Announcements

Out of respect for the bride and groom we ask that you please turn your cell phones to silent. You are welcome to take photos as long as you remain seated.  Please keep the smoking section to the designated areas.  Immediately following the ceremony there will be extended family photos so we ask that aunts, uncles, and grandparents stick around for those. As pictures are happening, you are welcome to  enjoy some cocktails. The bar and reception area will open following the ceremony.   

Procession

Welcome

Welcome! Good afternoon family and friends, my name is Juli. We have gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Dana and Cal.

Assembly Address 

Today is a day of hope and joy: a day in which Dana and Cal demonstrate their commitment and love for one another. Today represents not only the joining of Dana and Cal but also the joining of their families and friends.  Who would have guessed that 9 years ago when they met at the University of Guelph we would be here today celebrating their love for one another? It has been said that Cal and Dana are truly polar opposites of each other – Cal being sweet, gentle and laid back and Dana being a little boisterous and feisty.  Thank goodness opposites attract! Dana wasn’t raised on a farm, but anyone who knows her knows that she is exactly where she belongs – on the farm, with Cal and Hank living the dream!

You are all here today because you have had an impact on their lives, their story and their journey in life this far. On behalf of Dana and Cal, thank you for joining us to celebrate the love they have discovered in each other and for showing your support in their decision to commit themselves to one another for the rest of their lives.

Modern Version of Paul to the Corinthians

It is not the extraordinary things that make life worthwhile but the love that we share with those around us.  There is an art to love, so let us be reminded that,

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, always perseveres. Love never fails.  

Marriage Address 

A good marriage must be created.

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

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is standing together and facing the world.

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

It is having the capacity to forgive and truly forget.

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

It is a common search for the good and beauty in each other.

It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner.

Marriage is a commitment to life with each other forever. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.

Expression of Intent and Consent

Now just a few questions. First for you Cal:

Cal, you have chosen Dana to be your wife. Will you love and respect her? Will you be honest with her always? Will you stand by her through whatever may come?

(I will)

Dana,  you have chosen Cal to be your husband. Will you love and respect him? Will you be honest with him always? Will you stand by him through whatever may come? (I will)

Do you both promise to care for each other during the joys and sorrows of life; and to share the responsibility for the growth and enrichment of your life together? (We do)

Affirmation of Family and Friends

Family and friends, you form a community of support that surrounds Dana and Cal. Each of you by your presence here today is being called upon to uphold them in loving each other. Do you offer your love and support to strengthen their marriage and bless this new family created by their union? (We do)

Exchange of Vows

To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today. It will take trust, to know that in your hearts, you truly want what is best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another – and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together, without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both will pledged today.

Cal, please repeat after me:

I choose you Dana.  I promise to nurture your dreams because through them your soul shines.  I promise to never forget that this is a once in a lifetime love.  I vow to love life with you, to always hold you with tenderness and to have the patience that love demands.  To speak when words are needed and to share the silence when they are not.  I vow to live within the warmth of your heart and to always call it home.  I love you.  I am yours.

Dana, please repeat after me:

Cal, I choose you.  To stand by your side and sleep in your arms.  To be joy to your heart and food for your soul.  To learn with you and grow with you, even as time and life changes us both.  I promise to laugh with you in good times and struggle alongside you in bad times.  I promise to respect you and cherish you as an individual, a partner and an equal, knowing that we do not complete, but complement each other.  I promise to have adventures with you and grow old with you.  I love you.  I am yours.

Blessing of the Hands/Rings 

These are the hands of your best friend.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as you build your future.

These are the hands that will love you and cherish you and will comfort you like no other.

These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

These are the hands that will wipe the tears from your eyes.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children and hold your family as one.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

These rings represent marriage. They are a symbol of the circle of love. They signify to the world that you are joined to someone special and someone special is joined to you.  

They reflect the inspiration of your hopes and dreams. 

Cal, please repeat after me:

Dana, I give you this ring, that you may wear it, as a symbol of the vows, we have made this day. I pledge you my love, and respect, my laughter and my tears. With all that I am I honour you.

Dana, please repeat after me:

Cal, I give you this ring, that you may wear it, as a symbol of the vows, we have made this day. I pledge you my love, and respect, my laughter and my tears. With all that I am I honour you.

Now may those who wear these rings live in love all their days.

Declaration of Marriage

Cal and Dana, we have heard your promise to share your lives in marriage; we recognize and respect the vows you have made here this day before each one of us as witnesses. Therefore, in the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today, it is my honor to declare you husband and wife.

“you may kiss the bride”

Signing of the Register

Blessing of the Couple

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be a shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no loneliness for you, for each of you will be a companion to the other. You are two bodies, but there is only one life before you. Go now into the world, renewed and strengthened by your love and may all the days before you be filled with respect, kindness and love.

 Introduction of the Couple

We’ve been waiting and watching for this moment, so get ready to put your hands together and make some noise for the newly married couple. It is a personal privilege and a great honor to be the first to introduce the newly married couple  Mr. & Mrs. …!

Recessional