Lori Prashker-Thomas, CPWO

Officiant:

Good evening! It is my pleasure to welcome you to Judy & Rob’s wedding ceremony. Before we begin, I would like everyone to join me in the especially important and traditional custom of turning the volume of your cell phones up as high as possible, so that when somebody gets a phone call during the ceremony, we all know whom to blame. Alternatively, please silence and put away your phones and cameras as Judy and Rob would like you to be present with them in this very special moment. The ceremony will begin shortly.

PROCESSION (Music)

OFFICIANT: (For Bride - If guests do not stand)

Please rise

 

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT: Please take your seats. (if guests do not sit)

WORDS OF WELCOME

Today you are all here because you have been invited to join in an adventure. You will witness as Judy & Rob embark on their adventure of marriage to one another. Judy and Rob have asked that I thank you all for your presence here today. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support for their decision to be married.

Moment of Silence (Light memorial candle)

Love has gathered us here today. Rob’s father, John Overman, and Judy’s Father and Mother, Martin & Janet Popky, all of blessed memory, would have been incredibly proud to be celebrating this marriage with all of us today. Still, we feel their presence with us, as they surround us with their spirit and shower us with their love. In their memory, we honor them today with them looking on from the front row, commemorated with their photos and corsages. It is also in their memory that Rob & Judy will now light memorial candles and take a moment to remember all of the loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today (Moment of silence)

LOVE STORY

OFFICIANT: When Judy and Rob met for the first time, Judy told Rob that this was her last first date and she was not kidding. Well, a last first date led to many more firsts in their relationship, from karaoke to travel…On their 3rd date, they went to a comedy club and saw another couple on their 2nd date, and they could feel their awkwardness, but Judy & Rob were having fun and already in that “couple mode.” Neither of them thought that two and a half years later, on December 30, 2020, Rob would hand Judy a card that in part stated, “let’s spend the rest of our lives together or at least as long as climate change allows…” Judy did not quite understand what was happening until she opened the box with a necklace that had two hearts intertwined, and Rob asked in the most romantic way possible, “How about we start our engagement now!” That is the moment when Rob handed her the beautiful engagement ring that belonged to Judy’s grandmother. Neither of you thought that that last first date would lead you to the last of many things and, more importantly, many firsts that marriage brings.

Wedding Sermon

Marriage is more than a simple exchanging of rings or combining of material assets. Rather, it is an indescribably powerful shared commitment. While today I will legally bind you together, the truly important bonds we form today are largely invisible to the world, existing primarily in the unfilled corners of your heart.

Marriage is one of life's greatest gifts, and it is a blessing to make these promises with your soulmate. As you hold onto one another, you will find deeper levels of joy, happiness, and peace together. Your marriage is the foundation upon which you will build the rest of your lives and, despite any adversity, will always be there to sustain you.

Judy and Rob take a moment to sense the tremendous amount of love radiating throughout this beautiful space. As you stand here today, before G-d, before those gathered here in your honor, and before one another, take note that after you speak your vows, your lives will never be the same.

Marriage, regardless of any preconceived notions you might have, can deepen, challenge, and strengthen you and your relationship in ways that you never thought possible. Judy and Rob, you will see and feel each other’s appreciation grow even more abundantly than you already have. You will give each other what is needed to grow more confident every day, and your love for one another will continue to be unconditional.

The joy you will find as you pursue your shared lives will fuel you to face head-on the challenges you will encounter on this Earth. On your journeys together, keep each other in the space of highest priority in your heart.

Learn to work together, to laugh together, sing karaoke together, and to love together.

Do not get caught up in worldly things that will draw you apart. Instead, focus on your shared devotion and turn inward. As your relationship strengthens, you will find that you come to share a wondrous love; a love that is both abundantly given and freely accepted.

Reading #1:

John Paul Overman will now read Proverbs 31:10-31 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting.

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

Please turn towards one another and join hands.

OFFICIANT: Judy & Rob, I ask that you always treat yourselves, and each other, with respect. I ask that you remind yourselves, often, of what brought you together. I ask that you both take responsibility for the quality of your lives together and work toward the common goals of creating peace, joy, and harmony in your marriage.

Judy, do you take Rob to be your Husband? ("I do”)

Do you promise to love him, comfort him, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, to be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? ("I do”)

Do you promise to do your absolute best each day to create a loving, healthy, and happy marriage? (“I do”)

Rob, do you take Judy to be your wife? ("I do”)

Do you promise to love her, comfort her, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, to be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? ("I do”)

Do you promise to do your absolute best each day to create a loving, healthy, and happy marriage? (“I do”)

 

VOWS

OFFICIANT: Now that you have declared your intentions, I invite you to share your vows with one another.

Rob, please repeat after me:

I Rob, promise to you, Judy, (pause and repeat)

before our family and friends, (pause and repeat)

to stand by your side, (pause and repeat)

to share and support your hopes and dreams. (pause and repeat)

I vow to always be there for you (pause and repeat)

When you fall, I will catch you. (pause and repeat)

When you cry, I will comfort you. (pause and repeat)

When you laugh, I will share your joy. (pause and repeat)

No matter what lies ahead of us, (pause and repeat)

I will see it as a journey that can only be completed together. (pause and repeat)

I promise this now and forever (pause and repeat)

JUDY, please repeat after me:

I Judy, promise to you, Rob, (pause and repeat)

before our family and friends, (pause and repeat)

to stand by your side, (pause and repeat)

to share and support your hopes and dreams. (pause and repeat)

I vow to always be there for you (pause and repeat)

When you fall, I will catch you. (pause and repeat)

When you cry, I will comfort you. (pause and repeat)

When you laugh, I will share your joy. (pause and repeat)

No matter what lies ahead of us, (pause and repeat)

I will see it as a journey that can only be completed together. (pause and repeat)

I promise this now and forever (pause and repeat)

EXCHANGING OF THE RINGS/RING BLESSING

(Make sure each person has the other’s ring in hand).

Judy, please place Rob’s ring halfway on her finger, hold it there and repeat after me.

OFFICIANT: Rob, I choose you to be no other than yourself, (pause and repeat)

I will respect and adore you always, (pause and repeat)

and in all ways. (pause and repeat)

With this ring, I give you my promise (pause and repeat)

From this day forward, you shall not walk alone. (pause and repeat)

May my heart be your shelter (pause and repeat)

and my arms be your home. (pause and repeat)

As I place it on your finger, (pause and repeat)

I commit my heart and soul to you. (pause and repeat)

Loving what I know of you, (pause and repeat)

trusting what I do not yet know; (pause and repeat)

Never above you, (pause and repeat)

never below you; (pause and repeat)

always beside you. (pause and repeat)

Whatever may come, I will always be there. (pause and repeat)

Push her ring the rest of the way onto her finger

Rob, please place Judy’s ring halfway on her finger, hold it there and repeat after me.

OFFICIANT: Judy, I choose you to be no other than yourself, (pause and repeat)

I will respect and adore you always, (pause and repeat)

and in all ways. (pause and repeat)

With this ring, I give you my promise (pause and repeat)

From this day forward, you shall not walk alone. (pause and repeat)

May my heart be your shelter (pause and repeat)

and my arms be your home. (pause and repeat)

As I place it on your finger, (pause and repeat)

I commit my heart and soul to you. (pause and repeat)

Loving what I know of you, (pause and repeat)

trusting what I do not yet know; (pause and repeat)

Never above you, (pause and repeat)

never below you; (pause and repeat)

always beside you. (pause and repeat)

Whatever may come, I will always be there. (pause and repeat)

Push her ring the rest of the way onto her finger.

SAND CEREMONY

Judy and Rob, while the words you have spoken have sealed your union, it is the combining of sands that truly symbolizes the melding of your two souls.

(Judy and Rob should receive a vessel, each containing sand of a different color.)

Each of you now holds a vessel of sand. Allow this sand to represent your life: every thought that is ever crossed your mind, and every word that is ever crossed your lips; all of your victories, and all of your failures; all of your joys, and all of your sorrows. Every grain of sand is another moment, either a moment that has been or a moment that is yet to be.

(Judy and Rob should tilt their vessels forward, pouring their sand into the larger vessel centered between them.)

Watch as the grains of sand mix together, forming one structure. So too, today, have your two spirits come together to form one singular entity. Just as your combined sands have combined to form a collection much grander than you ever could have accumulated on your own. Note also that now combined, the sands may never again be separated. Your lives, like the sand, have become all the grander for the involvement of your partner. As you move forward in life, keep your partner close to your heart, recognizing that they are an integral part of your being.

READING #2

Jeffrey Overman will now read a passage from Corinthians 13:1–8 13:13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

CLOSING/PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT: Judy and Rob, today, you have stood before your family and friends and declared your intent to commit your lives to each other in marriage. You have made promises to each other and to your family.

I hope you will never forget the love and joy you feel today because these are the values that will keep your marriage, family, and bond to one another, strong.

May your lives be perfect compliments to one another.

May your hearts be full of joy and also full of laughter.

May a smile adorn your faces, today and ever after.

May those you love grow with you and help you make your way.

May your love for each other grown more abundant every day.

May your hearts, minds, and souls be blessed.

May you capture true love’s prize.

BREAKING OF GLASS (Groomsman to place glass)

We conclude today with the Breaking of the Glass.

The breaking of the glass holds multiple meanings within the Jewish faith. Some say it represents the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Others say it demonstrates that marriage holds sorrow and joy and represents the commitment to stand by one another even in hard times. It is also to remind all of us that like the glass is fragile, so are human relationships. Once the glass is broken, it can never go back to what it was. As you break this glass today, you will find it is going to take a conscious effort. Rob, you are going to have to really stomp on it! So, may your bond of love be as difficult to break, as it would be to put back together these pieces of glass. Knowing that this marriage is permanent, may the two of you strive every day to show each other love and respect.

After Rob breaks the glass, I invite everyone to shout the Hebrew words “Mazel Tov,” meaning, Good Luck and Congratulations.

THE KISS (LPT Step Aside out of photo range)

And now what you have both ever so patiently been waiting for…And so, by the power vested in me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife. ROB, you may now kiss the bride.

(The Kiss)

 

THE PRESENTATION (Couple turns toward the audience)

THE RECESSIONAL

Bride & Groom – ½ WAY DOWN AISLE KISS THEN LPT to cue

Wedding Party – 2x2

Officiant