In my previous blog post from Sandy and Rommel's wedding I mentioned that the speech during the ceremony was my favorite that I had ever heard. Sandy, being the sweetheart she is, emailed me a copy of the ceremony. Reading it again for the second time really allowed to to sink in, it was like YES! This is right, this is what marriage is about. Brought tears to my eyes.
The ceremony was pieced together and rephrased by Sandy and Rommel's friend DJ Chef Rev Kev. I just wanted to share it for everyone to read. If you are married or not I think we can all relate to these words in one way or another.
Today is a celebration.
A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever.
You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right?
You're standing here, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by your family and friends. So why do we do it?
The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society.
We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge it’s special status by sharing it with others.
Why this moment?
Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right.
That's why you both are standing here.
That's why everyone is here to stand behind you in a showing of love and support, now and for the rest of your lives. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity
All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure.
And that brings us to this moment.
This is a time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here, and a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come.
We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't “happily ever after”, love is the experience of writing your story.
It's not one moment — not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying "I love you" for the first time, moving in together, starting a family together.
It’s mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, binge-watching shows on Netflix, getting a big hug when you get home from work, and seeing your family grow and change every day.
These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience.
Even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love — it's meant to be felt, not described.
Trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes.
We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways, love can look different from one person to the next — we all know it when we see it. And we all see it here today.
You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter.
You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep.
You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, "Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of."
You’ve both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep within the earth. Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace, molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished.
Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that.
It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.
As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You’ve created something invaluable, and just as I know you’ll protect these rings, I’m confident you’ll protect the commitments you make to one other today.
-Rings and personal vows were exchanged -
Closing:
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you look for things to praise
May you often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.
The ceremony was pieced together and rephrased by Sandy and Rommel's friend DJ Chef Rev Kev. I just wanted to share it for everyone to read. If you are married or not I think we can all relate to these words in one way or another.
Today is a celebration.
A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever.
You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right?
You're standing here, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by your family and friends. So why do we do it?
The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society.
We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge it’s special status by sharing it with others.
Why this moment?
Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right.
That's why you both are standing here.
That's why everyone is here to stand behind you in a showing of love and support, now and for the rest of your lives. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity
All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure.
And that brings us to this moment.
This is a time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here, and a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come.
We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't “happily ever after”, love is the experience of writing your story.
It's not one moment — not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying "I love you" for the first time, moving in together, starting a family together.
It’s mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, binge-watching shows on Netflix, getting a big hug when you get home from work, and seeing your family grow and change every day.
These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience.
Even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love — it's meant to be felt, not described.
Trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes.
We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways, love can look different from one person to the next — we all know it when we see it. And we all see it here today.
You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter.
You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep.
You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, "Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of."
You’ve both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep within the earth. Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace, molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished.
Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that.
It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.
As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You’ve created something invaluable, and just as I know you’ll protect these rings, I’m confident you’ll protect the commitments you make to one other today.
-Rings and personal vows were exchanged -
Closing:
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you look for things to praise
May you often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.
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