Lori Prashker-Thomas, CPWO

PRE-CEREMONY

LPT: Good afternoon! It is my pleasure to welcome you to Cody and John’s wedding ceremony. Before we begin, I would like everyone to join me in the especially important and traditional custom of turning the volumes 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 to be present in the moment with us. The ceremony will begin shortly.

PROCESSION

OFFICIANT: Please rise

Please be seated

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT: On behalf of Cody and John, welcome and thank you for being here to celebrate their unity in marriage. By your presence here today, you support their decision to commit themselves to one another.

Cody and John, I ask you to take a moment to turn and look at the faces here today. Know that these are the ones who will be there to cherish and support you as you walk together in your marriage.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

OFFICIANT: John and Cody would like to take a moment to remember those loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today, specifically Patricia Sharr, Cody’s great grandmother, and Alice Kitchen - John's Great Grandmother. They hold these and other loved ones close to their hearts, so at this time, we would like to take a moment of silence to honor ALL of those loved ones who are not here with us today. (Moment of silence).

 

WELCOME

OFFICIANT: Cody and John, who knew that while working on Christmas eve in 2015, the two of you would become best friends? That friendship blossomed, leading to Cody’s proposal to John in August 2021? Today, you marry your best friend, the one you laugh with, live for, dream with, and love. Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.

Today you both choose to unite your lives together as one. Remember that everything you need already resides within you … all of the love, wisdom, compassion, and strength. You are not marrying each other in hopes of gaining these things but for the privilege of giving them as gifts that the other might have in even greater abundance. Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in the most unlikely of places. And within this unfading radiance, this mysterious and magical joy is the greatest treasure of all - one known only by those who truly love.

 

OFFICIANT: I would now ask Lindsay to join us for a special reading by Louise Cuddon entitled “I’ll Be There.” (Print extra copy)

Lindsey: I’ll be there, my darling, through thick and through thin

When your mind’s in a mess, and your head’s in a spin

When your plane’s been delayed, and you’ve missed the last train.

When life is just threatening to drive you insane

When your thrilling whodunit has lost its last page

When somebody tells you, you’re looking your age

When your coffee’s too cool and your wine is too warm

When the forecast said, “Fine,” but you’re out in a storm

When your quick break hotel, turns into a slum

And your holiday photos show only your thumb

When you park for five minutes in a resident’s bay

And return to discover you’ve been towed away

When the jeans that you bought in hope or in haste

Just stick on your hips and don’t reach around your waist

When the food you most like brings you out in red rashes

When as soon as you boot up, the bloody thing crashes

So my darling, my sweetheart, my dear…

When you break a rule, when you act the fool

When you’ve got the flu, when you’re in a stew

When you’re last in the queue, don’t feel blue

’cause I’m telling you, I’ll be there.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

Cody & John, it is not this ceremony or the state of being married that will truly join and hold you together, but your ongoing commitment to your relationship and the life you wish to make together. In this way, your marriage will not be just a word; it will be more than that. It will be an action, something you work to do every day.

OFFICIANT: Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, do you come here freely today and without reservation to commit yourselves to each other in marriage? If so, say ‘WE DO.’

CODY & JOHN: We do.

OFFICIANT: Will you be respectful and value one another as your

equal, be open, kind, and patient, trust and have faith in one another,

and be worthy of that trust? If so, say ‘WE WILL.’

CODY & JOHN: “We will.”

OFFICIANT: Marriage is an ongoing dialogue, a series of discussions

that will help you find your way together. Will you listen and

communicate with each other fully. If so, say ‘WE WILL.’

CODY & JOHN: We will.

OFFICIANT: Every marriage requires a leap of faith. Will you work, even

when the work is hard, to honor your vows? If so, say ‘WE WILL.’

CODY & JOHN: “We will.”

OFFICIANT: Do you vow always to be good to each other? If so, say ‘WE WILL.’

CODY & JOHN: We will.

OFFICIANT: And as your life unfolds before you, will you remain true to

the promises you make this day? If so, say ‘WE WILL.’

CODY & JOHN: We will.

VOWS

RING BLESSING/Warming

OFFICIANT: Your wedding rings are a reminder of the vows you made to each other today. A ring is an unbroken circle with ends that have been joined together. It represents your union. It is a symbol of infinity and of your infinite love. It encircles an opening, which is the door to your future. When you look at these rings on your hands, be reminded of this moment, your commitment, and the love you feel for each other today.

Cody, as you place the ring on John’s finger, please repeat after me:

John, 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)

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

OFFICIANT: John, as you place the ring on Cody’s finger, please repeat after me:

Cody, 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)

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

 

Reflection/CLOSING

OFFICIANT: To create a love with limitless possibilities ~ is this not the goal? Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It is the great unifier — our one universal truth. No matter who we are, from where we have come, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we are doing right. That is why you both are standing here, and that is why all of you are here to witness their unification. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and, in this moment, we are reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity. All of us here today have our own love stories. Be they short or long, in the wonderful and exciting discovery stages of an early chapter, or the safe and comfortable harbor of a well-read favorite book, we all have a love story to tell. Cody & John have their own unique love story. As we take this time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought you here and the time to look ahead at all the moments that are yet still to come.

Cody and John, May this be the start of a happy new life full of special moments to share. May this be the first of your dreams to come true and of hope that will always be there…

May this be the start of a lifetime of trust and caring that is just now beginning…

May today be a day you will always remember when your hearts become one…

THE KISS (LPT Step Aside)

OFFICIANT: And so, by the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss.

(The Kiss)

THE PRESENTATION – COUPLE TURNS TOWARD GUESTS

OFFICIANT: It is with great joy that I present Mr. & Mr. John and Cody D...

THE RECESSIONAL (“What dreams are made of”)

Groom & Groom

Wedding Party

Officiant

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CEREMONY, BEFORE PHOTOS OR RECEPTION, GROOM AND GROOM WILL MEET OFFICIANT TO SIGN MARRIAGE LICENSE