Blake and Joslyn

Wedding

Order of Service

Prelude (4pm Start)

Songs

I just love you

Truly, Madly,

Deeply Only Love

Ushers Seat Grandmas

Nancy Smick

Tyler Owen Escort with Trace

Mary Santi

Tyler Owen Escort

Jeanne Voight

JJ escort

Donna Radtke

JJ Escort

Blake Seats his Parents

Steve and Laura Radtke

Clint Asks Everyone to be Seated

Processional

Song

Simply the Best I’m with You

Order

Chloe and Tim

Gina and Brody

Marija and Judd

Amanda and Tory

Margaret and Brady

Emmy and Ben

Ellie and Yee

Steph and Gavin

Bridal Entrance (4:10pm approx)

Song

Bloom

Evan walks in with baby flower girl :)

Clint

Please Rise Give Away (John and Colleen Santi)

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Response?

Please be Seated

Welcome & Opening Prayer & Acknowledgement of loved ones passed.

Welcome

Hello friends, my name is Clint, on behalf of Joslyn, Blake 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 Joslyn and Blake 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 Joslyn, Blake’s love and as their family and friends bless their marriage.

And Lord we recognize that there are people that we love that have gone home to be with you that we are missing today. Father, would you allow Blake and Joslyn to experience not only your love, but the love of friends, and family members who are watching this day from the other side of eternity.

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, to cheer you on, and bless the covenant that you are about to make with each other and the Lord. 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.

Message

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.

Now I know that I look like a stole my Dad’s mustache, but I’ve been a pastor for almost ten years, and married for almost nine, and as someone who’s been in your lives before you started dating and who cares about you, I’d love to pass on to you guys a piece of scripture that really paints a beautiful picture of what a healthy marriage looks like. These are four things that Erin and I have really taken to heart, and each year we see our marriage and love for each other grow, and that’s what all of us desire for the two of you, that each year you can fall more and more in love with each other, and your marriage will get stronger and stronger.

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. Never stop cheering each other on. Never stop encouraging each other. Be there for each other through the ups and the downs. Because life will throw stuff at you, unexpected stuff. Which brings us to the next part of that verse

Help the other up

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

Friends, marriage is an amazing blessing, and it’s also really difficult at times. There will be moments when you can’t believe you get to spend the rest of your life with this person, and there will be those moments when even though you still love each other, you don’t really like each other.

There will be moments where everything is rolling smooth, and there will be moments when it feels like it’s one step forward and two steps back. No matter what happens, help each other up. Be there for each other. Think more about your spouse and less about you. Trust that they will help you up and that you don’t need to look after your own needs anymore.

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

My next point, Number 3, it says that if to lie down together, they Keep each other warm. And this is more than just snuggles and sleepovers, this is real connection and true intimacy this is connection. Today, I’m challenging you to stay connected and engaged 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.

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.

I’ve loved watching you grow together, worship together, and figure out your spiritual rhythms as a couple. Don’t ever stop pursing your relationship with God, and continue to pursue it 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 Joslyn and Blake 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 Blake and Joslyn’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

Blake

Blake, I want you look at Joslyn. 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 Blake, 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.

Joslyn

He looks pretty good all dressed up doesn’t he? Joslyn, Blake 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

Readings

At this time, I’m going to read two pieces of Scripture that Blake and Jos picked out special for today.

Philippians 2:1-4

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others

1 John 3:16-21

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Charge to the Couple and Declaration of Intent

Alright you two. You are about to enter into a covenant with each other, and with God. This has legal and spiritual implications and is a big deal.

I’m going to ask you to state your intention to enter into this covenant Sound good?

Blake, you go first.

“ Do you, Blake, Promise to keep Joslyn as your favorite person — to love her as Christ has loved you, to laugh with her, go on adventures with her, support her through life's tough moments, be proud of her, grow old with her, and find new reasons to love her every day?”

If So respond with I Do

Blake:” I do.”

Alright Jos, now it’s your turn

“Do you, Joslyn, promise to keep Blake as your favorite person — to love him as Christ has loved you, to laugh with him, go on adventures with him, support him through life's tough moments, be proud of him, grow old with him, and find new reasons to love him every day?”

If So respond with I Do

Jos” I do.”

Both

“Do you, Blake and Joslyn, Promise to be each other's spouses in the covenant of marriage from this day forward? Do you promise to encourage each other in deeper pursuit of Christ, share your happiest and most challenging moments together, lay down your lives for each other, forgive each other, and love each other absolutely — for the rest of your lives and for whatever is to come?”

If yes, respond with We Do

Joslyn and Blake:

“we do”

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. Blake and Josyln have written their own vows.

Blake, you get to make your promise first

Jos, now you.

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 Joslyn and Blake  will wear as an outward expression of the Vows they are making today.

Joslyn, take this ring, place it on Blake’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.

Blake, take this ring, place it on Joslyns 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.

Communion Ceremony

Blake and Joslyn would like to take the next few minutes for us to take communion together.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus shared a meal with those closest to him and commanded them to do the same as a way to remember him.

When we take communion we are remember the way Jesus lived his life, and we acknowledge that he died the death that was meant for us. And when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we look forward to the day when we get to share a meal in paradise with Jesus and all of our fellow believers, past, present and future.

Invite to participate

Blake and Joslyn will receive communion first together, and then they will serve it to the wedding party. After that the ushers will release you row by row and if you are able we would love to have you come and celebrate communion with us.

Blake and Jos hand out Elements

Families pray over Bird and Groom

I’d like to invite Colleen, Gina, and the rest of the Family members who are praying to come forward as we bless this couple.

Colleen and Gina leading

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.

Blake, Joslyn, 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.

Presentation of Couple

Ladies and Gentlemen it is now my honor to present to you for the very first time

Mr and Mrs Radtke

Recessional

Run away

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

Post Ceremony Direction

Receiving Line

Head to reception area for one bar and nachos

Cocktail hour starts at 5

Grand march at 6

Pictures and Signature