Juno and Evan Wedding

Cell phone announcement: professional photographer

Processional

People Come in, I’ll be at the front with Evan.

“All stand for the bride”

Presentation of the Bride

“Who gives this woman to be with this man?”

“Her mother and I”

Welcome

Welcome family and friends to the wedding ceremony of Evan Wright and Juno Yang!

It’s customary for me to say, “this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” whenever I am at a wedding, and that feels no more apropos than today. Today is the day that you two have chosen to come together in marriage, to commit to be with each other in love for as long as you both will live!

And thank you, friends and family, for coming to witness to and to celebrate this marriage! I know that there’s a party afterwards and everyone looks wonderful and so it’s easy to think that this is just a little party for you, but, in you being here, the bride and the groom are including you in one of the most intimate and personal moments in their lives. They will remember this day for the rest of their existence, even if you don’t. And so, in this ceremony, you too have a responsibility! The people up here have to play the part and say the right words, but you have a deep commitment in being here to be for the bride and the groom, to love and support them in the joys of today, the sorrows and ecstasies of the future, and the boringness of their Tuesday mornings. You’ve got to earn your keep being here, and I’m so grateful you were able to come!

Let’s take a moment to pray together

Father in heaven, we thank you for Your sovereignty, Your care, and the love that You have for us. Be with Evan and Juno in their marriage, and help us to see the love that You have for us, even today. In Jesus name, Amen.

About the Couple

I’ve gotten to know Juno and Evan a little bit in our time together. There’s something that I’ve noticed in my interaction with them that I truly appreciate. If I was to boil down the entirety of their relationship, potentially of their full beings, I think I could do it in one word: chill.

These are two people who are so incredibly calm about everything! They can approach the difficulties of life with a level-headedness that is enviable! Even in approaching difficulties of marriage like we’ve discussed in our time together, the overwhelming feeling that they give is that, “it’s all going to work out, because we love each other.”

Reading/Reflection

There are a few quotes that I like to ruminate on during weddings.

Love is holy because it is like grace-the worthiness of its object is never really what matters. - Marilynne Robinson

“To love at all is to be vulnerable.” - C.S Lewis

“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good…” C.S. Lewis

All of these point to a few simple truths that everyone should think about during weddings.

Love is beyond feelings.

It’s too trite, to simple, to say that love can be boiled down to a feeling. Love is a series of actions that make up a foundation for a relationship.

Love empties the dishwasher when you’re tired, but the other person would smile because you did it. Love gives a hug in the midst of an argument because we realize that we’re still on the same team. Love doesn’t look out for the self, love will sacrifice for the flourishing of the one who is loved. In this way, a marriage that is based on love will be full of selfless care that is met by further selfless care. Love is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs, because to do the opposite would be to make love a transaction. Love is not a transaction, it is a way of being.

Love requires vulnerability.

Humans naturally cover and hide, it’s what we’ve done since the beginning of time, and we can even hide in the context of our relationship.

But a marriage must be one of vulnerability, or there will be no health in the marriage.

In marriage, a person can be seen in a way that is much deeper and intimate than in any other relationship. You will both see the beauty in each other’s personhood through this marriage, and you’ll also see things that frustrate you beyond all belief. And that’s a good thing! In marriage, your souls rub up against each other, and you can know this person more fully than you can even know yourself.

And, I would be failing in my duty as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ if I did not say this: love points to the true love that is found in Christ.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and the Triune community of Father, Son, and Spirit were all deeply involved in the love offering of Christ on the cross: The Father forgave, the Son gave, and the Spirit unites us with Him. In this, we see love, that God first loved us.

With that to reflect on…

I Do’s

Pass of the bouquet and hold hands.

So now we’re at the point where everything begins to shift! Prior to today, you guys were just engaged, after today, you’re husband and wife! It’s traditional with weddings to start this transition with the “I do’s” This is your time to begin by committing to each other, at which point we’ll move to the vows.

Evan, do you take Juno to be your wife, your best friend, and love for life?” - I Do

Juno, do you take Evan to be your husband, your best friend, and love for life?” - I Do

Vows

Now we come to the vows. Vows have been used in weddings for almost a thousand years. The presence of vows can sometimes feel almost comical, we’re having two people say a few words about how they’re going to be there for each other at a wedding, but we always do vows at a wedding because a marriage is not a social contract, nor a situation of convenience. This is a covenant, one that holds both of you to each other. Even in the face of difficulty, you will have made this covenant to each other, committing to be beside one another throughout the course of your life.

I, _____, take thee, _____, to be my wedded wife (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

The Rings

Do you have the rings? The wedding ring has been a symbol of the marital union for centuries. This is because the ring has no end, like the love given by God, and the love you have for each other, has no end. These rings are made from purified metal, tested and tried by fire. In the same way, you will have trials, but with perseverance, patience, and prayer, you will grow stronger as well. Evan: Juno, I give you this ring As a sign of our covenant and as a witness to our abiding love.

Juno: Evan, I give you this ring as a sign of our covenant and as a witness to our abiding love.

The Pronouncement/Kiss

Now that they have given themselves to each other by solemn vow before us and before God as witness, by the authority vested in me by the state of California and of our Lord Jesus Christ as a minister of the gospel, I now pronounce you husband and wife! What God has joined together, let no man separate! You may kiss the bride.

And now for the first time, Mr and Mrs Wright!