Taylor Mackenzie Harney

Who brings this woman to marry this man? (I do)

Dearly Beloved and Honored Guests, we are gathered together here today to join Matthew Tanner Hollingshead and Rebecca Kay Crom in the spiritual union of marriage. This contract is not to be entered lightly but thoughtfully and seriously, and with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. Please remember that love, loyalty, and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home.

Many people often ask, why marriage? In the words of Mari Nichols-Hainging I reply:

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,

With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,

Who won't hold them against me,

Who loves me when I'm unlikable,

Who sees the small child in me, and

Who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night

With someone who thanks God for me,

With someone I feel blessed to hold...

Because marriage means opportunity

To grow in love in friendship...

Because marriage is a discipline

To be added to a list of achievements...

Because marriages do not fail, people fail

When they enter marriage

Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this,

I promise myself to take full responsibility

For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness

I create me,

I take half of the responsibility for my marriage

Together we create our marriage...

Because with this understanding

The possibilities are limitless.

That is why we get married. Limitless possibilities, limitless opportunities, and the love of that one person who is your forever friend.

Matt and Rebecca are so grateful for you all and the loved ones who have made them the people they are today. While some of those loved ones cannot be here with is today, Matt and Rebecca know that they are with them in spirit. Particularly at this important time in their lives, as they now take those lessons learned to create their own family.

Now, before we continue into the formalities of the ceremony, including exchanging vows and rings, I wanted to take a few minutes to share some things with you about this wonderful couple being celebrated here today. What brought them together? What are they really like as a couple? What are they looking forward to in their future? There is always a little bit of he said/she said but that makes it fun! And the best part? They don’t yet know each other’s answers!

So, what attracted them to each other? For Matt it was rebeccas personality, but for Rebecca it wasn’t just matts personality but his size, she said shes a chubby chaser. How do they describe their relationship? Well after asking this question it solidified me how connected they are. Both of them said their relationship was crazy and loving. Matt added that it was unique and Becca said it was fun. How do they describe each other, and what makes them smile when they think about each other? Matt said that Rebecca is caring, and smart and sensitive. She tries to help anyone and everyone. She’s a very loving person. But what makes him smile is their family and they love that they share as a family. Rebecca said that Matt is a class clown. He loves to make people laugh and have fun. Hes got the silliest personality. The thing that makes her smile is the way he parents Owen. Hes a great dad.

Who all has heard their engagement story, because let me tell you its pretty funny. According to Matt he had people over waiting on her to get off work and was going to hand Owen to her, Owen was wearing a t-shirt that said, “Mommy marry my daddy!” She had worked a long shift, like 16 hours, and wanted nothing to do with it until Matt practically tossed Owen toward her. Now Rebeccas story is that she had just worked a 16-hour day and came home mad because Matt was bothering her. He tried to make her change Owens diaper and she wanted nothing to do with it but when she did his onsie said “will you marry my daddy?” and he put the ring on the wrong hand because neither of them knew how to get engaged. Now? Theyre both really looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together and having a stronger relationship with more kids, for Rebecca its 5 more kids, for Matt its definitely not 5.

Marriage is not a legal document. No pastor or priest or justice of the peace can create a marriage because a marriage, truly, is nothing except the promises made and kept by two individuals. Today Matt and Rebecca, your wedding day, is one brief day in time, and although your vows are spoken in a matter of minutes, they are promises that will last a lifetime. Now, will you please turn and face one another and join hands to express the vows you have written.

Matt Vows: I love you Rebecca, and I love the life we have created. My joy multiplies tenfold because of you and our son. Your love fills a void in my life, a place that had remained empty until we met. We are a family and I am blessed beyond belief as I marry you this day. I vow to be a true faithful husband to you, in sickness or in health, in joy or in sorrow, in good times or in bad, from this day forward and forever. I don’t take my responsibilities as a father lightly, but with great gravity and sincerity. I vow to continue to be a loving, tender, and nurturing father as well. I vow to always be there for you and Owen, not only providing your physical needs, but your emotional needs as well. I vow to always be a good listener, a loving counselor, and a faithful friend to Owen. Rebecca, I vow to love you and cherish you for all the days of my life.

Rebecca Vows: Matt, as I look at you standing here with me, I know I have found my soul mate. Since the day we met, I knew that you were a special kind of love, a love that focused on the relationship, not the individual. I knew that I had found the perfect companion that I wanted to keep in my life forever. You have been there for me when I needed you most and I promise to do the same for you. I promise to be faithful, to laugh more than we cry, and to always be the one person you can count on. As our love grew, I knew you would be the father of my children, and who knew that three years into our relationship that chapter of our life would begin with the birth of our son Owen. I want to spend every waking moment by your side and you by my side. I will trust you and I will honor you, I will laugh with you and I will cry with you, especially when the Cavs lose. What may come I will always be there for you and Owen. I truly believe that nothing can get in our way of finding true happiness. The only things I need in this life is to have you both by my side every step of every day: sharing with you, laughing with you, and dancing with you. You are my favorite. I am so proud to call you the father of our children and future children. I am beyond blessed to be able to call you my husband. I love you.

If you are able to keep the vows you have taken here today, it is not because of any religious or civic law, but out of the desire to love and be loved by another person fully, without limitation, then your life will have joy and the home you establish will be a place in which you both will find the direction of your growth, your freedom, and your responsibility.

Matt, do you accept Rebecca Kay Crom as your wife, to appreciate and cherish her, as long as you both shall live?

Rebecca, do you accept Matthew Tanner Hollingshead as your husband, to appreciate and cherish him, as long as you both shall live?

At this time will you take out the rings you have for each other.

Through marriage, two people come together and create a union that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is difficult to express in words the profound relationship that is love. The marriage ring is a physical manifestation of promises joining both the bride and groom together. The wedding ring is placed on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was traditionally believed that this finger was a direct connection to the heart—the perfect place for a symbol representing love and commitment. These rings are visible symbols of your bond.

May God go with you and bless you,

May you see your children's children,

May you be poor in misfortune and rich in blessings,

May you be slow to make enemies and quick to make friends

But rich or poor, quick or slow.

May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

Rebecca, Matthew, you are now officially, as you already have been in your hearts husband and wife. By the authority vested in me by the American Marriage Ministries and the State of Ohio, it is my honor to introduce to you all for the very first time Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Hollingshead! You may kiss the bride!