I’m so glad that I was asked to officiate the wedding of Chad and Mary on August 31, 2024, at beautiful Klondike Park in west St. Charles County. Here’s the script (PDF). Prayers and blessings for Chad and Mary!
Procession
Who presents this woman in marriage?
Answer (MB): “Her mother and I do.”
[Then MB sits down.]
Invocation
Dear friends who have traveled from far and near to be here today, we are gathered in the loving fellowship of each other, and in the joyful presence of God, to celebrate with Chad and Mary this dawn of their new life together, their union as husband and wife.
Mary, I’m so glad to have known you since you were a little girl with the curiosity and wonder of Kendra, who just carried in the flowers. You were and remain an utter delight to everyone who knows you. For all these years, your friendship, along with your sister and brothers, has meant so much to my family. Chad, I remember you said that finding Mary was like “meeting a best friend who I didn’t know, yet it felt so natural, I could be myself.” You’ve already taken me for a short spin in your wilderness-seeking Jeep. I can’t wait to hear of all the great times you two will have camping and traveling together as you journey on from this day.
Words on Marriage
For those who enter into it, the gift of marriage is a relationship like no other.
Chad and Mary: God is saying to you today, Surprise! See how much I love you. I have never forgotten you, I know you, I see you. You are not alone. From this day forward, whenever you look at each other, know that you are looking at a precious gift of God. You are looking at a beloved child of God, the beautiful one whom God has chosen as your companion on this journey of life. Today, God and all the holy angels are rejoicing, celebrating your love for each other.
The Triune God — Father, Son, and Spirit — are by their very nature an eternal communion of love. That is why Jesus honored marriage at the wedding feast in Cana. There, at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus changed water into wine. At the wedding party, Jesus brought the wine! And He is still doing so today. Drinking the wine signals that marriage, for all time, is a sacred and joyous celebration, an image of a future Day when He shall come for His beloved, His bride. All our earthly joys and longings dimly testify of that future Day.
For Love is forever. 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, says:
“Love is patient and kind. It is never jealous or envious, boastful or proud. It is never haughty, selfish, or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
Your love for each other will awaken you to a life of love and a love of life. In the Song of Solomon we read:
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death. Love burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.”
When you truly love someone, you want them to live forever. To bring us life and love forever is why Jesus came, so that we too might participate in that eternal divine communion. Be confident that love never ends. Your journey here together is a beautiful beginning of everlasting love.
Chad and Mary, your love will wake something up within you. By entering into marriage, you will love more deeply than you ever thought it possible to love before. Your love for each other, and God’s love for you, will sustain you through unfathomed depths of sorrow and through unexpected heights of joy. In marriage, you are moving “further up and further in” to the everlasting mystery of love in the cosmos.
Declaration of Intent
Chad, do you take Mary to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, for as long as you both shall live?
[Chad: I do.]
Mary, do you take Chad to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, for as long as you both shall live?
[Mary: I do.]
Vows Exchange
Join your right hands and give heed to the vows you shall make to each other: [Give microphone to Chad]
[Chad’s vows] [Give mic to Mary]
[Mary’s vows] [Replace mic in stand]
With this exchange of vows you are entering into communion with each other and with God. Though your way will not always be easy, the Lord in His grace will sustain your marriage. He will renew your love for one another, for He is the “giver of all good and perfect gifts.” A “threefold cord” is not easily broken.
Rings Exchange
As God pointed to the rainbow as a sign of his promise to Noah, have you a sign of your promise to each other?
[Chad and Mary:]
“We have these rings.”
[Chad and Mary take rings from their company, prepare to give to each other.]
Chad and Mary, the ring is a symbol of the unconditional love you have for each other. Its unending circle represents the eternal quality of love, and the gold represents its purifying fire. As a ceaseless reminder of this hour, and as a seal of the vows you have taken, now give and receive your rings.
[Chad (prompted by Kerry):]
I give you my name
and this ring
to wear with joy
as a sign of my love and
vows before the Lord.
[Mary (prompted by Kerry)]
I receive your name
and give you this ring
to wear with joy
as a sign of my love and
vows before the Lord.
Pronouncement
Chad and Mary, it is not a minister standing before you that makes your marriage real, because marriage is the gift of God. Your relationship is part of the eternal YES spoken to you by the God who is the source of love. So in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and with the authority vested in me by the State of Missouri, we all here and now acknowledge that you are indeed husband and wife!
Chad and Mary, you may kiss your beloved!
[Kerry moves off to the side so photo may be taken]
[Presentation]
May I present Mr. and Mrs. Chad and Mary _______!
[Photos]
Recession
