Braydon Avery Carter

UNPLUGGED STATEMENT

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Hello everyone! On behalf of Ashleigh and Miguel, we ask that you put your cameras and phones away during the ceremony. Ashleigh and Miguel want you be truly present as they share their best day ever with you. Plus, there may be a pop quiz after the ceremony, so you should really pay attention during the whole thing!

PROCESSION / PROCESSIONAL

BEST MAN AND MAID OF HONOR (OR BEST PERSONS) TAKE THEIR PLACES AT THE ARBOR/ ALTER. Ashleigh WALKS DOWN THE AISLE (OR OUTDOOR PATH) TO JOIN THE OFFICIANT AND Miguel AT THE ARBOR.

INVOCATION

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Welcome, loved ones. We gather on this joyful occasion to celebrate love, laughter, and light on Ashleigh and Miguel’s wedding day.

Each of you here represents a piece of Ashleigh’s and Miguel’s lives. Whether you came into their lives years ago, or more recently, your presence here is a gift to them – and I know it means a lot to them. Thank you for being here!

Before we begin today’s celebration, I have just one question for our family & friends, that I’d like for you to answer loudly and proudly as a group.

Are we ready to get these two married?!

GUESTS RESPOND "YES!" AND CHEER

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Ashleigh & Miguel, today, your lives blend seamlessly together and you’re about to embark on the greatest of adventures. A new path is ahead of you, and to navigate it well, there are skills to be learned and practiced daily.

Wilferd Arlan Peterson's “The Art of a Good Marriage” reminds us that a good marriage doesn’t just happen, one must be created. In marriage, the little things are the big things; like never being too old to hold hands – and remembering to say, “I love you,” at least once a day. It also takes patience, kindness… and fighting the urge to snarkily respond when it’s best to keep your mouth zipped.

On that note, a good marriage sometimes takes a really good sense of humor... as the following reading reminds us.

READING

"MARRIAGE" - BY ANONYMOUS

"Marriage is about giving and taking

And forging and forsaking

Kissing and loving and pushing and shoving

Caring and sharing and screaming and swearing

About being together whatever the weather

About being driven to the end of your tether

About sweetness and kindness

And wisdom and blindness

It’s about being strong when you’re feeling quite weak

It’s about saying nothing when you’re dying to speak

It’s about being wrong when you know you are right

It’s about giving in, before there’s a fight

It’s about you two living as cheaply as one

(you can give us a call if you know how that’s done!)

Never heeding advice that was always well-meant

Never counting the cost until it’s all spent

And for you two today it’s about to begin

And for all that the two of you had to put in

Some days filled with joy, and some days with sadness

Too late you’ll discover that marriage is madness."

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

With this wisdom – and your love - in mind, I now ask you:

OFFICIANT TO Ashleigh

Ashleigh, do you welcome Miguel to be your husband, and your cherished best friend?

Ashleigh RESPONDS IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.

OFFICIANT TO Miguel

Do you welcome Ashleigh to be your wife, and your cherished best friend?

Miguel RESPONDS IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.

EXCHANGE OF VOWS (Couple has chosen to exchange vows privately, in a intimate setting earlier today.) However, they will also exchange similar ones for their guest.

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Before you pledge your vows to one another, let’s pause for a moment and take in the beauty that surrounds us here. Take a look at your guests and feel their love for you – as well as the love you have for each other.

Please look into each other’s eyes as you share your promises to each other.

OFFICIANT TO Ashleigh

THE OFFICIANT TURNS TO PARTNER A, WHO REPEATS EACH PORTION OF VOWS AFTER IT'S READ

I promise to share the covers, leave the toilet seat down, and not throw my dirty socks everywhere. Most of all, I vow to never stop playing with you – to love you as my best friend, lover, and partner in life.

Ashleigh REPEATS EACH PORTION

OFFICIANT TO Miguel

THE OFFICIANT TURNS TO PARTNER B, WHO REPEATS EACH PORTION OF VOWS AFTER IT'S READ

"I promise to not tell you how to drive, to cherish you, but not obey - because that’s a little creepy. Most of all, I vow to never stop playing with you – to love you as my best friend, lover, and partner in life."

Miguel REPEATS EACH PORTION

RING EXCHANGE

RINGS CAN BE EXCHANGED DURING A COUPLE’S VOWS AFTER THE VOWS (BELOW).

OFFICIANT TO Ashleigh

Please place this ring on Miguel's finger and repeat after me:

This ring is a token of my love for you. Let it remind you that you’re always in my heart.

Ashleigh REPEATS THE LINES.

OFFICIANT TO Miguel

Please place this ring on Ashleigh's finger and repeat after me:

This ring is a token of my love for you. Let it remind you that you’re always in my heart.

Miguel REPEATS THE LINES.

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Ashleigh and Miguel, by the love that has brought you here today, by the vows and rings you have exchanged in the presence of your loved ones, it is my delight and honor to pronounce you married!

You may seal your marriage with a kiss!

THE COUPLE KISSES, GUESTS APPLAUD AND CHEER

PRESENTATION OF THE NEWLYWEDS

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Family and friends, it is my pleasure to present to you for the first time as newlyweds, Ashleigh & Miguel Herrera-Perez.

RECESSION

THE CEREMONY ENDS