Grace Traweek and Tanner Reeves

June 20, 2026

Friends and Family, we are gathered here today in the presence of God with Grace and Tanner to give thanks for the gift of marriage and to share in the joy of their wedding,

Marriage is a way of life, gifted by God so that the husband and wife may provide each other companionship, help, comfort, joy and love.

Marriage is a promise of love that endures ALL things.

Therefore, marriage is not something to be entered into lightly and as commanded in God’s Word, we are to hold marriage “in honor at all times.”

Intent to Marry

TANNER, will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage; will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

If so, answer “I WILL.”

GRACE, will you have this man to be your husband, to live together in the covenant of marriage; will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

If so, answer “I WILL.”

Leave-Taking

At this time, we have come to a moment in the wedding ceremony that seems straightforward and just another tradition, but it is special and I will explain that in a few moments.

Traditionally, the minister or officiant asks the father, “Who is giving this woman to be married to this man?”

Well, I get to be the officiant and the father today.

So with great joy and pleasure, I answer, “Her mother and I give this woman to be married to this man!”

Scripture Reading and Challenge

As I read and few words of Scripture and words of encouragement, I ask you to both to meditate upon them.

GOD CREATED ALL PEOPLE AND IT IS VERY GOOD

Genesis 1:26–31 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

In a marriage relationship, there is no supremacy of one over the other.

God made man and woman both in His image as His special creation.

And as stated in the passage I mentioned, God said it was VERY GOOD.

GOD CREATED MARRIAGE AND IT IS VERY GOOD

Genesis 2:18–24 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

First, God saw that is was not good for man to be alone.

In a world that screams that we ought to be independent and self -reliant, depending on nobody but ourselves, God says the direct opposite...He said it’s not good to be alone.

And God’s response is that he creates a helper in this life for each of us that is co-dependent, that relies on us and requires support and love from us and gives support and love to us.

Second, in this passage, something special happens which I mentioned earlier...God brought the woman to the man.

This has been modeled forever in the wedding ceremonies as the father walks the bride down the aisle and gives her hand to the husband to be.

Lastly, in this passage it says that a man leaves his parents and holds fast to his wife...becoming one flesh with her.

This is not a message of procreation as much as it is a declaration that a new family has begun.

In a few moments when you exchange vows and rings, that is a declaration that a new family has begun.

Tanner, as much as I like you and love you, you aren’t joining my family and Grace isn’t joining yours...you two are family unto yourself.

My challenge to you is for you to guard your marriage from all people and all things, and my call to others here today, is to be a support for them as they need it. Uphold these two in prayer and encouragement.

GOD CALLS US TO LOVE AS HE HAS LOVED US

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I’m going to let you both in on a little secret...marriage is hard sometimes.

The key to a successful marriage is this Scripture and if you heed this encouragement, you will understand the application.

You may have heard that marriage is 50/50 or requires compromise, but this isn’t necessarily true.

Marriage is 100/100...it’s 100% selflessness...it’s 100% seeking the best for your spouse and in your spouse.

That’s what love is...love is not a feeling...love is an intentional act of the will to daily rise to the occasion and selflessly love each other, even when we don’t like each other in the moment.

Love is selflessly out-serving one another and keeping no records of when the other fails to meet your expectations.

If you fight for this kind of love, there is nothing that can stop you.

I know that you love each other with all your hearts and I pray this kind of love over your marriage every single day of yours lives.

Vows

Please join hands and face each other:

TANNER, repeat after me this vow:

“I TANNER, (REPEAT) take you GRACE,(REPEAT) to be my wife, (REPEAT) and I pledge (REPEAT) that I will be faithful (REPEAT) and that I will love and serve you (REPEAT) as long as we both shall live (REPEAT).

GRACE, repeat after me this vow:

“I GRACE, (REPEAT) take you TANNER ,(REPEAT) to be my husband, (REPEAT) and I pledge that I will be faithful (REPEAT) and that I will love and serve you (REPEAT) as long as we both shall live (REPEAT).

Exchange of Rings

As a sign and seal of the love you have for one another and of the promises you make this day, you have chosen to exchange rings. May I please have the rings?

TANNER, please place your ring upon the third finger of GRACE’S left hand, and repeat this:

“I give you this ring (REPEAT) as a sign of my love (REPEAT) and the promises we have made today (REPEAT).”

GRACE, please place your ring upon the third finger of TANNER’S left hand, and repeat this:

“I give you this ring (REPEAT) as a sign of my love (REPEAT) and the promises we have made today (REPEAT).”

Prayer for the Bride and Groom

Eternal God, bless GRACE and TANNER that they may live together in marriage according to the vows they have made this day. Fill them with the example of love you have given so the love they have for one another will grow deeper and more meaningful with each day. May they have a long and joy-filled life together. May their home be a haven of blessing and peace. AMEN.

Benediction

I have this blessing for you:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Declaration of Marriage

You have come before God and all these witnesses today to express your desire to be husband and wife.

By the clasping of hands, by the reciting of vows, by the exchanging of rings, you have shown your love and devotion to each other.

I, therefore, pronounce that you are husband and wife.

What God has joined together, let no person separate.

Traditional Kiss

“TANNER, you may kiss your bride”

Introduction

“It is my honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Reeves.”