Jacqueline Marie Killourie

*After bridal party walks down aisle, Jackie says: “Please rise and remain standing for both brides”

Once brides are stationed at the altar, Jackie says: “Please be seated”

Welcome, family and loved ones. We are gathered here today, surrounded by the beauty of creation and nurtured by the sights and sounds of nature to celebrate the joining of Madi and Emily in marriage.

Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, of faith, and of two people who are in it forever. I am honored to stand here before you all in this position. I’ve known Emily for about five years now. She began as “one of the students” in a speech program for my son, Jake, who has Down syndrome. It didn’t take long to see how incredible she is and she quickly became a friend and extended part of our family, even moving in with us for a time while she was in Arizona. Through Emily, we learned a lot about many things: things related to speech therapy, baseball, the strange way that people in Minnesota say words like “b-a-g" and “b-a-g-e-l", more about baseball, her faith in God and what unconditional love, loyalty and friendship looks like. Her energy and her heart are unlike anyone else, and we still feel the loss of her physical presence in our daily lives. We were happy for her, though, to be able to move into a position that she felt would provide growth and challenge her, while she shared her knowledge and skills with others. We learned to accept it was in Florida (bleh), but acceptance has turned into forgiveness and even excitement for her. What changed? Madi’s entrance into her life. The happiness and confidence and “glow” when she told us she was in a relationship -- and then shared “the twist”. We met Madi when they came to Arizona and their love and respect for each other was palpable. The balance they bring to each other is incredible and to get to know Madi was wonderful! Her sense of humor, her willingness to come into our home (having been warned we’d drill her like parents, even though we’re friends) and the easy confidence she navigated the trip with, showed me I had to fully forgive “Florida” because it brought Madi into Emily’s life. Madi is now an extension of our family, as well, and we love seeing the drive that she has had with finishing school, working, being committed to family and most importantly supporting and working with Emily as they prepare to navigate this new life together.

You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right? You're standing in front of everyone, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by so many of those who you hold near and dear. So why do we do it? The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society. We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment?

Because despite all our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier - our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you both are standing here.

That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity.

All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing - and others that are exciting and full of adventure.

And that brings them here. A time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here. And a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come.

I'm here - we're all here - because we want those moments for you. We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't “happily ever after”, love is the experience of writing your story. It's not one moment – it's not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying “I love you”, moving in together, getting engaged - but mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, binge-watching Netflix shows, getting a big hug when you get home from work… These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience.

And even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love - it's meant to be felt and lived. Not described.

But trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes. We use the words we can find to write stories, poems and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways - and even though love can look different from one person to the next - we all know it when we see it. And we see it here.

You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter. You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there.

You're teaming up and saying to the other, “Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of.”

Before we make this thing official, Madi and Emily have already shared private vows with each other but will declare their intent in front of you all today.

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

"Madi and Emily, please join hands, look at one another now and remember this moment in time."

JACKIE TO MADI

"Will you Madi, keep Emily, as your favorite person - to laugh with her, go on adventures with her, support her through life's tough moments, be proud of her, grow old with her, and find new reasons to love her every day?"

MADI TO EMILY

"I will."

JACKIE TO EMILY

"Will you, Emily, keep Madi, as your favorite person - to laugh with her, go on adventures with her, support her through life's tough moments, be proud of her, grow old with her, and find new reasons to love her every day?"

EMILY TO MADI

"I will."

JACKIE TO THE COUPLE

"Will you, Madi and Emily, be each other's partners from this day forward? Will you bring out the best in one another, share your happiest moments together, and love each other absolutely - for the rest of this lifetime and for whatever may come next?"

COUPLE TO JACKIE

"We will."

RING EXCHANGE

JACKIE TO THE COUPLE

"You've both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep within the earth.

Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace - molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful was made from raw elements.

Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You've created something invaluable, and just as I know you'll protect these rings, I'm confident you'll protect the commitments you've made to one another today."

JACKIE TO MADI

"Madi, as you place this ring on Emily’s finger, repeat these words after me: This ring symbolizes my love for you and the commitments we made today."

● MADI REPEATS THE WORDS AS THEY PLACE THE RING ON EMILY'S FINGER.

JACKIE TO EMILY

"Emily, as you place this ring on Madi’s finger, repeat these words after me: This ring symbolizes my love for you and the commitments we made today."

● EMILY REPEATS THE WORDS AS THEY PLACE THE RING ON MADI’S FINGER.

PRONOUNCEMENT

JACKIE TO THE COUPLE

"Madi and Emily, you have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of family and loved ones, have declared your love and commitment to each other. You have given and received rings as a symbol of your promises.

By the power of your love and commitment to each other, and by the power vested in me by the State of Florida and American Marriage Ministries, I now pronounce you married. You may now seal your vows with a kiss.”

JACKIE TO THE RECEPTION

*After cheering subsides*

Now hold on, before I announce the newly married couple, I have one last story to share. Madi and Emily have chosen to create a last name of their own as they begin this new chapter together. As you all may know, Emily has lived in England and has always had a deep love for London. She got to share that love with Madi last May, when they traveled to London for their engagement trip. On this trip, they stayed in the Brook Green Hotel and got engaged at Greenfields Park. When trying to decide on a last name that was meaningful to both of them, they decided their namesake should be one full of love and memories. So, without further ado, here is, for the very first time, Madi and Emily Greenbrook! *woohoo*

*After Madi and Emily make it to the end of the aisle, Jackie announces: “Now please join The Greenbrooks’ for cocktail hour on the patio to get this celebration started!”