Michael Robert Rhoades-Rohner

Welcome welcome everyone!

Those who wish to may now rise.

*Bride approaches with Father*

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

*Give away*

All may now be seated.

Dearly Beloved and Honored Guests,

We are gathered here together to join Thomas Edward Rohner and Taylor Ann Balerud in the union of marriage.

It is said that one does not fall in love, but grows in love. And now we celebrate this love which draws you forward in a lasting commitment, one to the other, creating a new family and an inseparable bond.

As this couple enters into marriage, they do so with thought and reverence. They give thanks for the past, which brought them to this place and look forward with hope to what the future will bring.

Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life. When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

Do you Thomas take this woman Taylor to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, and to be true to her in all things until death alone shall part you.

Do you so promise?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

Do you Taylor take this man Thomas to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, and to be true to him in all things until death alone shall part you.

Do you so promise?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

Thomas and Taylor will now exchange rings as a symbol of their love and commitment.

*(Ring Exchange)*

Thomas then Taylor + Vows

By the authority vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the State of Illinois I now pronounce you husband and wife!

You may now kiss the Bride.

And now, to all the friends and family who have come to celebrate this marriage, I would like to present, for the first time anywhere, Mr. and Mrs. Rohner.