Moses Joshua Arredondo Jr.

We are going to begin the ceremony with a prayer to offer up the love of Ana and Damian to the most

high.

Lord, Father of mankind, whose nature is love, look with favor upon this woman and this man who desire to

make their vows before you.

Grant this to be more than an outward union, but also the blending of hearts and spirits and purposes.

We thank you for Ana and Damian, and that you have brought them together for this special day,

Bless each with the inward qualities of integrity, trust, cooperation, and forgiveness, so that they may live

together in love and peace.

And from this day forward they would walk hand in hand into everything that you have destined them to

be.

We give our hearts and beings to You now in adoration And welcome Your Holy Spirit amongst us.

Amen.

(Please be seated if not already seated)

Dearly Beloved and Honored Guests,

We are gathered here today, from all parts of the country, to join Ana Teresa Cortez and Damian Thomas Owens in this beautiful, spiritual union of marriage.

This is the official contract that binds these amazing beings under one, unconditional love, and to enforce as than eternal promise to be kept and held on to for many years to come.

As stated in Proverbs 3:3-4

"Let Love and Faithfulness never leave you:

Bind them around your neck, and write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."

[Part 1]

Friends and Family of the Loving couple,

-This Celebration is not only to rejoice because two creatures of God's hands found their soulmate out of

the billions of people here on Earth.

But it is also to acknowledge and recognize a love that Ana and Damian share in the depths of their hearts,

and are ready to express through the following stages of each other's lives.

-We are admiring a commitment the couple is ready to endure through all the obstacles and temptations

that will be thrown their way, not to overcome separately, but as a joint married couple.

We admire a commitment that will spread hope to those who doubt they will find "the one", and spread

comfort to those who are patiently seeking their soulmate.

-and finally admiring a commitment, unifying them not by shared checkbooks or Netflix accounts, but by

one of the most complex ideas and expressions many of us find hard to understand, Love.

[Part 2]

Love is not an object, it is not a description, it is not an idea, and it is not a word. Love is a feeling that requires no thought; an emotion that promotes constant action to bring itself to life.

The perception of love varies from couple to couple and is beautiful to see how it is expressed in so many different ways.

Love can either come at the most convenient of times, or it can come when you least expect it.

In some

cases, love can take place during an unforeseen happy hour turned three hours.

For Ana and Damian, love has been ever present for two strong years through every single second of every day. Their Love is expressed during their enjoyment of country music concerts, as they sing their hearts out in karaoke, as they watch chip and joanna gains on Fixer Upper, and while enjoying the best eats Texas has to offer. It has grown and strengthened through the highs and the lows, through new experiences and learning opportunities they share with each other, and especially through the difficulties of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This strengthened love for each other and for the Lord on High has made their hearts inseparable from each other.

To Ana, love showed itself to be a family man whose heart is deemed nothing but generous, protective, and loving. Someone who makes her feel safe, while also obtaining a spirit that is happy, carefree, and humorous. She will forever have the love of a grunt style, taffy lovin, spicy food grubbin, God-fearing man.

To Damian, love showed itself to be a strong willed, independent woman, who always has a non-judmental, open heart and open mind. Someone who is unconditionally caring, has qualities beyond words, and always sees the captivating things to life. He will forever have the love of a geeky show-watching, bbq brisket lovin, high-spirited, God-fearing woman.

Now, this is a little poem I like to express with the families and their union through this marriage.

Two hearts separately beat

throughout long lonely days,

hanging on to the promise

that love doesn't fade away.

Two hearts separately beat

as they go about their routine.

Finding joy in their families

is what makes them feel serene.

Two hearts separately beat

close, but still very far apart.

Then one day love's light shone

down upon these separate hearts.

Two hearts separately beat

beneath the springtime sun.

Today those two beating hearts

will come together as one.

Ana Cortez and Damian Owens will now share their vows.

*(Vows)*

At this time, Ana and Damian will exemplify their love for eachother through christ with the symbol of a Unity Cross. They will assemble the Unity Cross, a beautiful sculpture they will display in their home to remind them of the covenant they are making today.

(Bride and Groom gather crosses and return to original positions

These crosses represent the faith of Ana and Damian, showing that they place Christ first at the center of their marriage and trust Him to lead them on this new journey that they begin together today. It also represents the unity of two families, from both near and far, those with us here today and in spirit.

(Damian walks towards table for the cross to be placed and places it down and waits there.

The outer form of the Unity Cross represents the strength, leadership, and protection of the man. In Genesis (chapter 1), we read that God created man in His own image. That means that He created man bold, strong, to be a leader, to be a protector of his wife and family. The book of Ephesians reminds husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, totally and completely giving himself for her.

(Ana walks towards the table and assembles her piece inside and waits with damian)

Genesis also tells us that the woman was taken from man. The bride's piece of the Unity Cross represents the beauty and the many capabilities of the woman, designed with intricate, beautiful detail and is placed inside the protection of the groom's cross, completing the sculpture and representing the two becoming one.

Let us pray:

God of love, bless the marriage of Ana and Damian. Surround their relationship and their home with an ever-growing love. May they always be aware of your presence and your care in their lives. And now, Ana and Damian, May the grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you and the Holy Spirit keep you. Amen.

(Return to original spots)

*(Ring Exchange)*

May ____________ please present the rings at this time

Groom, please repeat after me:

Through the ups and the downs and all in between.

I offer you my heart and my love through the symbol of this ring.

Bride, please repeat after me

Through the ups and the downs and all in between.

I offer you my heart and my love through the symbol of this ring.

Do you Ana Cortez take this man Damian Owens to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

Do you Damian Owens take this woman Ana Cortez to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

By the authority vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the State of Texas I now pronounce you wife and husband!

For the first time I present to you, Ana and Damian Owens.