Timothy R. Birdsall

Good afternoon.

I’ve heard it said that true love is a friendship set on fire. We are gathered here, today, to light this friendship ablaze, and join Patricia and Joseph together in marriage. It is on their behalf that I welcome you all.

Who gives Patricia to be wed to Joseph?

Please be seated.

Weddings, almost notoriously, do not go exactly as planned. There is always something that goes awry, to some degree, that forces us to change the way things are done, in order to achieve the desired result: Marriage. This was never so true as in these times we live in right now. Marriage involves much the same mindset: Things aren’t always going to go exactly the way they are planned, so there are times when we need to “go with the flow,” and take what the situation gives us. Whether the wedding ceremony is a three-day cultural event, an extravagant event at a lush venue, or a short ceremony, in the back yard, with family, the marriage that results is the same covenant, and involves the same commitment.

Making a marital commitment begins with a proposal, and then a ceremony. In this ceremony you make a lifelong commitment to this one special person. You begin by exchanging vows and rings to symbolize this covenant. These are the vows that you are making to each other.

(Joseph)

Joseph, do you take Patricia to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? (I do) Do you pledge to love, honor, comfort and keep her and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her, as long as you both shall live? (I do)

(Patricia)

Patricia, do you, likewise, take Joseph to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? (I do) Do you pledge to love, honor, comfort and keep him and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him, as long as you both shall live? (I do)

To symbolize and bind your love we exchange rings. These rings are made in a circle., which has long been a symbol of everlasting love. The sky and the earth are round. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. The sun and moon, both of which are round, come forth and go down again in a circle. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were. Without beginning or end and with no point of weakness, the circle is a reminder of unending strength. Let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love and unending faithfulness.

Your rings also carry a potent double message: We are individuals and yet we belong together; we are not alone. As you wear them through time, they will reflect not only who you are but also the glorious union that you are now creating.

As you place the rings on each others’ fingers, I ask that you repeat after me.

With this ring, I thee wed, ** with all my hope ** all my faith ** and all my love.

John Lennon once said, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” For you, and everyone in your lives, that reality starts right now.

Patricia and Joseph, you have expressed your commitment to one another, and exchanged rings to seal that commitment. In accordance with the laws of Iowa, and the United States of America, and by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Joseph, you may kiss your Bride!

Go Hawks!

And the two became one.

With that, it is my pleasure, and my honor, to introduce, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Trish Harding!