Abbie and Brendan

Abbie and Brendan

Wedding Ceremony

Prelude

DJ is Playing Spring Processional

DJ playing Stand by Me Bridal Entrance

Canon in D played by Uncle Chris and Uncle Bill “Please Rise for the Entrance of the Bride” Welcome and Opening Prayer

Welcome

Hello friends, my name is Clint, I’m a pastor and a longtime friend of Abbies and on behalf of Abbie, Brendan and their families, welcome and thank you for coming and for being a part of this very special day. We are here today to honor God, and to rejoice in the special love that Brendan and Abbie have found in one another. Please join me in prayer as we ask God to bless our time together. Holy Spirit, we welcome your presence right now. Father, we are grateful to you for the blessing of marriage. Lord, we thank you so much for the way that you love us, and that you’ve given us people to share that love with. So here we are today to celebrate Abbie, Brendan’s love and as, their family and friends bless their marriage. Lord, I ask that you would bless this day, fill it with your love. Bless this couple who stands before you today, strengthen them, and let them draw closer to you, and closer to each other, every single day of their lives. We ask for this in your Holy Name. Amen Focus Them

Hi guys, how are you doing? You made it, you are finally here. I want you to take a deep breath. Seriously guys take a deep breath. Take a look around at everyone. All these people are here because they love you and they recognize that you two have found something special. Everyone here is for you, we are all here to celebrate you guys and cheer you on. Now look back at each other. Savor this moment and be present. This is one of the most important days of your lives, and it goes fast. Soak each and ever moment in. Charge to the Couple

Brendan and Abbie are here before all of us and before God to join their hearts and lives together for the rest of their days. This Is a public declaration of their love and devotion to one another. All right you two. Marriage is a very good thing, but it’s a big commitment. Marriage isn’t just a contract you sign, it’s not just a way to get some tax breaks, but marriage is designed as a covenant. Yes, it has legal ramification, but it’s much deeper than that. When you enter into this covenant you two in a very real way become one. Every part of your lives is now intertwined, you are no longer your own person but you belong to your spouse. And don’t get me wrong, it’s great, it’s a good thing, and it’s a big deal. No one should make this commitment on a whim, but with seriousness, and in great Joy. I’m pretty sure that’s why you guys are here, but just to make certain, I’m going to ask you some questions. At the end, if they sound like it’s something you’re up for, respond with “I Do”. Sound good? Alright, Brendan, you go first: Do you, Brendan, take Abbie to be your wife, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor her, to love her faithfully, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with her this day?

If so respond with I Do Do you, Abbie, take Brendan to be your husband, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor him, to love him faithfully, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with him this day?

If so respond with I Do Wonderful. If you didn’t say I Do, I wouldn’t have had a clue as to how to move forward, so good job! Reading

I’d like to invite Kira and Ellie to come on up. Kira and Ellie are Abbie’s cousins, and they will be sharing a reading with us today.

How Falling in Love is like owning a dog.

On cold winter nights, love is warm.It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises. Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs. It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy. Love doesn’t like being left alone for long. But come home and love is always happy to see you. It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life, but you can never be mad at love for long. Is love good all the time? No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love. Love makes messes. Love leaves you little surprises here and there. Love needs lots of cleaning up after. Sometimes you just want to get love fixed. Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper and swat love on the nose, not so much to cause pain, just to let love know Don’t you ever do that again! Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk. Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions at once, or wind itself around and around you until you’re all wound up and you cannot move. But love makes you meet people wherever you go. People who have nothing in common but love stop and talk to each other on the street. Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it. And in return, love loves you and never stops. Thank you ladies. Message

Intro

Alright Guys, you made it, you are finally here! Sit back, relax and just take everything in. This is your moment, enjoy it.  Now I’m sure that as you guys have been preparing for today, making plans, adjusting plans, finding out about surprise festivals, you have gotten some advice on what you need to do to have a long and happy marriage. Take all the advice you can, because I firmly believe that next to your relationship with God, your marriage is the most important thing in your life, and anything you can do to make it healthy and strong is a good thing. Your marriage will be amazing at times, and crazy hard at other. Together you two will go an amazing adventures together, and overcome obstacles. Your marriage will help you thrive and will help you grow into the people you were created by God to be. So, as a pastor and a married man, I want to pass on some pieces of advise that my wife and I got shortly after we were married, and these four things have made a huge difference in our lives. I’ll share these for things with you, will do vows and what not, and then you guys will be officially married and we can all go have some Goose Island, sound good? Stay Connected

Alright, the first piece of advise is to Stay Connected to each other. We would like to think that the two of you could ride off into the sunset and be forever romantic, but the truth is there will be some hard times. I am challenging both of you right now to stay emotionally engaged with each other. Don’t let go. Fight for your marriage, and fight for each other. The commitment you are making to each other today, it’s for life. There is no back door. That’s scary, but it should also make you feel safe. The two of you can be one hundred percent open and honest with each other, truly transparent. That is what intimacy is. No walls, no barriers, no back door, just each other. You each have found someone who will love you unconditionally. Don’t ever lose that. Stay connected to one another. Set the Right Tone

Number 2, Set the right tone. If the last couple of years have taught is anything its that we have way less control over our circumstances that we think we do. You guys aren’t going to get to choose all the stuff that comes at you guys, there will be hard times and amazing times, but no matter what, you get to choose the attitudes of your marriage, you get to set the done. So, today, I’m challenging you to set the tone of your marriage in a way that you will both thrive. Set a tone that encourages growth, that encourages togetherness, and that encourages spiritual and emotional health. Today, you are making a decision and commitment to love and protect one another fully and completely, to always believe the best about each other and to guard each other.  When you know that you are safe, protected, and that someone really believes in you; that’s an easy environment to flourish in. Set that tone, provide that for each other. You’re a Team

Number three, always remember that you are a team. In each other you have found a companion that will be by your side for the rest of your life. You will be with each other no matter what happens. When one of you wins, you both win. When one of you is hurting, you are both hurting. When life gets difficult, remember that you two are better together. It’s never you versus each other, instead it’s the two of you verses the problem. You each have amazing gifts and talents that you are brining into your marriage. The are meant to build each other up, to help the other person thrive. So always remember to be a good teammate. Cheer the other person on, pick them up when they are hurting, and face whatever life throws at you together. Pursue your spiritual side together

The only way you will continue to fit together this well throughout your lives is to stay connected and surrendered to Jesus. I encourage you both to invite Him into the good times, and the hard times of your relationship. Cherish and cultivate your relationship with Jesus just as you cherish and cultivate your relationship with each other.   Wedding Party

But this commitment, this marriage, goes beyond yourselves. I believe God has created us for community and that goes beyond just some BBQ’s and high fives.   We need to share real life with one another.  So, to the wedding party. You’re not up here because of tradition, or to make Abbie and Brendan look good. You’re up here because you have invested in their lives; you have made an impact on who they are. Now I simply ask that you don’t stop investing in them. I’m calling on you to fight for their marriage with them. I am asking you to celebrate the good times, and encourage them in the hard times, to always be praying for them, laughing with them, and crying with them. They will come to you when life is good, and when it’s tough. Please, invest in them as a couple, just as you invested in them as individuals Family and Friends

And to Brendan and Abbie’s friends and family, you aren’t here by accident. I ask you to help these two make their marriage the best, the strongest that it can be. Transition

Brendan

Brendan, I want you look at Abbie. What a beautiful bride, she’s your bride. She is God’s Unique Gift to you. There’s no other woman in the world with her unique blend of beauty, grace, and gifts. As she has grown up, God has been preparing her to be your wife. So Brendan, never take this beautiful woman for granted. She is your partner, your person, and your best friend. She is God’s gift to you for your very own. Abbie

He looks pretty good all dressed up doesn’t he? Abbie, Brendan is the man God has prepared to be your husband. He will be able to meet your needs, encourage you to pursue you dreams, be with you through life’s storms and in life’s moments of greatness. Don’t ever take him for granted. He is God’s special gift to you for your very own. Exchanging of the Rings

Can I have the rings Please? The wedding ring is an ancient tradition that dates back at least 3000 years. The circular band represents a love that is eternal. It is a symbol that Abbie and Brendan  will wear as an outward expression of the Vows they are making today.

Abbie, take this ring, place it on Brendan’s finger and say this to him

With this ring, I thee wed. It is a sign of my love for you. With this ring, I seal our marriage. Brendan, take this ring, place it on Abbies finger and say this to her

With this ring, I thee wed. It is a sign of my love for you. With this ring, I seal our marriage. Unity Ceremony: Tying of the Hands

Abbie and Brendan have elected to do a Hand Fasting Ceremony. This ceremony dates back thousands of years and was first written about in Northern Scotland. It symbolizes that even though they are two separate people, with different families and upbringings, today they are making a decision to tie their lives together. The cord that we will use to bind them will pass in a circle from their friends and family to show their love and support of their union. Exchanging of the Vows

When you enter into a marriage you are making a promise. This isn’t a one time thing, this is a promise you renew each and every day. I’m now going to ask you to make that promise, what we call vows, for the first time. These Vows will be like the True North of your marriage, they will be the thing that keeps you heading in the right direction. Brendan, you get to make this promise now for the first time. Look at Abbie, and repeat after me.

Abbie, I take you to be my wife. /I offer my love, my strength, my support,/ my loyalty, my faith, and my hope/ in all the changing circumstances of life/ as long as we both shall live. Alright Abbie, now it’s your turn.

Brendan, I take you to be my husband. /I offer my love, my strength, my support,/ my loyalty, my faith, and my hope/ in all the changing circumstances of life/ as long as we both shall live. Pronouncement

Alright, are you guys ready?

May the light of friendship guide your paths together. May laughter always grace the hallways of your home. May the joy of living for one another bring a smile to your face, And when eternity beckons, at the end of a life heaped high with love, May the good Lord embrace you with the arms that have nurtured you every day of your life. Brendan, Abbie, with the blessing and support of your family and friends, by the vows you have made to one another, by the strength of your covenant, and in the presence of All Mighty God, it is my honor to now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may Kiss the Bride. Ladies and Gentlemen it is now my honor to present to you for the very first time Mr and Mrs. Bank Recessional

Mike is on the Bagpipes Closing Comments

Once again on behalf of the Happy Couple, thank you so much for being here and celebrating this special day. The Banks wanted to make sure they had the chance to thank you for being here themselves, so they will come back and dismiss you row by row. Please then head on over to the cocktail hour upstairs and to the left. Thank you.