Denise H Overbey

WELCOMING REMARKS

We are together today to witness and celebrate the marriage of

Owen Matthew Payne and John Thomas Hodges

Marriage requires many things. Among them, a commitment of kindness, love, and respect. It is a promise to stand by each other through the easy and the challenging times. This commitment, I know, is what Owen and Thomas will continue to provide for one another. This commitment is also what we, as family and friends, are here to witness and support. A loving relationship with kindness, and respect can experience the best of what marriage has to offer as the result. A successful marriage also takes patience and compromise. Marriage, like life, is a journey. (And a good sense of humor doesn’t hurt either.)

CHARGE TO THE COUPLE

May the promises you make to one another today,

stay with you both to the end of your lives. Today is the day it all begins.

Owen and Thomas, do you, - with your family and friends and God as your witnesses,

present yourselves willingly and of your own accord to be joined in marriage?

[ together - 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?

[ together - We will]

VOWS

At this time, Owen and Thomas would like to share vows they’ve written to each other.

Owen, please repeat after me.

I, Owen Matthew Payne, take you John Thomas Hodges, to be my lawfully wedded husband.

I give to you, my promise to stay by your side,

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

Through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you unconditionally without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress.

Encourage you to achieve all your goals,

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit.

Always be open and honest with you,

And to cherish you for as long as we both live.

Thomas, please repeat after me.

I, John Thomas Hodges, take you Owen Matthew Payne, to be my lawfully wedded husband.

I give to you my promise to stay by your side,

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

Through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you unconditionally without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress.

Encourage you to achieve all your goals,

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit.

Always be open and honest with you,

And to cherish you for as long as we both live.

You have chosen to seal your vows by exchanging rings.

From the earliest times, the circle has been a sign of completeness.

It has no beginning and end.

These rings symbolized the promises you make to each other today. May they be a constant reminder of your unconditional love and faithfulness.

Owen, as you place this ring on Thomas’s left hand, repeat after me.

I give this ring to you as a symbol of my unconditional love and faithfulness.

Thomas, as you place this ring on Owen’s left hand, repeat after me.

I give this ring to you as a symbol of my unconditional love and faithfulness.

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

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

NOW IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF THE LEGENDARY RuPAUL, “IF YOU CAN’T LOVE YOURSELF, HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA LOVE SOMEBODY ELSE? CAN I GET AN AMEN?”

Guests: “Amen!”

“Now, let the music play!”