Donald F Read

Welcome and please be seated.

When it comes to finding that special person in your life, sometimes you just know. And as we witness BRIAN and JAMIE gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, it is obvious to everyone here that they know and have known for quite some time.

Now, storybooks and romance novels talk of love at first sight and that’s all right, I suppose, but I much prefer the notion of “Love at each sighting”. Each time you see one another, you feel the love that has been growing inside you from the very first time you lock eyes to the next and to the next and all the way up to right now.

And each new time you see one another that love grows stronger. It remembers the past, imagines the wonderful future that will be and fills your heart with joy at each new encounter.

And from each day to the next you know that this is the one, you know this is the person that you belong with forever. You just know.

Reading from Shakespeare’s As You Like It – Act V, Scene ii)

I’d like to share a selection from Shakespeare’s As You Like It that sums up the steps BRIAN and JAMIE have taken to lead them here today:

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

And so, BRIAN and JAMIE have ascended those stairs and have arrived here, at this moment, ready to declare their love and commitment to each other and in front of the world.

OFFICIANT (to BRIAN ):

BRIAN, do you take JAMIE, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?

BRIAN: I do

OFFICIANT (to JAMIE ):

JAMIE, do you take BRIAN, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?

JAMIE: I do

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

Wedding rings are our emotions brought into the physical world. They are a symbol of everlasting love, as well as a symbol to show the world that you have been fortunate enough to enter into this marriage commitment.

Each time you slip your ring on or off remember this day and how you feel now and let each and every day of your marriage be full of the same love and adoration for each other you experience now.

OFFICIANT (to BRIAN ):

BRIAN , please repeat after me:

JAMIE, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

OFFICIANT (to JAMIE ):

JAMIE , please repeat after me:

BRIAN, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

CLOSING STATEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

Many people say that love is the backbone of a marriage—and they are right, but they might not fully understand all of what “love” entails.

OFFICIANT (to couple):

You see, love is not static. Like everything else in life, it is subject to change. The love you feel today is very likely different than the love you felt when you first met. The love you feel today will be different than the love you feel when you celebrate your 1-year anniversary and then your 10th, then 50th – and beyond.

Love is more than the feeling you get when someone makes your heart happy, love is your heart remembering the history you share with one another during times that are tough. And somehow getting through those tough times makes the good times all the more lovely.

Love each other each and every day and live every day with full hearts and your bond will grow ever stronger with time.

THE PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

I’ve known BRIAN and JAMIE for years, I was there when they first met and now here I am using the power vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the state of PENNSYLAVANIA to pronounce them husband/wife

I invite you now to kiss your first kiss as a married couple. May there be many more to come