Lori Prashker-Thomas, CPWO

OFFICIANT

Welcome friends & family. My name is Lori and It is my pleasure to welcome you to the wedding of Christina and Wesley.

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT: Please take your seats. (if guests do not sit)

We are gathered here today from near and far to celebrate and honor the joining of these two souls in a joyous, love-based marriage. They both have asked that I thank you all for your presence here today. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support for their decision to be married.

MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE

OFFICIANT: Christina and Wesley would like to take a moment to remember the loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today. Although not physically present, their love and support are still with the two of you today.

OPENING REMARKS

OFFICIANT: Christina and Wesley, you have come to this beautiful setting today to marry your best friend. Marriage is a commitment to life… a sacred and eternal union that is lovely in its innocence, mighty in its strength, and richly filled with possibilities. You are taking into your care the happiness of a person whom you love with all your heart. Be gentle caregivers, honoring one another’s trust.

Today you both choose to unite your lives together as one. In doing so, remember that everything that you need already resides within you … all of the love, wisdom, compassion, and strength. You are not marrying each other in hopes of gaining these things, but for the privilege of giving them as gifts that the other might have in even greater abundance. Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in the most unlikely of places, like Grad school! And within this unfading radiance, this mysterious and magical joy is the greatest treasure of all - one known only by those who truly love.

CHARGE TO THE COUPLE

Before you are joined together in marriage in my presence, and in the presence of these, your family and friends, I am bound to remind you of the solemn and firm nature of the relationship into which you are about to enter. Marriage is the voluntary commitment of two people to the exclusion of all others and is entered into with the desire, the hope and the firm intention that it will last for life. I remind you that marriage is a precious gift; a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely. Today I offer these words; Let your love be stronger than your anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than to break. Look for the best in your beloved rather than the worst. Confide in your partner and ask for help when you need it. Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. Give your spouse the same courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends and remember what Leslie from Parks and Recreation said, ‘You’re all I need, and I love you and I like you!”

EXCHANGE OF VOWS

OFFICIANT: CHRISTINA AND WESLEY, the exchanging of vows is a commitment to make a life together and to share the uncertainties of the future, knowing that your love for one another remains constant through it all. Today's bond of marriage is the first step toward your life together. Please face each other and join hands.

Wesley, please repeat after me:

I, Wesley take you, Christina (pause, repeat)

as my friend, my love, my wife. (pause, repeat)

beside me and apart from me, (pause, repeat)

in laughter and in tears (pause, repeat)

asking that you be no other than yourself, (pause, repeat)

in all the ways that life may find us. (pause, repeat)

I will be faithful and honest with you. (pause, repeat)

I will respect, love and care for you. (pause, repeat)

I will share my life with you all the days of my life. (pause, repeat)

Christina, please repeat after me:

I, Christina take you, Wesley (pause, repeat)

as my friend, my love, my husband. (pause, repeat)

beside me and apart from me, (pause, repeat)

in laughter and in tears (pause, repeat)

asking that you be no other than yourself, (pause, repeat)

in all the ways that life may find us. (pause, repeat)

I will be faithful and honest with you. (pause, repeat)

I will respect, love and care for you. (pause, repeat)

I will share my life with you all the days of my life. (pause, repeat)

THE RING EXCHANGE

RING BLESSING

OFFICIANT: Around the world, wedding rings are the most visible sign of the bond that you are about to make. They represent a commitment to life, a commitment to each other, and a commitment to your future together. Let these rings be a sign that love has a past, a present, and a future. May they always remind you of the vows you will take here today.

EXCHANGING OF THE RINGS

(Make sure each person has the other’s ring in hand).

Christina, please place Wesley’s ring halfway on his finger, hold it there and repeat after me.

I Christina, take you Wesley, to be my husband. (pause, repeat)

As a sign of my love, (pause, repeat)

That I have chosen you, (pause, repeat)

Above all else (pause, repeat)

With this ring, I thee wed (pause, repeat)

Push his ring the rest of the way onto his finger

Wesley, please place Christina’s ring halfway on her finger, hold it there and repeat after me.

I Wesley, take you Christina, to be my wife. (pause, repeat)

As a sign of my love, (pause, repeat)

That I have chosen you, (pause, repeat)

Above all else (pause, repeat)

With this ring, I thee wed (pause, repeat)

Push her ring the rest of the way onto her finger

CLOSING

OFFICIANT: To create a love with limitless possibilities ~ isn't that the goal? Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It is the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, from where we have come, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we are doing right. That is why you both are standing here. We have all loved in our lifetimes and, in this moment, we are reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity. All of us here, today, have our own love stories. Be they short or long; in the wonderful and exciting discovery stages of an early chapter, or the safe and comfortable harbor of a well-read favorite book; we all have a love story to tell. CHRISTINA AND WESLEY have their own unique love story. As we take this time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here, as well as the time to look ahead at all the moments that are yet still to come.

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT: CHRISTINA AND WESLEY, you have declared before me that you will live together in marriage. You have made special promises to one another, which have been symbolized by the joining of hands, the taking of vows and the giving and receiving of two rings.

THE KISS (Step Aside)

And so, by the power vested in me by the American Marriage Ministries and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.

(The Kiss)

THE PRESENTATION

It is with great joy that I present to you Mr. & Mrs...