...our traditional wedding ceremony: part one...

I wouldn't be surprised if a few of our guests were a little taken back by the formailty of our wedding ceremony.  We worked closely with our dear friend, who officiated, to choose every last word carefully.  We included a lot of very traditional liturgical elements that were probably a little foreign to most of our family and not even very characteristic of the churches we grew up in.  Still, we wanted the focus of the entire ceremony to really capture the fact that we are a part of something bigger...that our love story is only a thread in the tapestry.  I think we communicated that beautifully.

Following the greeting, opening prayer, declaration of intent (Will you?...Will you?), and the declaration of consent (Her mother and I.), our minister said a few words to express our gratitude to our family and friends for their support and so on.  Then came my favorite part, as everyone was invited to stand, and all of the most meaningful people in our lives lifted their voices together to sing Great is Thy Faithfulness.  The sound was overwhelming, and I really can't put into words how that moment felt.  To be united with all our loved ones in that way was really incredible....and no matter how many times I've sung it in this lifetime, the lyrics to that hymn never fail to touch me at the deepest level.

We went on to recite The Apostles' Creed together followed by another prayer, a reading from Colossians 3:12-17 and our ministers breif little homily based on that text.

After the homily, DG and I read the "statements" we'd written for each other.  We wanted to be able to write something for the ceremony, but I still really loved the idea of saying traditional vows....knowing that my mom and dad said the same words to each other when they were married, and my grandparents before them.  So instead of writing vows, we inserted a little extra time to read what we'd written for eachother.  Here I'm explaining to DG that I'd always dreamed about the man I would meet and marry and how great he'd be and on and on.  And that the best part of that day was not so much that I'd found that man, or that he was even better than I had hoped....but that "he" is DG.  I said it a lot more eloquently at the time....but for the life of me, I have no idea what happened to that little piece of paper.  Otherwise, I'd put it here verbatim.

And this is when DG started to cry uncontrollably.  Bless him.  He started to say something like "Words can't describe the joy you've brought into my life,"  but he got stuck at joy....so it just came out "Words can't describe the...."  and then this face.

And this face.

Bless him.  So next we did the traditional exchange of vows and exchange of rings.  You know, for better or for worse, etc...

That was followed by my favorite prayer of the whole ceremony.  These words are just beautiful to me.

Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life, author of salvation, and giver of all grace: Look with favor upon the world you have made, and for which your Son gave his life, and especially upon Racheal and David.

Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy. Amen.

Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will, and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and with one another all the days of their life. Amen.

Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness and yours. Amen.

Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this hurting and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, and forgiveness and healing conquer despair. Amen.

Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection that they may reach out in love and concern for others. Amen.
Grant that all married persons who have witnessed these vows may find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Beautiful, no? Next was the lighting of the unity candle, during which the choir sang Set me as a Seal by Renee Clausen.

I think we'll leave off there before this post becomes eight pages long.  Part two to come!