Roland Courtney Adams Jr.

Welcome family and friends, thank you for being here to share this special day with Alberto and Erica as we celebrate their love and forever commitment to each other. I have known Alberto for more than 30 years, and have witnessed he and Erica grow as a couple from almost day one, so I am deeply honored to be in the presence of two of my favorite people whom I love dearly and join them in the bonds of marriage.

This wedding is also a celebration of family. It is the merging of two incredible families, uniting their different traditions and strengthening the family tree. A new family that now includes Will, Isa, Javi, Reed, and Mati, as they embark on this journey with Alberto and Erica. May you continue to teach each of them with love and patience, because they will continue to look to you for guidance in their lives as they grow. I’d also like to acknowledge the family that is here today, and remember those who are no longer with us.

Alberto and Erica, your union brings with it love, joy, happiness, and laughter, and I encourage everyone here to share in your love every chance they get.

Before this couple exchange their vows, I want to take a quick moment to share what they have shared with me that allows us to understand what brought them to this moment today. I asked them both three questions. First, how did you meet and what attracted you to the other. What makes you smile when you think about them. And lastly, how did you get engaged? It was no surprise that their answers were perfectly aligned, and shockingly G-rated.

Erica’s mom was a patient of Alberto’s a few years back, and after a consult (and not so subtle chat about his availability), she insisted that these two were meant to be. She told Erica that she just met the man she was going to marry. Alberto was her bashert, which is Yiddish for destiny, and she even went as far as guilting Alberto, as only a Jewish mother can, into contacting her daughter and asking her out.

Erica adored that Alberto was extremely family-focused, along with being attractive, smart and funny, but also humble. Alberto loved Erica’s confidence and ability to hold her own with big-wig executive types, although admittedly she was absolutely terrified about going on a date with Alberto.

“Erica Ridiculousness” is what puts a smile on Alberto’s face. He loves all her idiosyncrasies and quirkiness. Erica is all smiles, all the time with Alberto, especially when she thinks about something funny he’d said, their crossword puzzle dates and all the sweet things he does for her.

As for the engagement, it happened right here on their second anniversary. All I can say about that is Alberto made the greatest save of all time, by having everything in place to propose, when Erica was “pre-mad” that it hadn’t happened earlier.

Their stories remind me of the quote, “Being someone’s first love may be great, but to be their last is beyond perfect.”

I could easily go on and on, but the exchanging of vows is the reason we’re here today.

Your vows are your verbal affirmation to marry, and your promise of forever to each other.

OFFICIANT TO PARTNER ONE

Alberto, is it your wish to marry Erica?

Alberto: It is.

TO ALBERTO:

Please repeat after me:

I, Alberto, take you Erica,

to forever be my wedded wife

From this day forward, in sickness and in health

To love and cherish you,

And to agree with everything you say, because you’re always right…

As long as we both shall live.

TO ERICA:

Erica, do you wish to marry Alberto?

Erica: I do.

TO ERICA

Please repeat after me:

I, Erica, take you Alberto,

to forever be my wedded husband

from this day forward, in sickness and in health,

To love and cherish you

And to remind you that I’m always right

As long as we both shall live.

EXCHANGING OF RINGS

Your rings are a symbol to the world of your marriage, but they are also a symbol of your love for each other.

As you place these rings on each other’s finger, please repeat after me:

I promise to you, before our friends and family to commit my love to you.

I give you this ring as a symbol of our partnership in life.

I choose you to be my partner, this day and forevermore.

OFFICIANT

As these rings encircle your fingers, may they always remind you that you are surrounded by each other’s love.

Alberto and Erica, as you stand here holding hands, these are the hands of your best friend, a person vibrant with love, who will be there to catch you when you fall, lift you up when you are down, and celebrate the good times. From this day forward, always hold each other’s hand.

Keep making memories that years from now you will look back on and celebrate the life and love you have together. Today is a celebration of that love for each other as husband and wife.

Before I pronounce this amazing couple as husband and wife, I invite their children to join them to take part in the Jewish Tradition of Breaking of the Glass.

In this tradition, the breaking of the glass can signify many things. For Erica and Alberto, the breaking of the glass is symbolic of the couple's breaking with their past lives so that they can create a new family together.

Once this new family breaks the glass, I invite all of you to shout out a resounding “Congratulations” or “Mazel Tov”

PRONOUNCEMENT & INTRODUCTION

And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Alberto and Erica, it is my great pleasure and privilege to pronounce you husband and wife!

You may now celebrate with your first kiss as a married couple!

OFFICIANT TO THE RECEPTION

Please join me in celebrating Alberto and Erica Aviles!!!