Stephanie Lyn Lurz

Opening

Welcome family and friends. We are gathered here today surrounded by the beauty of creation and nurtured by the sights and sounds of nature to celebrate the wedding of Sheovon and Lance. You all have come to share in this commitment that they make to one another, to offer your love and support to their union, and to allow Lance and Sheovon to start their married life together surrounded by the people that are the dearest and most important to them.

Sheovon and Lance, marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together. It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, and memories; their joys and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life. A reading called The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach explains this perfectly.

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

Intent

Lance and Sheovon, if you have come here today because you have each found your soulmate in one another. If it is your desire for your lives to be intertwined as one from this day forward and to be joined as husband and wife reply: We do

Vow Exchange

Lance, repeat after me… I Lance/take you, Sheovon,/ to be my wife./ To share all that I am/ and all that I have,/ for all time to come. / And I promise to do all in my power/ to keep my love /as deep and as strong as it is today.

Sheovon, repeat after me…. I, Sheovon/ take you, Lance,/ to be my husband/Your love is my anchor, /Your trust is my strength, /I will give you all my love/ from now until eternity ends, /You make my life complete.

Ring Exchange

Wearing a wedding ring is more than a mere piece of jewelery. It represents the intertwining of your two lives into one from this day forward. It serves as an outward reminder of the vows you have taken and the commitment you have made to one another to live life as husband and wife. Whenever you look down upon these rings, I pray that you remember the joy and love you feel for one another today and that will help propel you forward to get through the tougher moments in life

Lance, place the ring on Sheovon’s finger and repeat after me

Sheovon, I have chosen you alone/ from all the world/ to be my wedded wife./ I give you this ring /to be a daily reminder/ of my love and our promises./With this ring, I marry you.

Sheovon, place the ring on Lance’s finger and repeat after me

Lance, I have chosen you alone/ from all the world /to be my wedded husband./ I give you this ring/ to be a daily reminder/ of my love and our promises./With this ring, I marry you.

Unity Canvas

Sheovon and Lance have chosen to participate in a symbolic act of love and unity, not with the traditional unity candle or sand mixing but by combining water colors on a canvas. The blank canvas represents today, a new beginning, your wedding day. The paint colors signify the experiences that lie ahead; colors of joys and sorrows, blessings and heartache. The colors represent Lance and Sheovon’s milestones, celebrations, tribulations, passions, and dreams. They are the moments that become the days that make up the years. There will be places when the colors blend and mix, flowing together, creating a new color of experiences shared. There will be places when the colors stay separate and stand out alone and independent, yet still a compliment to the color by its side. There may be areas of contrast and areas that remain blank and bare. But when you step back and look at the canvas in its entirety, you will clearly see an Original Masterpiece that is unlike anyone else’s. Just like your marriage will be.

Closing

My hope and prayer for your marriage is that even during times of adversity and tribulations that the two of you will always be able to look deep into each other and always see your soulmate. I pray you always remember the joy and love that you share today, for these are the values that will carry you through the tough times and make the good times even more beautiful. I will leave you with the following anonymous reading…..

Treat yourselves and each other with respect and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship – as they threaten all relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives – remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

Pronouncement

Now we have gotten to the part that everyone has been waiting for. It is the part where I get to say….By the power vested in me by the State of Nebraska and the American Marriage Ministries, I am pleased to pronounce you husband and wife. Lance, you may kiss your bride! It is my honor to be the first to introduce you all to Mr. and Mrs. Rongish!