Donald Shawn Murray

What an absolutely Beautiful day today!

Friends, family, and loved ones, we’ve all come together on this beautiful day to honor the love between Kurt and Renee as they take their vows of marriage. We are so lucky to get to witness some of the best people that we all know join hands and embark on the next chapter of their lives.

I’ve had the great privilege of knowing Renee for nearly a decade now. After my partner Rebecca introduced us one night on Davis Island, I later told her that it was easy to see why they were such good friends. Renee was clearly a very sweet and kind spirit, completely full of life and love. People just naturally gravitated towards her. My only point of confusion at the time was that I could tell immediately that she was a HUGE dog person … but she didn’t have a dog … Yet!

A couple of years later Renee got Alfie and Delilah and those little guys brought so much joy to her world. Things were almost perfect … She just needed her soulmate.

Not long after that Rebecca and I were hosting a Christmas party at our house in Tampa and Rebecca told me she’d invited this new guy she met from Wednesday night run group named Kurt … And that Rebecca just “Had a feeling” … I remember thinking “Oh boy” this could be a complete disaster. Does anyone really play “matchmaker” anymore?

The party was great but we weren’t sure if there was a spark. Until the very end of the night that is. As Kurt likes to tell the story, when everybody was saying their goodbyes, Renee gave him a … “Veeeeery aggressive hug” which definitely sealed the deal! It wasn’t long after they went on their first official date.

Rebecca and I spent a lot of time with them after that. Although I couldn’t really keep up with Kurt’s amazing mountain biking skills, he always made me feel welcome to tag along and he took the time to teach me how to climb, how to stop, and how to fall … which I did often. He humored me when we shot pool and made me believe I could actually play, until he’d pick up the cue and run the entire table. He was simply one of the kindest men I know and he quickly became one of my best friends.

It became so obvious to us that Kurt and Renee were absolutely meant to be together.

Now, eight years later all of us here today get to witness this beautiful couple celebrate one of the most joyous occasions as they commit to each other and a future together!

The promises of marriage are many. Marriage is a promise of companionship and laughter, challenge and joy, adventure (of which Kurt and Renee have many) and the peace that we experience through unity. It’s a bond we build of the strongest faith in another person, an ability to look at our partner with eyes unclouded and our hearts open. To see them as they are, and to see our truest self in their love and acceptance.

The love between Kurt and Renee is mighty! No doubt you can feel it from where you sit – radiating outwards from these two beautiful people like sunlight. Their love lights up everything they touch and every person they meet.

Theirs is a love that doesn’t stop where their embrace ends, and it doesn’t belong only to Kurt and Renee. This is a universal love. A love that wraps itself around all of us, connects all of us on this fragile and vibrant planet. A love that IS the very source of life. A love that transcends all, without beginning or end. This is a love of absolute abundance.

Remember that although you won’t spend every day with them, your love will reach Kurt and Renee wherever they are. Your love will hold them up and light their path, as they meet each new day together with curiosity and excitement, taking comfort in each other, as they explore the unknown adventures of their future.

Kurt and Renee, are you ready to take the vows of marriage together, and to live together as husband and wife?

The Couple: We are!

Officiant

Do you promise to love each other faithfully and bravely, without reservation?

The Couple: We do.

Officiant

Do you promise to share the gift of your love with every person and every creature that you encounter in your long lives?

The Couple: We do!

Officiant

And do you promise to treat each other with generosity, respect, and understanding and to relish your time together.

The Couple:We do!

Rings Exchange

Kurt and Rene have written their own vows to share with each other as they exchange rings.

Kurt and Renee do vows

To represent their commitment to each other and their intention to support each other throughout their lives, Kurt and Renee will now perform a Persian honey tradition

Closing words & Pronouncement

Kurt and Renee, you are connected to each other at the deepest level. The air you breathe, the soil under your feet, the sunlight that warms your skin, these things belong to both of you, to all of us, and of course to Alfie and Delilah!

In this same spirit, let your marriage be a continuous gift. Give freely your laughter and companionship. Share equally your challenges and joys. Find adventure and peace in each other’s company and the absolute abundance of your love.

DON STEPS TO THE SIDE

By the power vested in me by the internet, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now kiss!