Andrew Christian Geffre

✅ Processional - Ordinary - Christian and Brent

✅ Brides Entrance - Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Christian and Brent

✅ Welcome - Andy

Welcome, everyone! Today, we are blessed to be together to celebrate the beginning of Adam and Mandy’s journey together as husband and wife! They have chosen you, their family and friends who are special and important to them, to witness and celebrate the beginning of their life together. Today, as we bless this marriage, we set new roots for this family. Those roots include all who are present here today!

✅ Prayer - Andy

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father,

We gather here today, surrounded by your beauty, rooted in your love and grace, to celebrate the union of Adam and Mandy.

May their marriage be like a mighty, flourishing tree, with deep roots anchoring them to the rich soil of your unwavering love and the nurturing foundation of their family and friends. May these roots delve ever deeper, drawing strength and sustenance from your wisdom and grace, enabling them to weather every season and stand firm against life's storms.

Like a tree reaching for the sky, may their love reach for the heavens, always aspiring to greater heights of understanding, compassion, and joy. May their branches, representing their shared life and experiences, spread wide to provide comfort, shelter, and sustenance to each other and to all who come to rest within their loving embrace.

We pray that their marriage will be blessed with longevity, abundance, and continuous growth, blossoming with love and joy throughout their lives. May they always nurture their relationship with patience, kindness, and unwavering devotion, just as they would tend to a precious tree, ensuring it thrives and flourishes.

May this day mark the planting of a beautiful and enduring love story, with roots that run deep and a spirit that continuously blossoms. We ask for your blessing on their journey, today and always. Amen.

✅ Message - Andy

A very wise person once said, "To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”

Love is the essence of human experience and emotion. It is the root of everything we, as humans, do. Love enriches our experiences and fills our lives with meaning. It gives us a firm base from which to grow, to learn, and to change.

There, nestled in the soil of our daily lives, lifting us up toward the light, is love.”

You two have chosen to do a tree planting for your unity ceremony. I love trees. They offer so much to us, something for every season! Beautiful flowering trees to please our senses in the spring. Tall trees to shade us in the hot days of summer. Vibrant trees in reds, oranges and golds to see and play in, in the fall. Strong evergreens that protect us from the crazy South Dakota wind. And even the bare trees of winter that remind us of the amazing things the future holds.

In many cultures, trees are symbols of strength, growth, and longevity. They require nurturing and care to thrive, just like a marriage. Let this, your tree, become a symbol of your married life as you grow together in love, lifting each other up. Throughout the years to come, let your love stand strong, mature and deepen, remaining steady in its foundation whatever changes life may bring.

Tend to your marriage as you would any other living thing, with tenderness, nourishment, plenty of love and light, and you are sure to succeed! May you be each other’s protective canopy. May your marriage serve as a haven for all who live with or visit you! May it provide shelter and sustenance for you and for those you love.

✅ Unity Ceremony - Andy

Adam and Mandy, your unity tree is a symbol of your love and commitment to each other and to your family! This tree, like your marriage, will grow and evolve over time, weathering the seasons and challenges of life.

May it be a constant reminder of God's love for you, your love for each other and this commitment you share. As you nurture this tree, may you also nurture your relationship, with patience, understanding, and unwavering support. Remember the strength of the roots, the beauty of the branches, and the promise of the seasons to come!

✅ Unity Tree Planting - Adam, Mandy, Jaxon and Alanni

✅ Special Music - Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Christian

✅ Unity Verse - Andy

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

[6] And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. [7] Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

✅ Special Reading - The Family Castle - Jaxon

✅ Message - Andy

This poem has a significant meaning for this family, all of the Geffre family and most of you know the story behind why it is important. At my wedding, Adam gifted Jen and I with a beautiful picture with that poem on it. It's been hanging in our home ever since, proudly hung in our dining room.

I knew Adam and Mandy wanted to have it incorporated into their wedding. But I also thought, it needed something extra to celebrate this new relationship and love that we're celebrating today. So I wrote a couple new stanzas for you two.

A sentinel of strength stands within the castles walls

A mighty spruce's roots dig deep

Down into the earth, a steadfast call

A foundation that will keep.

Its boughs stretch forth, a sturdy frame

A shelter from life's storm

A symbol of the love that has been gained

A new family's enduring form.

✅ Declaration - Andy

Adam and Mandy. I’d like you to hold hands and meet each other’s gaze and let's just pause for a moment.

Notice your heart beat. Feel your feet on the ground, and just be right here, in this moment, in this beautiful place with each other.

As you gaze at each other, take a moment. Notice the feelings of love, joy, contentment, all the feelings that come up.

Now, look to your family and friends. See their love and support for you here on your wedding day. This is your family Castle. All of us here.

Family and friends, look at this couple you have traveled to witness enter into marriage. Take in this moment, send them your blessings and love and pray for them.

Now I’m going to turn back to you, Adam and Mandy. Take each other's hands and look at each other once more.

Are you now prepared to commit yourselves to a life together, seeking to grow as individuals and as a couple — year in and year out, with the nourishment and support you can give only to one another?

The couple to each other

We are!

✅ Vows - Andy | Adam & Mandy

Today, you make promises to each other that you will strive to honor every day forward, for the rest of your lives. The vows you make today represent who you are, what you value in life and in love, how you want to love each other, and how you promise to show up in good days and bad. These are your promises to meet life as a team, and to share each moment, each struggle and triumph, with each other.

Mandy, will you please share your vows with Adam?

Mandy's Vows

Adam, will you please share your vows with Mandy?

Adam's Vows

✅ Exchanging of Rings - Andy | Adam & Mandy

Adam and Mandy, it is now time to exchange rings as a symbol of the promises of marriage.

A ring has no beginning or end. Its path is endless and a symbol of your endless love and respect for each other.

By placing these rings on each other's fingers, you are promising to not just to love each other, but to honor each other, to be compassionate, patient, and understanding as you build your future together.

You can both feel the love surrounding you. These rings represent this love. Not just your love for each other, but from everyone here today. Let these rings be a reminder of that love, what you are feeling today.

Adam, place your ring on Mandy's finger, and repeat after me.

Mandy,

We're stronger together than apart,

and united,

we can face anything.

This ring,

is a symbol of our bond,

as we move through our journey together.

Mandy, place your ring on Adam's finger, and repeat after me.

Adam,

We're stronger together than apart,

and united,

we can face anything.

This ring,

is a symbol of our bond,

as we move through our journey together.

✅ Closing Blessing - Andy

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night;

May the rain wash away your worries;

May the breeze blow new strength into your being;

May God bless you as you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

✅ Pronouncement of Marriage - Andy

Adam and Mandy, having pledged your lifelong commitment to each other, in front of God, your family and friends, it’s my great honor to pronounce you husband and wife!

✅ Kiss - Andy

You may celebrate with a kiss!

✅ Introduction - Andy

It is my pleasure to present, for the first time as a married couple, Mr. And Mrs. Geffre!

✅ Recessional - Dancing in the Moonlight - DJ