Lizanne Leslie Schader

WELCOME/INVOCATION

Welcome, Abby and Drew, Kellan and Christie -- and family and loved ones from far away. We are gathered here today, on the ancestral homeland of the Coast Salish Peoples, surrounded by the beauty of creation and nurtured by the sights and sounds of nature to celebrate the joining of Abigail Lynn Russell and Joseph Andrew Whatley in marriage.

You’ve made it! We’re here! You’ve imagined this day -- where it would be, what you would wear, who would be here with you -- for many months and all your choices have come to this moment in time. March 3rd, 2021 at 1:16pm on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest.

Being in this moment with you both is truly sacred.

Getting here hasn’t only been a series of logistical choices, though. What has brought you together has been a series of LIFE choices, big and small, that have formed who you are and who you want to spend your life with.

So today is a celebration. A celebration of all those choices leading to now, a celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two very special people - who have chosen each other as life partners. You arrived here today as individuals, but you will leave here as husband and wife, blending your lives, expanding your family ties, and embarking upon the grandest adventure of all!

I'm here - we're all here - to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't happily ever after, love is the experience of writing your story. It's not one moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying 'I love you’ for the first time,

moving in together during a worldwide pandemic,

getting engaged,

buying a house –

but mostly, writing your story is a million little moments that come in-between the big moments.

Falling asleep next to one another,

walking the dog even though it’s not your turn,

making dinner together,

creating your own holiday traditions – or not -

going on errands that turn into adventures,

getting a big hug when you get home from work…

These little everyday moments fuse together into one big experience.

…And experiencing all these small and monumental moments, you have made your choice. And each of you is choosing the other. You've chosen to be with someone who enriches your life, who makes you think, makes you laugh, lets you be yourself, just as you are, and makes every day brighter.

Today you declare your commitment to each other before us and in this perfect setting. It is an act of great faith in each other and in the institution of marriage.

LETTERS TO EACH OTHER (Abby then Drew)

You have each written a letter to express what is in your heart today.

Abby, would you like to read yours first?

Drew, would you like to read yours now?

BEFORE THE VOWS

Hearing your heartfelt words to one another, it’s obvious that you hold many of the same things dear: Family, Patience, Growth, Nature, Balance and Laughter. I also hear that you are each willing to hold precious what is important to the other.

Today in this exquisite moment of time, you are expressing what is important to you and what you love about each other. And you are getting ready to make promises to each other – and also to yourselves (for YOU are the only one that can keep them).

My hope is that you always hold dear and remember the passion, innocence, devotion and delight you feel at this moment. And that you call on it often, because it takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage resilient and everlasting. And it is so worth it!

If you are ready to make these promises to each other, I invite you now to face each other and declare your intentions.

VOWS (Drew then Abby)

Drew, when you are ready, you may begin.

"I, Drew, take you, Abby, to be my wife, unconditionally and completely. And with my life I promise you this: I promise to respect you in all things, to love you at all times, and encourage you always. I promise to fight with you, and for you but never against you. I will do my best to always make our house a home, and to raise our family with devotion and loyalty. I promise to fail you and I promise to always learn to love you better from my mistakes. I promise to grow with you, adventure with you, and by the grace of God, stand by your side through the best and worst of what is yet to come for as long as we live".

Abby, when you are ready, you may begin.

"I, Abby, take you, Drew, to be my husband, unconditionally and completely. And with my life I promise you this: I promise to respect you in all things, to love you at all times, and encourage you always. I promise to fight with you, and for you but never against you. I will do my best to always make our house a home, and to raise our family with devotion and loyalty. I promise to fail you and I promise to always learn to love you better from my mistakes. I promise to grow with you, adventure with you, and by the grace of God, stand by your side through the best and worst of what is yet to come for as long as we live".

By reciting these vows, you have declared that you are ready to begin this lifetime adventure together.

Please join hands, face each other, take a deep breath together, and relish this moment for all time. It is yours alone, forever.

I hope you always regard this decision as the best of your life.

DECLARATION OF INTENT (I Do’s)

Do you Abby, take Drew to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live? "I Do".

Do you Drew, take Abby to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live? "I Do".

RINGS

You've both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises and to show the world that you are united. Kellan is standing by with them. They will become symbols of everything you have expressed and felt today, becoming more precious with each day you spend together and wear them. Your rings say that even in your uniqueness you have chosen to be bound together. Let these rings also be a sign that love has substance as well as soul, a present as well as a past, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle of happiness, wonder, and contentment. May these rings remind you always of the vows you have taken here today.

Kellan, will you please give Drew his ring for Abby?

Drew, place the ring on Abby's finger and repeat after me:

As this ring encircles your finger… So will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk thru life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best… to love, cherish and accept you... Just the way you are... I give you my heart… until the end of time.

Will you now give Abby her ring for Drew?

Abby, place the ring on Drew’s finger and repeat after me:

As this ring encircles your finger… So will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk thru life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best to love, cherish and accept you... Just the way you are... I give you my heart until the end of time.

PRONOUNCEMENT

Every thing and every one we truly love becomes a part of us forever.

While you are still the brilliant individuals you were when you arrived today, your two lives have now become one.

Because you have exchanged your vows before these witnesses, have pledged your commitment to each other, and have declared the same by exchanging rings, by the power vested in me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss the bride!

Please face your family and friends for a moment.

On March 3rd, 2021, I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Whatley!

Kellan, please place your right hand on Drew’s left shoulder - and

Christie, please place your left hand on Abby’s right shoulder

as we all take a moment to acknowledge and bless this union together.

We promise to support you both and the home you will build together, the home you now carry within you, wherever life takes you.

We wish you adventure, fun and a lifetime of love!