Roch S. Jones

Please be seated… Thank you.

Friends, family, and loved ones, we come together today in the sight of the divine and of you as witnesses to join Erin and Brandon in marriage. We gather around them now in this wonderful place, and we look on with love and hope as these two begin their new life together as one.

Marriage is a sacred institution in our culture. It’s a tradition of partnership, of trust, and of dependence on one another to navigate the sometimes stormy seas of life. People have said that marriage requires things like work, like commitment, and like sacrifice – and certainly all of those things are true. No matter what it looks like in the end, however, a healthy marriage always needs a solid foundation.

It begins with love, to be sure, but what does that mean? People say they love chocolate, is that the same as the love we need for a solid marriage? Of course not. The love we need comes from being willing to make those sacrifices. The love we need comes from being committed to working through everything together, and maintaining open communications – even when it is difficult. The love we need makes the work it takes to maintain it all worth it.

On top of that foundation of love – a mixture of work, sacrifice, and commitment – we can build things like trust and intimacy, and all of the beautiful things that make a marriage worthwhile.

Erin and Brandon, are you ready to proclaim that foundation of love for one another in the sight of the heavens and these witnesses?

We are.

Erin, do you take Brandon to be your lawfully wedded husband? Will you honor and cherish him; love, trust, and commit to him, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?

Erin: I do.

Brandon, do you take Erin to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you honor and cherish her; love, trust, and commit to her, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?

Brandon: I do.

At this time, Erin and Brandon will exchange rings. The wedding ring is a symbol of binding. A symbol of attachment and of belonging, not of possession, but of partnership.

Erin, please repeat after me: Brandon, I promise to love you and commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you and you alone, and to walk through the valleys of life together, just as we will stand atop mountains together, too.

Brandon, please repeat after me: Erin, I promise to love you commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you and you alone, and to walk through the valleys of life together, just as we will stand atop mountains together, too.

Erin and Brandon, having proclaimed you love and commitment to one another in the eyes of these loved ones, and with the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church and the state of Nebraska, I am so happy to pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss!

Thank you all so much for joining us in this special moment in Erin’s and Brandon’s life! Erin and Brandon have asked that you join them for a reception. Thank you all once again.