BRETT & ALYSSA CROSTON

§ Words of Welcome

Minister: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of Brett and Alyssa and their families, I want to welcome you and thank you so much for gathering to witness this marriage, and to celebrate what’s going on in the life of this couple. You may be seated.

§ Declaration of Purpose

Minister:

Whenever we gather together for a wedding, we are gathering to witness, to recognize, and to affirm the love and commitment of a man and a woman to one another before God. One of the reasons I love weddings so much is because I believe that love stories are very close to the center of what God is up to in the world today, and that when we bear witness to a groom and bride, that there’s an echo of the way that God sought us out in love, and reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. So as Brett and Alyssa enter into this covenant of marriage today, we also remember and celebrate the covenant of grace that God has made with us through Jesus. It’s because of His love that we’re here today. Marriage was His idea; and it’s God’s love and provision in our lives that makes marriage beautiful. And marriage, when done the way that God intends, is exactly that: beautiful!

Christian marriage is a commitment to that beauty. It is a joyful convenanting between a man and a woman in which they proclaim, before God and human witnesses, their commitment to live together in spiritual, physical, and material unity. In this covenant they acknowledge that the great love that God has shown for each of them enables them to love one another. They affirm that God’s gracious presence and abiding power are needed for them to keep their vows, to continue to live in love, and to be faithful servants of Christ in this world; human commitment is fragile and human love imperfect, but the promise of God is eternal and the love of God can bring our love to perfection.

§ Declaration of Intent

Minister: (To Brett)

Before God and these witnesses, will you, Brett, take Alyssa to be your wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love and comfort her, honor and keep her, and, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, preserve with her this bond, and, forsaking all others, will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

Brett: (Earnestly) uhm, yes.

Minister: (To Alyssa)

Before God and these witnesses, will you, Alyssa, take Brett to be your husband, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love and comfort him, honor and keep him, and, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, preserve with him this bond, and, forsaking all others, will you be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

Alyssa: (With enthusiasm) Yes.

Minister: Will you who witness this covenant between Brett and Alyssa respect their marriage and sustain them with your friendship and care?

Congregation: Fo’ sho’.

[Minister: (To Congregation) Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Father of the Bride: I do/Her mother and I.]

§ Invocation

Minister:

Because God has instituted marriage and intends for it to bring blessing and joy, and since we have gathered to witness this covenant between Brett and Alyssa, and because they have come with the intent to make it, let us pray to God, who will establish and keep this marriage with His abiding love.

*prayer to God asking for His blessing on the marriage and His presence throughout the ceremony.

§ Public Reading of Scripture (1 Cor. 13:4-8, 12-13)

Minister:

A reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away…. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

§ Homily

In these words, Paul sets forth some of the highest ideals in literature. The kind of love that he’s describing is not just a feeling; it’s not just a decision; it’s not just an action—rather, it’s a promise of future action. If love always protects, always trust, always hopes, and always perseveres, then when we commit to love one another we’re committing to protect, trust, hope, and persevere in the future, because that is what this love is like.

Brett and Alyssa, this love is something great to strive for in marriage. To be patient, and kind. Not to envy one another, but to work as a team in all you do! Not to dishonor one another and seek your own interest, but to make it your goal to sacrifice your needs and wants for the good of the other.

Yet at the end of the day, try as we might, we all fail to live up to these ideals. That’s because the kind of love that Paul is describing doesn’t come from us. It says in 1 John 4:7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” And even further, it later says “God is love.”

Marriage is a great adventure. And like great adventures, it’s full of both excitement, and danger. It’s full of mountaintop views, and difficult valleys. And in order to love one another through all of it, you need to have God’s kind of love. And that’s a kind of love that can’t be manufactured: It has to be received. And just like two pianos tuned to the same fork are automatically in tune with one another, as long as the two of you are in tune with God, and receiving His love, you’ll find your love sustained through all the ups and downs of your life together.

§ Prayer of Blessing Over the Couple

Heavenly Father, would you bless and keep Brett and Alyssa. Would you make your face shine upon them, and be gracious to them. Because of Your love, would you lift Your countenance upon them, and give them peace and joy as they embark on this new journey together. Father, would you use this adventure to make them more like Your Son, Jesus, who served and loved us with everything He had. And so would you continue to draw Brett and Alyssa together as an image of the way You long to draw all people to Yourself. And may they be a masterpiece of Your love made visible all the days of their lives. Not by their own effort, poise, or concession; but only by Your grace, and in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.

§ Exchanging of Vows

Minister: Now we come to the exchanging of vows. These vows set the grounds for and put language to the abiding commitment that you’re making today. They will help to shape your marriage, and will stir you to greater and greater love. When we make vows, we aren’t promising that we love one another now; but rather we are promising that through all of life’s trials, the flame of this love will not go out. Feelings will come and go, but as walk through life with one another, and as you strive to live a life of faithfulness, God will continue to draw you together.

So, go ahead and face one another and join hands.

Brett, repeat after me:

I, Brett, take you, Alyssa, to be my wife,

To have and to hold from this day forward,

For better, or for worse,

For richer, or for poorer,

In sickness and in health,

To love and to cherish

As long as we both shall live.

To this I pledge myself

Truly with all my heart.

Alyssa, please repeat after me:

I, Alyssa, take you, Brett, to be my husband,

To have and to hold from this day forward,

For better, or for worse,

For richer, or for poorer,

In sickness and in health,

To love and to cherish

As long as we both shall live.

To this I pledge myself

Truly with all my heart.

§ Exchanging of Rings

Minister: In keeping with God’s design for marriage, covenants have always had signs to serve as a binding reminder of the commitment made. And you, Brett and Alyssa, have chosen rings to be an enduring symbol of your marriage covenant. May we now have the rings?

These rings have no beginning and no end, and as such they set forth the eternal nature of real love. As you wear them, they will represent the love and trust that you promise to each other this day, and serve as an abiding sign of your union

(To groom) Brett, will you take this ring and place it on Alyssa’s finger, and as you do, repeat to her, after me, these words:

I give you this ring as a token and pledge of my abiding faith and love. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(To bride) Alyssa, will you take this ring and place it on Brett’s finger, and as you do, repeat to him, after me, these words:

I give you this ring as a token and pledge of my abiding faith and love. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

§ Pronouncement of Marriage and Sign of Peace

Minister: Well Brett and Alyssa, Inasmuch as you have exchanged vows and rings before God and these gathered witnesses, by virtue of the authority entrusted to me as a minister of Christ’s church, and in agreement with the laws of the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. “What God has joined together, let no man separate.”

[MOVE OUT OF THE WAY] Brett, you may kiss the bride.

§ Presentation of the Couple

Minister: And now, it is my honor to be the first to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Brett and Alyssa Croston.

THE COUPLE IS GONNA TAKE SOME PICTURES, and are going to be back in about a half hour for the grand ceremony. In the meantime, they invite you to grab some refreshments and make yourselves comfortable.