Christopher Slavik

Invocation

Good afternoon and welcome to this joyous marriage of Frank and Paulo. My name is Christopher Slavik; I am ordained by American Marriage Ministries, a constitutional church, just for this purpose, and I am honored to have been asked to officiate this wedding today. This afternoon we are here to celebrate love. We come together to witness and proclaim the joining together of these two gentlemen in marriage.

Homily

This is not the beginning, of course, but a celebration of the next chapter in Paulo and Frank’s relationship. They met, quite by chance, 17 and a half years ago at the Pines low tea dance in Fire Island. Through the years their love has grown, and grown stronger, and they have shared many experiences—and travels—with each other, making one another’s lives unexpectedly richer and expanding their horizons.

Today, they will affirm the bond of marriage formally and publicly. This affirmation is made even more meaningful because it’s shared with you, their most cherished friends. As well, the date itself, November 8th, carries a special meaning as it is the anniversary of Frank’s cousin Rosalie’s birthday. I’m sure it’s a blessing and a sign that it came with such gorgeous weather!

To be fortunate enough to find someone to love, who loves you, to grow with and share your life with is a rare and precious thing. And marriage is a commitment not to be entered into lightly but thoughtfully and seriously, and with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. I think it’s fair to say by now that Paulo and Frank have figured this out: Love, loyalty, and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home, whether in Tribeca or Fire Island or Florida.

Reading

I thought it would be fitting, especially this year, this month, to share an excerpt from Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in the landmark Supreme Court civil rights decision that in 2015 granted the right of marriage to same-sex couples across our country. Justice Kennedy wrote: “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

May it always.

Declaration of Intent

So now, it is time to joyfully seal this chapter with the declarations that will unite you two in legal and spiritual matrimony.

I invite you now to face one another and join hands.

Frank, do you take Paulo to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to comfort, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for all of your days?

Frank: I do.

Paulo, do you take Frank to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to comfort, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for all of your days?

Paulo: I do.

Rings Exchange

The rings you are about to place on each other’s fingers are symbols of the unbroken love and commitment you are expressing today. May these rings be a reminder of the vows you are taking, and of the undying love that you share with one another.

Paulo, please place the ring that you hold on Frank’s finger, and repeat after me.

I, Paulo, give you, Frank, this ring as a symbol of my love /

with the pledge to love you today, tomorrow, and always.

And Frank, please place the ring that you hold on Paulo’s finger, and repeat after me.

I, Frank, give you, Paulo, this ring as a symbol of my love /

with the pledge to love you today, tomorrow, and always.

Pronouncement

Frank and Paulo, you have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of loved ones; in recognition of your long-standing commitment to each other, you have declared your vows of love and devotion; and you have given and received rings as a symbol of your promises. And now, I get to say something you’ve been looking forward to hearing for a long time. By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you married. You may seal your vows with a kiss!