Processional
Welcome
Welcome everyone, and please be seated.
Today is a celebration. We are all here to celebrate __________ and ________– the love that they share and the commitment that they are making to each other today.
________ and ________ are grateful that they are able to share this day with all of you, their most cherished family and friends.
They chose this place to marry because they wanted all of us to experience what they feel when they are out in nature, in the mountains. The beauty and sacredness of this landscape, the feeling of being surrounded by something bigger than oneself, the feeling of awe.
It’s the reason they chose this spot to marry, any why they have decided to build their lives here.
So thank you all for being here – for literally scaling a mountain – to celebrate with them.
We also want to take a moment to remember those who are not here today. We carry those loved ones in our hearts, and their memory serves as a reminder about how precious life is and also just how lucky we all are to be here together.
And to ___________ and _________ – welcome to your day! I am so honored to be a part of it and I know that everyone here is excited to watch you take this next step and to help celebrate with you.
Your Story
And before we get to that next step, I want to take a moment to look back at how __________ and ________’s story began. __________ and _________ met at work and their relationship began as a friendship, and working together gave them some time to get to know each other.
When I asked them both about that time, they each shared similar memories. They both talked about having a mutual respect for each other, they described each other as being hard working, and they recalled some funny memories traveling for work together, including spending one evening after work watching adults play recreational hockey somewhere outside of Pittsburgh.
And that’s how their relationship began, as co-workers and friends. And of course with these sorts of things timing is everything, and it just wasn’t their time yet. Then a few years passed, and two things happened.
First, ________ and ________ both found themselves single at the same time.
And second, _______ found herself with an extra ticket to the Dave Mathews and Snoop Dog concert.
And when _________ asked around to see if anyone wanted to go with her, _________ – perhaps playing it cool - said, “If you can’t find anyone, I’ll go.” ________, on the other hand, said she was definitely hoping he would take the ticket. And on that day, _______ and _______’s timing was finally right.
From that day forward, ________ and _________ have been together, slowly falling in love and building a life together.
When you talk to _________ and __________, or when you are around them, it’s clear that these are two people that genuinely love and care for one another and really enjoy being around each other. When I asked _________ what he loves about _______ he said, “Everything! She’s my best friend.”
When _________ talked about _________ she said, “He’s everybody’s homebase.” And she talked about ________ as having a really big heart, someone who is a constant source of stability, someone that she can always count on.
And this is a couple who have shared a pretty adventurous life together. They have some awesome stories about the places they have traveled. When _______ was recalling their last few years together he said, “There’s no one else I’d rather take a helicopter into the middle of nowhere in Alaska and float out with” than _______.
And while they love to travel, they really are home bodies at heart and both value family above everything else. ________ and ________ are fiercely loyal to the people that they love, including their sweet dog Bob.
And so I think it’s fitting that _______ chose his family’s cabin in Montana, one of their favorite places in the world, to propose to ________. And he proposed while they were fishing, which is one of their favorite things.
And that brings us to today, to this moment. And any good love story is not just one moment – it’s the culmination of all the moments that a couple has shared and all of the moments to come. The big ones like today and perhaps, even more importantly, it’s the thousands of little moments that fuse together into one beautiful life.
Reading
Now, ______ and _______ would like to invite their niece ________ to come forward to share a reading she chose especially for today.
Two Happy Lovers (Pablo Neruda)
Two happy lovers make one bread,
a single moon drop in the grass.
Walking, they cast two shadows that flow together;
waking, they leave one sun empty in their bed.
Of all the possible truths, they chose the day;
they held it, not with ropes but with an aroma.
They did not shred the peace; they did not shatter words;
their happiness is a transparent tower.
The air and wine accompany the lovers.
The night delights them with its joyous petals.
They have a right to all the carnations.
Two happy lovers, without an ending, with no death,
they are born, they die, many times while they live:
they have the eternal life of the Natural.
Thank you _______.
Vows
I think that reading highlights the beauty that comes when two people choose to share their lives together.
Because love is a choice.
And today, we all have the honor of witnessing the beginning of a new family, inspired by _____ and ______, who have chosen to share their lives together.
_______ and _________, you are both here today not because you can’t live apart, but because you have found that life is better when you are together.
As partners, you choose to take on everything together, your brightest days and darkest, knowing you will always have each other to lean on.
All of us are here today to celebrate that choice that you have made.
Now, ________ and __________ would like to invite their niece, _________, to come forward with the vows that they have written together.
Over the last four years the two of you have build a solid foundation for your relationship. Today, you affirm – in front of all the people you hold dear - your commitment to each other.
_________ -
Today I make the most sincere promise my heart can make. I promise you that my choices, actions, and words are guided by my unconditional love for you.
I am committed to grow, guided by your unconditional love for me.
I will always keep faith in our love, whether our journey is effortless or whether it is challenging.
I promise that you will never be alone, I will be your home, your calm, your comfort.
I will listen to you, and I will nurture you.
I will walk beside you as your rock, share your dreams, and give you room to grow.
Whatever adventure awaits us, it awaits us together.
You invigorate my life, and today I join that life with yours.”
_________ –
Today I make the most sincere promise my heart can make. I promise you that my choices, actions, and words are guided by my unconditional love for you.
I am committed to grow, guided by your unconditional love for me.
I will always keep faith in our love, whether our journey is effortless or whether it is challenging.
I promise that you will never be alone, I will be your home, your calm, your comfort.
I will listen to you, and I will nurture you.
I will walk beside you as your rock, share your dreams, and give you room to grow.
Whatever adventure awaits us, it awaits us together.
You invigorate my life, and today I join that life with yours.”
Exchange of rings
Before the ceremony all of you were able to see the rings that ________ and ________ have chosen to wear, and you placed your blessings, good intentions, and well wishes upon those rings. Now, ______ and ______ would like to invite their nephew ____ forward with the rings.
______ and ______, you have chosen to wear rings as a symbol of the promise that you make to each other today – the promise to love each other and to share your lives together. As you look at your rings over the years, let them remind you of this amazing day, of the love you have for each other, and of the commitment that you’ve made to each other.
_______, please place the ring on ________’s finger and repeat after me…
“_______, with this ring, I promise that I will love you, each and every day, for all the days of my life.”
______, please place the ring on ______’s finger and repeat after me…
“______, with this ring, I promise that I will love you, each and every day, for all the days of my life.”
Declaration and blessing of the marriage
Today, the two of you have confirmed that you belong not just together, but to each other.
Your sense of adventure, your loyalty and commitment to each other, your compassion and joy for life is exactly what made your journey to this day so memorable and it is also what will sustain your bond and make it unbreakable.
The next chapter in your great adventure begins now. And so, with the authority granted to me by the great and gorgeous state of Colorado, I now pronounce you husband and wife. ______, kiss your bride.
Introduction of the couple
______ and _____ – everyone’s hearts are full today. Go forward and continue to build a beautiful life together, never forgetting just how lucky you are to have each other. If you both could please turn and face everyone. And could everyone please stand.
It is my great privilege and honor to present, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. ______ and ________ ___________!