Elisabeth Snell Wang

Andy and Taylor Wedding

INVOCATION

Welcome, family and friends. We are gathered here today, surrounded by the beauty of creation and in the sights and sounds of nature to celebrate the marriage of Andrea Martin and Taylor Stralow.

Marriage is a contract not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously and with a deep realization of the commitment you are making.

A true marriage begins well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony.

Today is just a brief moment in time that signals the legal bond of marriage.

It takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage durable and everlasting.

Today you declare your commitment

to that lifetime effort to each other

and in front of your family and friends.

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT TO Andy

"Do you, Andy, take Taylor to be your husband, your companion, your friend, and your confidant, to respect and support in bad times and good?"

Andy To Taylor - “I do.”

OFFICIANT TO Taylor

"Do you, Taylor, take Andy to be your wife, your companion, your friend, and your confidant, to respect and support in bad times and good?"

Taylor To Andy - “I do."

OFFICIANT TO Witnesses

And to you - Friends and Family who have gathered. Do you promise to love and support Andy and Taylor, and to help them uphold the commitment of marriage that they are making to each other in your presence?

If so, respond by saying, “We do.”

“We do.”

CHARGE TO COUPLE

Today is a blessing and a day that all who are present are thrilled to be celebrating with you.

I recently went to a wedding where the minister took a moment to thank the couple, and I think that is fitting here.

So, Andy and Taylor, on behalf of all of us who are here as witnesses, thank you for choosing us, for choosing today, and for wanting us to be a part of this ceremony.

You chose to gather us here to remind us what is most important - and that is love. Today is about the love between Andy and Taylor - but it is also about the mutual love Andy and Taylor have for Eleanor and about the love we ALL have for the three of them - Andy, Taylor and Eleanor.

So thank you for including us as witnesses to your commitment to each other.

Taylor and Andy, the journey that brought you to this point has not been what some would call traditional. But that’s OK. Your commitment here today is still just as meaningful and significant. In fact, it may be more so. And as I noted earlier, today is just a spot of time as the poet Wordsworth would call it. Your journey is not over. The story that you are writing together has many more chapters.

Sometimes in marriage ceremonies, you’ll hear the officiant ask the couple if they will willingly accept children into their home should they be blessed to have them. For the two of you, we already have the blessing of precious Eleanor.

And so today’s commitment is not just about becoming husband and wife, but you are coming together as one and as a family.

Taylor, you are not just pledging yourself to Andy, you’re binding yourself to Andy and Eleanor - you're committing to be a husband and a dad, and to seek first what is best for your wife and your daughter.

And Andy, you are not just pledging yourself to Taylor. You are binding yourself to Taylor and Eleanor and are committing to be a wife and a mom, to seek first what is best for your husband and your daughter.

And now, your vows!

Vows Exchange‬‬

Andy and Taylor, Please turn & face each other. Taylor, repeat after me.

I Taylor, take you Andy,

to be my wife.

To have and to hold,

from this day forward,

for better, for worse,

for richer, for poorer,

in sickness or in health,

to love and to cherish

Until we are parted by death.

With these words,

I pledge myself to you.

Now Andy, repeat after me.

I, Andy, take you Taylor,

to be my husband.

To have and to hold,

from this day forward;

for better, for worse,

for richer, for poorer,

in sickness or in health,

to love and to cherish,

Until we are parted by death.

With these words,

I pledge myself to you.

RINGS EXCHANGE

The wedding ring is a symbol of married love, the precious metals show that your love is your most precious possession, and the unending circle symbolizes that your love may never cease.

OFFICIANT TO Taylor

"Taylor, please take the ring you have selected for Andy. As you place it on her finger, repeat after me:

Andy, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my wife.

OFFICIANT TO Andy

"Andy, please take the ring you have selected for Taylor. As you place it on his finger, repeat after me:

Taylor, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my husband.

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT TO THE RECEPTION

Andy and Taylor, we have heard your vows and you’ve symbolized your union by pledging your lives to each other and exchanging rings.

And so it is, by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Taylor, you may kiss your bride!

Taylor & Andy take Eleanor

A Blessing

Andy and Taylor -

May your marriage be blessed with much joy, harmony, and contentment.

May your home be one of love and peace.

When trials come, may you approach them in partnership toward a common goal of unity.

May Eleanor grow to her full potential because she knows and lives in the midst of the love you have for each other.

And may we all experience richer, fuller lives because the two of you fell in love.

Friends and family - it is my honor to present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Stralow along with Eleanor Martin Stralow!

RECESSIONAL

End of the Wedding Ceremony.