Kris and Lark Wedding

Prelude

Music playing Processional

Everyone walks in Bridal Entrance

Bride walks in Give Away

Welcome & Opening Prayer

Welcome

Hello friends, my name is Clint, on behalf of Lark, Kris 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 Lark and Kris 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 Lark, Kris’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 Couple & Declaration of Intent

Kris and Lark are here before all of usandbeforeGodtojointheir 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 isavery 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, Kris you go first:

Do you, Kris, take Lark 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?

{I do.}

alright Lark your turn

Do you, Lark, take Kris 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? {I do.}

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. 

Today you are starting the first day of the rest of you lives together. 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.

I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you two over the last year or so. It’s been amazing to watch as you’ve grow closer together in every way and how you’ve brought your families together. I loved sitting down and hearing your story, your hopes for the future, and the dreams of what your marriage could look like.

And as we talked I was so encouraged to see the way that you two are on the same page about so many things, and how much you really love each other.

So today, as you join your whole lives together, I’d like to share a verse with you two that you guys mentioned when we chatted the other day, and I’ve got four things that this verse teaches us. If you do these for things, you will have the kind of marriage the two of you want, and the type of marriage that honors the Lord.

So I’m going to read this verse, and I’ve got four things out of it for the two of you. After I share those for things, will do vows and rings and what not, and then you guys will be officially married and we can all go celebrate, sound good?

The verse comes out of the book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4, verses nine through twelve. It says: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Two are better than one- You’re a team

Point number one, Two are better than one, you two, 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. Because life will throw stuff at you, unexpected stuff. Which brings us to the next part of that verse

Help the other up (Set the right tone)

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up

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. The two of you have been through incredibly difficult times as individuals and a couple. It’s important to remember moving forward that 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. Create a marriage where you pick each other up, a marriage where you champion the each other, where you encourage each other to take risks, to step outside your comfort zone, knowing that someone is there for you no matter what.

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, provide that for each other.

Keep each other warm- Stay Connected

Number 3, Keep each other warm. When I read this verse, I think of Connection. So, stay connected to one another

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.

Chord of Three is not easily broken- Pursue your spiritual side together

Stay connect to each other, and, last point here, stay Connected to God. A chord of three strands is not easily broken. It’s not just the two of you in this, but Jesus desires to be at the center of your marriage. As a couple, continue to 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 Lark and Kris 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 Kris and Lark’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

Kris

Kris, I want you look at Lark. 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 Kris, 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.

Lark

He looks pretty good all dressed up doesn’t he? Lark, Kris 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.

So Lark, Don’t ever take him for granted. He is God’s special gift to you for your very

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 Lark and Kris  will wear as an outward expression of the Vows they are making today.

Lark, take this ring, place it on Kris’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.

Kris, take this ring, place it on Larks 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.

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.

Kris and Lark have chosen to write their own vows.

Kris why don’t you go first

Lark Eli Ekberg, I take you to be my partner in life…through everything.  At this stage of our lives, I may not be your first in very many things, although we’ve already found a few… but I want to be your last everything. I want to spend our lives experiencing life and growing together, lifting each other up in ways that neither of us imagined. I love your thirst for knowledge and the questions you ask. I love the eyes you have for the beauty of this world. I love the spark from your soul that I feel when our hands touch. Every day I thank God that it is your soul that my soul fell in love with, that He brought us together.  And I promise to always cherish every part of you, physically, emotionally, spiritually…until my last breath in this world.

Alright, Lark, now it’s your turn

VOWS

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.

Kris, Lark, 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 Kris Kapsner and Lark Eli Ekberg Kapsner!!!!

Recessional

Run away

Closing

Once again on behalf of the Happy Couple, thank you so much for being here and celebrating this special day.