Amanda Jo Witzig

Welcome, family and friends, and thank you for being here this afternoon to witness the exchanging of vows as Ben and Leah make a lifelong commitment to each other. Blackhawk Country Club is one of Ben and Leah’s happy places and serves as the perfect location for them to start the rest of their lives together as man and wife.

In a time of worldly uncertainty three years ago, Ben and Leah found each other, taking a big gamble on each other and love. They are lucky to have received the payoff of a lifetime….obviously.

Any of us who have been fortunate enough to find and express the kind of loving devotion that we are celebrating today know what an awesome and beautiful thing this is. May you, Ben and Leah, be blessed with many long years to delight in each other’s company, to feel gratitude for your great fortune in having found each other, and to love and be loved by the friends and family who have come here today to support you. We all can sense the comfort and strength you bring to one another and see how beautiful and deep your connection truly is.

We will now have a reading by Leah’s Aunt Amy.

Romans 12: 1-2

My husband and I just celebrated 13 years of marriage earlier this month. Far beyond my comprehension, he still puts up with me. Anyone that knows us as a couple will tell you Mark is a saint for putting up with me! When reflecting over his and I’s good times and bad, I want to share some revelations I had with both of you.

The first is to be constantly grateful for the precious person standing next to you who has chosen to make a life with you. You are a team now, and will be able to conquer anything put in your path together.

Next is to be generous with compliments, attentiveness and helpfulness. By your tenderness toward each other, kind words and thoughtful actions, each of you can make your marriage and your home a safe haven.

Last, but perhaps most important. A happy, loving marriage is built on trust and respect. That trust and respect can only be sustained if you are both deeply committed to always being open and truthful in every exchange no matter how small.

Caron and Carney will now share a reading.

Romans 12: 9-18

Please take each other's hands. Look at them. These are the hands that will help each other do dishes, remodel a home, hold a crying baby, and squeeze your rear at the most inappropriate time in public.

Remember what they look like. Remember to reach for them during the happy times, the struggles, and the moments of celebration. As your hands show age and scars, remember what they looked like on this day. Remember why you reached for them in the first place and never wanted to let go.

Callen and Carter, may I please have the rings?

These rings are a symbol. They are to remind you that even when you are apart, you are still joined together facing the world as a team. They symbolize that not only have you chosen to take each other's hands, but also each other's hearts.

Ben, please place this ring on Leah’s finger.

Do you, Benjamin James McFall, take Leah Fay Perras, to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to her so long as you both shall live? ‘I Do”

Leah, please place this ring on Ben’s finger.

Do you, Leah Fay Perras, take Benjamin James McFall, to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to him so long as you both shall live? ‘I Do”

As this ceremony nears its end, a beautiful marriage finds its beginning. Ben and Leah, we have heard your promise to share your lives in marriage. In the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today, and in accordance with the laws of the state of Wisconsin and the authority vested in me by American Marriage Ministries, it is my sincere honor to declare you from this time forth as husband and wife. You may now seal your vows with a kiss.

It is my privilege to introduce for the first time Ben and Leah McFall!