The Marriage Celebration of Jessica Evans and Tony Bush

The Marriage Celebration

of

Jessica Evans and Tony Bush

May 28, 2011

Welcome

Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Jessica and Tony. You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Jessica and Tony to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

So welcome to one and all, which have traveled from near and far. Jessica and Tony thank you for your presence here today and now ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married.

Invocation

Eternal God, you have given us the need to love and to be loved and the capacity for both.  We pray that you will bless the love which Jessica and Tony proclaim today, and that their love and care for each other may ever deepen.  We pray that they may face life’s cares and trials with love and understanding in their caring for one another; and that the life they live may be one of enduring love.  Grant, we pray that their life may be a guide and inspiration to those around them, and be with them as they live together in this holy covenant, from this time forth and through all their days. Amen. 

The Art of Marriage

by Wilferd A. Peterson

The little things are the big things.

It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;

the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,

it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, 

but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

Song “Hold You Up”

Scripture Reading   Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and earth derives its name,  I pray that our of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Homily

         

Wedding Vows

Tony:
Jessica, you are a gift to me from God and today, I ask you to be my wife. And through God’s love and grace, I make this commitment to you:

With God as my guide, I humbly open my heart to you as a sanctuary of warmth and peace, where you may always find a refuge of love and strength.

I will love you enough to risk being hurt, trust you when I don't understand.  I will weep with you in heartache and celebrate life with you in joy.

I will respect you, encourage you, and cherish you.

As we stand together facing the world, I will walk hand and hand with you when life is good and through every storm.

And no matter what path we travel, always allowing God to be our leader.

Today, I pledge my love to you and to our family.

Jessica:  
Tony, you are a gift to me from God and today, I ask you to be my Husband. And through God’s love and grace, I make this commitment to you:

With God as my guide, I humbly open my heart to you as a sanctuary of warmth and peace, where you may always find a refuge of love and strength.

I will love you enough to risk being hurt, trust you when I don't understand.  I will weep with you in heartache and celebrate life with you in joy.

I will respect you, encourage you, and cherish you.

As we stand together facing the world, I will walk hand and hand with you when life is good and through every storm.

And no matter what path we travel, always allowing God to be our leader.

Today, I pledge my love to you and to our family.

Exchange of Rings

Jessica, I join my life with yours today without hesitation and with an open and trusting heart.  Whatever we may encounter, let us encounter it together.  Take this ring, and with it my commitment to be the best Husband I can be.  I honor you; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Tony, I join my life with yours today without hesitation and with an open and trusting heart.  Whatever we may encounter, let us encounter it together.  Take this ring, and with it my commitment to be the best Wife I can be.  I honor you; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Blessing

Pronouncement of Marriage

You have declared your consent and vows before God and family and friends.  May God confirm your covenant and fill you both with grace.  Now that Tony and Jessica have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I announce to you that they are husband and wife together; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Those, whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.  Amen.

Kiss

Presentation

 It is with great privilege and honor that I am able to present to you,

Mr. and Mrs. Tony Bush.