Patrick Kelly Rhoads

NOTE: Have the bride and groom face each other and hold hands.

When the person comes forward with the bride ask them who gives this bride in holy matrimony today.

We are gathered together on this day beautiful Fall day at Pray Lake to witness and celebrate the marriage of Michael Shannon Rhoads Jr & Jackie Lynn Ford . We come together not to mark the start of a relationship, but to acknowledge and strengthen a bond that already exists. This ceremony is a public affirmation of that bond and as their dearest family and friends, it is our honor and privilege to stand witness to this event.

This day is made possible not only because of your love for each other, but through the grace and support of your family and friends. It is our hope that your fulfillment and joy in each other will increase with each passing year.

Marriage is a commitment in life, where two people can find and bring out the very best in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that has the promise of a lifetime.

OPENING PRAYER

Let us bow our heads in prayer. Lord, we thank you for gathering everyone here today. We ask that you help Michael and Jackie to remember the strong love that they share. To work that love into practical things so that nothing can divide them. May their love always inspire them to be kind in their words, considerate of the other’s feelings, and concerned for the other’s needs and wishes. Increase their faith and trust in You. Bless their marriage with peace and happiness and make their Love fruitful for Your glory and their joy, both here and in eternity. Amen.

While the commitment begins with the two of you, its effect radiates outward. It touches your family and friends and ultimately all of society. When this commitment is seriously made and continuously fulfilled, it leads to the richest and most rewarding of human relationships.

Your relationship will take more than love. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. Dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

While love is our natural state of being, these other qualities are not as easy to come by. They are not a destination, but a journey. Marriage is a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments which diminishes neither, but enhances both.

1 Corinthians 13:4 reads

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not 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.

CHARGE TO MICHAEL & JACKIE

Seeing that no moment is without meaning, we ask that you take this marriage as a beginning of your lives together. Today signifies the creation of a new home and a new family for you both. May you be fulfilled by each other’s love and friendship. May you be overjoyed by the promises you are about to make and the life together you will create.

Remember that in every marriage, there are good times and bad, times of joy and times of sorrow. Marriage is a journey – a time of adventure and excitement enhanced by the love, trust, dedication and faith you share in one another.

May the promises you make to one another today, be lived out to the end of your lives. Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys, but today is the day it all begins.

Michael and Jackie, do you, with your family and friends as your witnesses, present yourselves willingly and of your own accord to be joined in marriage?

[We do]

Will you promise to care for each other in the joys and sorrows of life, come what may, and to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment of your life together?

[We will]

VOWS

Michael, please repeat after me.

I, Michael, take you Jackie, to be my wedded wife

I give to you in the presence of these witnesses

My promise to stay by your side,

In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,

As well as through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress

Encourage you to achieve all of your goals,

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit

Always be open and honest with you,

And cherish you for as long as we both shall live

Jackie, please repeat after me

I, Jackie, take you Michael, to be my wedded husband

I give to you in the presence of these witnesses

My promise to stay by your side,

In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,

As well as through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress

Encourage you to achieve all of your goals,

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit

Always be open and honest with you,

And cherish you for as long as we both shall live

EXCHANGING OF THE RINGS

Having this love in your hearts, you have chosen to seal your vows by exchanging rings.

From the earliest times, the circle has been a sign of completeness. The rings that you have chosen to wear have neither beginning nor end, much like your love for one another. They are a symbol of the words that you speak today. May these rings be from this day forward, your most treasured adornment, and may the love they symbolize, be your most precious possession. As you wear these rings, may they be constant reminders of these glad promises you are making today.

Michael, take this ring, place it on Jackie’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol

of my love and faithfulness to you.

Jackie, take this ring, place it on Michael’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol

of my love and faithfulness to you.

Michael and Jackie from this moment forward you will never be alone. You will carry with you the love of another person, giving you a completeness and renewed lightness. May your life together be immersed in love and excitement. May you strive to enrich each other in every possible way. And may you work to bring the peace you find to this world.

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

Having pledged their fidelity to one another, to love, honor and cherish one another in the presence of this gathering and by the authority vested in me by the constitution and the laws of this state, it is my honor to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my honor to be the first to introduce you to:

Mr. and Mrs. Rhoads