, you can reap the rewards, for you each will be partner to the other.
Now though you are two bodies, there is one life before you.
And there, in that life, may you always find love.
And now, let us close with a blessing for the married couple. I ask that everyone bow your heads as we pray for God’s blessing upon Brooke and John:
May the love of God be above you to overshadow you, beneath you to uphold you, before you to guide you, behind you to protect you, close beside you and within you to make you able for all things, and to reward your faithfulness with the joy and peace which the world can not give — but nor can it take away. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom all glory is given now and evermore. Amen. (Guests: Amen)
Presentation of Couple
And now, to all the friends and family who have come to celebrate this marriage, and have been waiting for this moment, I would like to present, for the first time anywhere, Mr & Mrs John Warn!
Recessional
