My brother-in-law is a preacher, and he will be marrying us. I have known him literally my entire life - he and my sister began dating around the time I was born. We wrote our own ceremony, and I'm pretty proud of it. I'd thought I'd share it here for you ladies - hope you enjoy.
Welcome. We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Savannah and Jeremy in marriage. It has been said that a wedding is a public declaration of a private commitment, and Jeremy and Savannah would like to thank you for taking time to share in their celebration today.
Savannah’s sister, Debbi, who is my wife, will now present a reading from the Velveteen Rabbit.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
“I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit.
“Someone made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”Please face each other and join hands.
Savannah, do you come here freely, with no reservation, to give yourself to this man as his wife? I do.
Jeremy, do come here freely, with no reservation, to give yourself to this woman as her husband? I do.
Please get the rings. From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness. An unbroken and never ending circle symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you have made today.
Jeremy, please place the ring on Savannah’s hand, and repeat after me.
With this ring/
As a symbol of my promise and my commitment/
I marry you/
Savannah, please place the ring on Jeremy’s hand and repeat after me.
With this ring/
As a symbol of my promise and my commitment/
I marry you/
A vast, unknown future stretches out before you. The future, with its hopes and disappointments, its joys and its sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. But it is a great tribute to your belief in each other that you are willing to face those uncertainties together. May the pure, simple love with which you join hearts and hands today never fail, but grow deeper and surer with every year you spend together.
It is with great joy that I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy *****. You may now kiss.
