Juniper J Hansen

*Officiant Opening Remarks*

Welcome Guests…

“All Phones Turned to Silent Please…”

“With that, let’s BEGIN!”

“Please Rise….”

*Processional*

“Welcome Everyone… Please be Seated…”

*Invocation*

(just to bride and groom)

To Nikole:

“Nikole, you look absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Are you excited? Nervous? Just focus on me, okay? This is YOUR day.”

To Da’ Juan:

“Look at her! That’s YOUR lady Da’ Juan. Isn’t she gorgeous?! Soak it up, Love…. Are you ready? Nervous? Not only is she absolutely stunning, but she’s also happy. Now it’s your job to keep her that way. Are you up for it?! Okay! Let’s do this! Just focus on me, ok?”

“Dearly beloved,

We are gathered here today

To get through this thing called life…”

Nikole and Da’Juan have brought us together here for an occasion of great joy and a cause for great celebration. Having found each other 8 years ago, they have built the kind of friendship and relationship that will serve them well as the foundation for their marriage.

They have chosen each one of you to be here with them to witness their wedding vows as they join in Holy Matrimony today as husband and wife and more importantly, as equals.

Marriage is a bold step into an unknown future. It’s risking who we are for the sake of who we can be. In marriage, two lives are intimately shared; and the blending of the two must never diminish either one. Rather, it should enhance the individuality of each partner.

Da’Juan describes himself as adventurous, resourceful and takes big risks in life. He told me that the only way he knows how to live is to gamble big on life and Live it to the Fullest. He tells me he has many passions, but other than this precious woman standing next to him, the only thing near comparable is his brilliant love for music. Music is comfort for Da’Juan.

I mention this because it has become a pivotal and important part of Nikole and Da’Juan’s relationship. Not only is this a passion that they share, but a piece of Da’Juan’s world he lovingly welcomed Nikole into and even calls her “His DJ in life”. He found his Free-Spirited “Unicorn” in Nikole. His partner, his equal.

Nikole told me that she met Da’Juan 8 years ago and was smitten. Their friendship gradually turned into a safe space that is unlike anything she could have dreamed of. She embraces their adventures and exciting challenges day after day and loves to be the “Jill” to his “Jack of All Trades”. She feels “seen” and “accepted” by Da’Juan in a way that she’s never experienced before and she can’t wait to spend the rest of her life spreading colorful glittery cheer around followed by her biggest cheerleader!

Nikole has a rare and beautiful gift! She especially attunes to her surroundings! She feels big! She can become anxious, overwhelmed, she can absorb the heaviness of those around her. But to her, she describes Da’Juan as her rock, Her Yin to her Yang, the one that can always calm her spirit. He is the one that grounds her and instantly reaches in and gives not only her, but her soul the healing hug it needs every night.

Each of us knows that a marriage is not created by a law or a ceremony; rather it occurs in the hearts of these two human beings standing before us. It grows out of loving, caring, and sharing ourselves with another. This ceremony isn’t magic, it won’t create a relationship that doesn’t already exist. Or that hasn’t already been celebrated in all the commitments Nikole and Da’Juan have made to each other, both large and small, in the days since they first met and recognized their connection to one another.

The love between Nikole and Da’Juan is powerful! I’m sure you all can feel it from where you sit – radiating outwards from these two beautiful people like boundless energy! Their love lights up everything they touch and every person they meet.

Marriage is, indeed, the joining of two hearts and two souls, it is also the joining of two individuals. Two people with their own thoughts, beliefs, and their own identities; identities which are not lost simply by the commitment made to love and support one another.

Marriage allows two separate individuals to collectively become greater than the sum of their parts, while also allowing such a supportive relationship as for the complete freedom to be themselves.

These two hearts beat on their own, but the shared love allows them to also beat FOR one another. Nikole and Da’Juan recognize that marriage is the culmination of their two loves, which are simply shared as one, and is the ultimate journey of togetherness.

*REMEMBRANCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*

“At this time, Nikole and Da’Juan would like to take a moment to honor those loved ones who are not with us today.”

“Please take a moment of silence.”

*READINGS*

“In the spirit of celebrating Nikole and Da’Juan’s love and life, I have selected two readings to share today.”

“Remedy” by Adele

Right before my eyes I saw that my heart,

it came to life.

This ain’t easy, it’s not meant to be,

every story has its scars.

But when the pain cuts you deep,

when the night keeps you from sleeping.

Just look and you will see,

that I will be your remedy.

When the world seems so cruel,

and your heart makes you feel like a fool,

I promise you will see.

That I will be,

I will be your remedy.

No river is too wide

or too deep

for me to swim to you,

come whatever

I’ll be the shelter

that won’t let the rain come through.

Your love, it is my truth.

And I will always love you,

love you.”

“Love Letter to June Carter by Johnny Cash”

“We get old and get used to each other. We think alike. We read each other's minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes we take each other for granted.

But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest person I ever met. You still fascinate and inspire me. You influence me for the better. You’re the object of my desire, the reason for my existence. I love you very much.”

*Introduction To Vows*

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and take a minute to remember this moment in time.

Before this moment you have been many things to one another—co-worker, friend, fiancé(e), But now you two shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. Because after these vows, you shall say to the world, this—is my husband; this—is my wife.

Nothing is easier than standing here and saying these words, and nothing is more difficult than living them day to day. When you love someone, you don’t love them all the time in exactly the same way. That’s impossible. Yet that’s what most of us expect. We forget the ebb and flow of life and of love and of relationships. Sometimes we insist on permanence, on duration, on continuity. But in love, as in life, the only stability is in change, in growth, and in freedom. Therefore what you promise today must be renewed and reaffirmed tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come.

This ceremony today is a symbol of how far you’ve come together and a symbol of the promises that you will continue to make to each other throughout your lives together.

*VOWS*

Written vows…

*STATEMENT OF INTENT*

Nikole and Da’Juan, Please face one another, and join hands.

Do you, Nikole, welcome this joining freely, and without question take Da’Juan as your lifelong partner and equal in all that you may face, encounter, celebrate or rejoice?

NIKOLE:

I do.

Do you, Da’Juan, welcome this joining freely, and without question take Nikole as your lifelong partner and equal in all that you may face, encounter, celebrate or rejoice?

DA’JUAN

I do.

*INTRODUCTION TO RINGS*

Please take each other’s hands. And all of you who love each other, please feel free to take each other’s hands as well. To reach out to someone and be acknowledged and loved is a human need. Taking the hand of one who loves you is a powerful symbol of that unspoken bond.

Wedding bands represent a perfect circle, having no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metals are liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees. The hot metal is forged, cooled, and then painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements. Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, made perfect by imperfect beings. It is the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. Like us.

*RINGS*

“These rings, each individual in their design, are a unified symbol of your marriage to the world. May they also be a daily reminder of your own individual promises, as well as your vow to stand together.”

Nikole, as you place this ring on Da’Juan’s finger, please repeat after me:

I Nikole, take you, Da’Juan, to share our love in marriage.

I remain my own person, but give myself to you of my own free will.

I promise to always see you as whole,

while knowing that together, we have a collective strength.

I promise you room to breathe and to encourage your dreams,

allowing you to grow, while appreciating you just as you are.

I vow to freely give you my trust and to be worthy of your trust in return.

This is a marriage of equals, and with this ring, I thee wed.

• PARTNER A REPEATS EACH LINE AFTER IT'S SPOKEN BY THE OFFICIANT, AND THEN PLACES THE RING ON PARTNER B'S FINGER

Da’Juan, as you place this ring on Nikole’s finger, please repeat after me:

I Da’Juan, take you, Nikole, to share our love in marriage.

I remain my own person, but give myself to you of my own free will.

I promise to always see you as whole,

while knowing that together, we have a collective strength.

I promise you room to breathe and to encourage your dreams,

allowing you to grow, while appreciating you just as you are.

I vow to freely give you my trust and to be worthy of your trust in return.

This is a marriage of equals, and with this ring, I thee wed.

*BENEDICTION*

No one but you can declare yourselves married. You have begun it here today in speaking your vows before your family and friends, and you will do it again in the days and years to come, standing by each other, sharing in the highs and lows of life.

May life’s challenges be met together with courage and optimism, and may your days be filled with laughter, imagination, trust, friendship, and love.

And in the infamous words of Prince himself: “I don't care where we go I don't care what we do I don't care pretty baby Just take me with you”…

Da’Juan and Nikole, by the power vested in me by the State of Missouri and American Marriage Ministries, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

YOU MAY NOW KISS YOUR BRIDE!

*PRESENTATION OF THE COUPLE*

“Finally, stand with us now; it is my distinct honor to present to you for the first time:

I PRESENT TO YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME, Mr & Mrs. Da’ Juan and Nikole Hill!