Bryan David Smeltzer

JAKE & BROOKE: CHRISTIAN CEREMONY

PROCESSION

THE CEREMONY BEGINS

GREETING & INVOCATION

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE AND RECEPTION

Welcome, family and friends.

Thank you for being here to share this special day with Brooke and Jake as we celebrate their love and forever commitment to each other.

For those who are not with us today. Although you are not with us, we know you are here. We feel the warmth of your smile and can sense that you are near.

We want you to know that your love is still with us, and your memories are carried in our hearts.

Brooke and Jake, after meeting in high school and ignoring each other in the early years, finally came to their senses and decided to start dating.

You created a strong bond over these years, making your relationship work during COVID, even in your tiny apartment.

It has been a long journey for you both, now ending in a beautiful ceremony as a couple committed to spending the rest of your life together.

What a wonderful honor it is to be a part of this journey with you and as you continue to move forward with a family of your own and move me from Dad to eventually becoming Grandpa.

I encourage you to remain firm in your faith and to keep your relationship strong, leading to oneness in your hearts.

Your marriage brings with it love, joy, and happiness. Love is God's greatest gift, and I encourage everyone here to share their love daily with those around you.

Brooke and Jake, remember the joy you have today and your love for each other, which will continue to grow as time passes.

I encourage you always to remember this Bible verse from Corinthians, which gives us the best description of love:

1 Corinthians | Chapter 13 | Verse 4-7 (NIV | New International Version)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not arrogant or proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

DECLARATION OF INTENT & VOWS

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

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

Brooke and Jake have their Vows they’d like to exchange with each other.

OFFICIANT TO BROOKE (VOW CARD)

Brooke , please share your Vows with Jake.

I, Brooke take you Jake to be my beloved husband, my constant friend, my faithful companion, and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. I promise to love you, unconditionally to support you and your goals to honor and respect you to laugh with you and cry with you and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

OFFICIANT TO JAKE (VOW CARD)

Jake, please share your Vows with Brooke.

I, Jake take you, Brooke, to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold you , to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always, I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life.

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

Brooke and Jake, thank you for sharing those beautiful and heartfelt Vows.

Now it’s time to get married!

OFFICIANT TO BROOKE

Brooke, do you wish to marry Jake?

(PARTNER ONE)

I do.

OFFICIANT TO BROOKE

Brooke, please repeat after me:

I, Brooke, take you Jake, to forever be my wedded husband from this day forward, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish as long as we both shall live.

OFFICIANT TO JAKE

Jake, do you wish to marry Brooke?

(PARTNER TWO)

I do.

OFFICIANT TO JAKE

Jake, please repeat after me:

I, Jake, take you Brooke, to forever be my wedded wife from this day forward, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish as long as we both shall live.

RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Brooke and Jake would now like to exchange rings.

Your rings are a symbol to the world of your marriage, but they are also a symbol of your love for each other, so I want to encourage you when you look at your ring to always remember your love for one another.

OFFICIANT TO BROOKE

Brooke, please place the ring on Jake's finger.

Brooke, please repeat after me:

BROOKE TO JAKE

I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always that my enduring love surrounds you.

OFFICIANT TO JAKE

Jake, please place the ring on Brooke's finger.

Jake, please repeat after me:

JAKE TO BROOKE

With this ring, I give you my heart. I have no greater gift to give. I promise you that you will not walk alone from this day forward. May my heart be your shelter, and my arms be your home. May we walk together through all that life brings our way.

MARRIAGE PRAYER

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE AND THE RECEPTION

Now, let us bow our heads and pray a blessing on this marriage

Bless this day, O’ Lord, and bless this union. Help them to remember to grow into a strong love every day. Put your love and protection around them, and let nothing divide them. Please continue to provide, guide, and protect them as they move forward in your will for their lives.

Give them words both kind and loving to each other every day. Grant them the sacred bond of kindness, truthfulness, and faithfulness in their home. Make their hearts always be ready to ask for forgiveness as well as to forgive. May they continue to bring out the best in each other and remember to keep you in their hearts.

We put this marriage into your hands and ask for your blessing as they start this new life together. May the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, and the joy of the Lord be their guide.

CLOSING WORDS

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

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

I also want to encourage you both to spend time together, listen to live music, attend a CMA festival and try not to get trampled by people from all over the world, go on vacations, take lots of pictures, and most of all, celebrate the love you have for each other.

Keep making memories that years from now, you will look back on and celebrate the life and love you have together. Remember the traits you love in each other, for those are why you fell in love.

Brooke and Jake, remember today and the loved ones you got to celebrate it with. Today is a celebration of your love for each other as husband and wife.

PRONOUNCEMENT & INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Jake and Brooke, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!

OFFICIANT TO THE RECEPTION

And now, to all the friends and family who have come to celebrate this beautiful marriage, it is my honor and privilege to present, for the first time, Mr. & Mrs. Smeltzer.

Let’s celebrate with Brooke and Jake!

RECESSION

THE CEREMONY ENDS.