Timothy R. Birdsall

Welcome, Friends, Family, Honored Guests.

They say that true love is a friendship set on fire. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here, today, to light this friendship ablaze, and join Sonya and Mark together in marriage.

The search for true love is one that we all have in common. When we are lucky enough to find it, it truly lights a fire within our soul. Acquaintances become friends and, sometimes, that friendship turns into something much more. When that spark ignites, and you know you’ve found the person with which you want to spend your life, from that moment on, you are somehow different … changed for the better.

1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 helps to define true love. Verses 4-8 read as follows:

“4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. …”

Verse 13 goes on to say, “13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Love isn’t always perfect. It isn’t always a fairytale or storybook and it doesn’t always come easy. Love is overcoming obstacles, facing challenges, fighting to be together, holding on and never letting go. It is a short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, and impossible to live without. Love is work! But most of all, love is realizing that every hour, every minute, every second of it was WORTH it, because you did it TOGETHER.

Making a marital commitment begins with a proposal, and then a ceremony. In this ceremony you make a lifelong commitment to this one special person. You begin by exchanging vows and rings to symbolize this covenant.

Sonya and Mark have chosen to read aloud vows they have written to each other.

These are the vows that you are making to each other:

(Sonya)

Sonya, will you take Mark to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? (I will) Will you love and honor him, comfort and keep him, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live, so help you God? (I will)

(Mark)

Mark, will you take Sonya to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? (I will) Will you love and honor, comfort and keep her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live, so help you God? (I will)

To symbolize and bind your love we exchange rings. These rings are made in a circle, which has long been a symbol of everlasting love. The sky and the earth are round. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls in a circular motion. The sun and moon, both of which are round, come forth and go down, again, in a circle. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back to where they were. Without beginning or end and with no point of weakness, the circle is a reminder of unending strength. Let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love and never-ending faithfulness. As you place the rings on each other’s finger, I ask that you repeat after me:

I give you this ring ** as a token of my love ** and as a symbol ** of my never-ending devotion, ** with all my faith, **all my hope, ** and all my love.

Closing prayer (Optional)

Sonya and Mark, to make your relationship work will take a lot of love. Continue to date each other. Take time to show each other that your love and marriage will grow stronger with time. It will take trust to know that, in your hearts, you truly want what is best for each other. It will take dedication to stay open to one another and to learn and grow together. It will take loyalty to go forward together, without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment to hold true to the journey you have both pledged today.

Yoko Ono once said, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” For you, and everyone in your lives, that reality starts right now.

Sonya and Mark, you have expressed your commitment to one another and exchanged rings to seal that commitment. In accordance with the laws of Iowa, and by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Mark, you may kiss your Bride!

And two became one!

Friends, it is now my pleasure, my privilege, and indeed my honor, to introduce for the very first time: Mr. and Mrs. Mark and Sonya Purk!