Stephanie Lyn Lurz

Amanda Peterson & Chris Leak Wedding

Who gives this woman to this man? The Bride’s father replies: Her mother and I do.

Introduction

Welcome, family, friends, and loved ones. . It is not every day that someone comes into your life that you feel you can be completely yourself and comfortable with. Someone you can wrestle with, whose smile lights up a room. Someone with the amount of devotion, perseverance, zest for life, and spunk that is the exact amount that you needed to make your life whole. But when the day comes that you do meet that person, you marry them! And that is exactly why 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 Amanda and Chris. You have come from nearby and far away to share in this commitment they now make to one another, to offer your love and support to their union, and to allow Chris and Amanda to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

Amanda and Chris thank each of you for your presence here today. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married. They also remember other loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today. Those people too, they hold dear in their hearts.

Chris and Amanda, 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 strong marriage also nurtures each of you as separate individuals and allows you to maintain your unique identity and grow in your own way through the years ahead. It is a safe haven for each of you to become your best self while together you become better than ever could be alone.

You are adding to your life not only the affection of each other, but also the companionship and blessing of a deep trust. You are agreeing to share strength, responsibilities, and love. To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

Declaration of Intent

I Corinthians 13:4-8 is an iconic verse that talks about what love is…”Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Amanda and Chris, you stand before me, your closest friends and family, and most importantly you stand before each other. Is it your intent to love each other in the sanctity of marriage as I Corinthians describes for all of time until death separates you? Reply: “We do”.

Vows

Chris, repeat after me…. I, Chris, take you, Amanda, to be my wife. I promise to always be your light in dark days. I vow to be your smile when you are down. I will share my life with yours, and build our dreams together. I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives.

I, Amanda, take you, Chris, to be my husband. I promise to share my heart with you. I vow to be your constant in the chaos. I will share my life with yours, and build our dreams together. I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives.

Rings

Your wedding ring is a symbol of the promises you have made to one another. The ring, an unbroken, never ending circle. It is a symbol of committed, unending love and devotion to each other.

Romans 12:10 reads: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Chris, place the ring on Amanda’s finger and repeat after me……Amanda, accept this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. With this ring, I thee wed

Amanda, place the ring on Chris’s finger and repeat after me……Chris, accept this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. With this ring, I thee wed.

Sand Mixing

Amanda and Chris, today you are making a lasting commitment to share the rest of your lives with each other. That commitment is symbolized through the pouring of these individual containers of sand; one that represents Chris (who now pours in some of his sand) and the other that represents Amanda, (who pours some of her sand on top). Each of you comes to this relationship with unique strengths, vulnerabilities, and histories. As individuals, you are beautiful people all on your own. Yet when the two of you come together, you form something even more beautiful. Those strengths can blossom, those vulnerabilities can be cared for, and those people can soar.

As the two containers of sand are poured into the vase, (all participants simultaneously pour their remaining sand in the central vase) the separate colors of sand now blend into a new color. You have now blended your individual lives into one new union, as you start your journey in marriage, may the bond that the two of you share be, as inseparable as these grains of sand.

Closing

I would like to share a reading called The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Arlan Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage the little things are the big things….It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say “I love you at least once a day”. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner. It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best!

This reading truly embraces the art of marriage. And I believe if the two of you can follow these ideas, there is no doubt your marriage will last a lifetime!

Pronouncement

Chris and Amanda, today you have come in front of your friends and family and proclaimed your love for one another. You have made vows of the things you will do for one another and of how you will treat each other as husband and wife. You have exchanged rings as a public symbol of these vows and your commitment to one another. And the two of you have symbolized your union with a sand mixing ceremony.

Amanda, Chris, and everyone who is near and dear to you have been waiting a long time for this day to come. So, I don’t see the point in making you wait any longer! By the power vested in me by the State of Nebraska and The American Marriage Ministries, it is my honor to pronounce the two of you as husband and wife! Chris, you may kiss your bride!

It is my distinct privilege to be the first to introduce you all to Mr. and Mrs. Leak!