Bryan and Courtney's Wedding

Processional

Opening Remarks

We are gathered here today in the presence of God and in the company of family and friends to join ____Bryan Woodard___________ and _____Courtney Smith__________ in God’s Holy institution of marriage. The celebration of marriage is one of life’s greatest events. For a Christian couple, the wedding ceremony is a beautiful act of worship. It is a great joy for me to be invited to participate in the life of _____ Bryan _________ and ____ Courtney _________ who love the Lord, love each other, and have come to commit themselves to each other in marriage.

God is the author of love. The Bible teaches that God is love, and that love comes from God. From beginning to end, the Bible is a love story. It is the story of God’s love for his people. It is the story of a love so strong that Jesus was sent to die on the cross for our sins. It is the story of redeeming love for the sinner and of abiding love for the redeemed.

We read also of the love of man and woman. We read of Jacob’s love for Rachel, of Mary pledged to Joseph, of the Shulammite and her beloved. The Bible teaches us that God can lead us to our life’s companion. Abraham prayed that God would find a wife for his son Isaac, and God answered that prayer. When Abraham’s servant found Rebekah, the servant bowed and worshipped, praising God. Then he brought her to Isaac. The Scriptures say Isaac loved her and was comforted.

God has guided ___ Bryan _______ and ____ Courtney ______ to this moment. He has blessed their love and brought them together to enter into the holy union of marriage. They are glad you are here to share in their time of commitment.

Presentation of the Bride

Who gives this woman to be married to this man? (Her family and I)

Affirmation of Marriage

___ Bryan _______, ___ Courtney _______ this is a very special and important moment in your lives. You will remember this day and this moment forever. The ceremony will be over in a few minutes. But the commitment you pledge to one another today is to last a life time. Other than our relationship with God, the relationship between husband and wife is the greatest relationship there is. Marriage is the foundation of both the home and social order. It is a sacred relationship that is not meant to be broken.

Marriage is not something that society created. Marriage is ordained of God. The Bible begins with a wedding. There in the Garden of Eden, having created man in his own image, God realized that it was not good for him to be alone. So the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam, and taking one of his ribs, He created Eve. Having created woman, He brought her to the man and gave her to him. Then in the Garden of Eden, the Lord performed the first marriage ceremony when He said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Jesus must have loved weddings. He attended a wedding at Cana of Galilee and He chose this occasion to perform His first miracle.

In , the apostle Paul helps us to understand the depth and richness of Christian love by defining how love should look within the church. If your marriage is to illustrate the power of Christ’s love and the glory of the Gospel, this is the very same love you’ll find in your home.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

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.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

PRAY

Pledges By The Groom and Bride

So ___ Bryan_______ and ____ Courtney ______, as the divine institution of marriage is imbedded in the doctrine of God’s Holy Word, you must recognize the seriousness and the sacredness of your vows to each other and before God. I ask you now to join right hands and consider the questions I now ask.

Pledge By The Groom

____ Bryan ______, do you in the presence of God and these assembled witnesses, promise to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, this woman whose right hand you now hold?

Do you promise to be to her in all things a true and faithful husband, to hold unto her and to her only, as long as life shall last?

Do you take her to be your wife as long as you both shall live?

Pledges By The Bride

____ Courtney ______, do you in the presence of God and these assembled witnesses, promise to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, this man whose right hand you now hold?

Do you promise to be to him in all things a true and faithful wife, to hold unto him and to him only, as long as life shall last?

Do you take him to be your husband as long as you both shall live?

The Ring Ceremony

From the earliest of times the ring has been a symbol of wedded love. The rings you have chosen are made of a pure metal to symbolize the purity of your love. Being unbroken circles they symbolize the unending quality of your love. As often as you see these rings you will be reminded of this cherished moment and the promises and commitment you have made to each other on this day.

Can we have the rings please?

____ Bryan ______, place the ring on ____ Courtney’s ______ left hand, look her in the eyes and repeat this promise after me.

I ___ Bryan _______, take you ____ Courtney ______ to be my wife…To have and to hold from this day forward…For richer or poorer…For better or worse…In sickness and in health…To hold onto you and to you only…As long as we both shall live…With this ring I thee wed…All my love I give to you…All my worldly goods with you I share…I resolve to love you as Christ loves his church….In the name of the Father…And the Son…And the Holy Spirit.

____ Courtney ______, place the ring on ____ Bryan’s ______ left hand, look him in the eyes and repeat this promise after me.

I ____ Courtney ______, take you ___ Bryan _______ to be my husband…To have and to hold from this day forward…For richer or poorer…For better or worse…In sickness and in health…To hold onto you and to you only…As long as we both shall live…With this ring I thee wed…All my love I give to you…All my worldly goods with you I share…I resolve to submit to you in love…just as Christ submits to the Father….In the name of the Father…And the Son…And the Holy Spirit.

Presentation of Groom and Bride

____ Bryan ______, _____ Courtney _____ having pledged your love and faith to each other, before these witnesses and before God, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and according to the laws of the State of Alabama, I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together let no man separate.

___ Bryan _______, you may kiss your bride.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my joy and privilege to present to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. ___Bryan Woodard____________.

Recessional

Dismissal/Reception

On behalf of Bryan, Courtney and their families I want to thank you for being here today. Bryan and Courtney would now like to invite you to join them for a reception. You are dismissed.