Kenneth John Galipeau

Opening and welcome

It’s a beautiful Day

At a beautiful place

With all you beautiful people

Here to witness the marriage of this beautiful couple

On behalf of Grace and Jeffrey, I would like to thank you all for being here this afternoon. For taking the time and making the journey, and for all the effort that it takes—not only to be a part of this day, but to be a part of theirs and each other’s lives.

 

Whenever we attend a wedding, we are given the opportunity to reflect on our own relationships. We might look at the couple before us and be tempted to compare their love to the quality of our own relationships. The truth is that every relationship is as unique as the individuals in it, but one thing holds true: For love to exist between two people, each person must allow the vulnerability of giving his or her love to the other, and each must be open to receiving the other’s love in turn. Therefore each of us is a powerful creator of love. Each of us, every moment of every day, has the choice to dedicate ourselves to one another.

If you ask couples who have a strong and abiding love what they like most about their partners, many will say when they are with that person they don’t have to pretend to be anything other than what they are. They are able to express themselves without fear of being judged or rejected. There is room in the relationship for both of them to be unique individuals. They are free to surrender to the vulnerability of true intimacy—to be known and loved unconditionally.

 

Readings

Now a couple Readings by Family about Love and Relationaships.

So first, A Lovely Love Story read by the bride’s cousin, Kelsey:

The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, HIS cage.

Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

I like this Dinosaur, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever, though I will not tell him this for now.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur. She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit, which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

He is also overly fond of Things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of Things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly, thought the Dinosaur. She is also uncommonly keen on Shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for Things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur. For she fills our life with beautiful thought and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them. Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs. And that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm. And the world is a beautiful place…

 

And now, a reading by the groom’s cousin, Jordan:

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.

And when it subsides you have to make a decision.

You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is

Inconceivable that you should ever part.

Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement,

It is not the promulgation of eternal passion.

That is just being “in love,” which any team can do.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,

And this is both art and a fortunate accident.

Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground

And when all the pretty blossom has fallen from their branches,

They find that they are one tree and not two.

- “One Tree, Not Two” Louis de Bernieres

Expression of intent (“I do…”)

Grace & Jeffery are you ready to declare your intentions?

Jeffrey, do you take Grace to be your wife? # I do.

Grace, do you take Jeffrey to be your husband? # I do.

I now ask of you both:

Do you promise to choose each other every day, to love each other in word and deed? # We do.

Do you promise to recognize one another as equals and support one another in your goals and wishes for the future? # We do.

Do you promise to always share your thoughts and feelings and concerns with the other and be open and honest at all times? # We do.

Do you promise that come hell or high water, time travel, the hunger games, good and bad hockey seasons, the imperial empire, Lord Voldemort or the zombie apocalypse, that you’re in this together, no matter what? # We do.

 

Vows (“For better or for worse…”)

Grace, repeat after me: I Grace take you Jeffrey to be my best friend, ##

my faithful partner and my one true love. ##

I promise to encourage you & inspire you ##

and to love you truly through good times and bad. ##

I will forever be there to laugh with you, ##

to lift you up when you are down ##

and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together. ##

Jeff, repeat after me: I Jeffrey take you Grace to be my best friend, ##

my faithful partner and my one true love. ##

I promise to encourage you & inspire you ##

and to love you truly through good times and bad. ##

I will forever be there to laugh with you, ##

to lift you up when you are down ##

and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together. ##

Blessing of the Stones

Now that Grace and Jeffrey have exchanged their vows, they invite you to participate in an ancient Irish tradition in which wedding guests were given small stones to cast into nearby water while making a wish for the couple’s future.

Our bride and groom ask that you fill the stone you are holding with prayers, words of wisdom, well wishes and positive vibes for them to remember during the days of their journey that are easy and not so easy. So your intentions can stay with the bride and groom through all of the stages of their adventure, Grace and Jeffrey ask that on your way to the cocktail hour you leave your blessing stone in the jar on the deck near the cornhole guest book.

 

Ring ceremony

Jeffrey and Grace will now exchange rings. The wedding ring is a symbol of eternity. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual bond, which unites two hearts in an endless love. And now as a token of your love and of our deep desire to be forever united in heart and soul, as you Jeffrey place the ring on the finger of your bride repeat after me:

I give you this ring ##

as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you ##.

By the same token Grace, as you place the ring on the finger of your groom repeat after me:

I give you this ring ##

as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you ## .

 

Pronouncement (“I now pronounce you…”)

May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.

Grace and Jeffrey, prior to this moment you each walked a separate path. Now you embark together on a truly shared path. Never forget the love and joy you feel today because these are the values that will keep your marriage, family and bond to one another strong.

And so, by the power vested in me by the American Marriage Ministries and the State of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Jeff, you may kiss your bride! Nostrovia!