Weddingbee Blog

One thing Mr. SD and I didn’t want to worry about was finding a minister. He attended a church all through high school, but the pastor has since left and been replaced. It’s pretty much the same story for me, and we didn’t really find a church home in Waco. So, who would we ask? We didn’t want a stranger to perform the ceremony, so we decided on a friend. Who? This guy.

This is basically the essence of Matty Reeves.

And as much as I loved the thought of getting someone ordained and getting married “for real” during the ceremony, we decided to just play it safe and head to the courthouse beforehand to make it official. It wasn’t particularly romantic, but it got the job done. Another upside is that we get to write the entire ceremony ourselves. I researched About.com and the Weddingbee boards. Here’s what I came up with, for those of you in the same boat.

We want to thank all of you for coming today to celebrate the wedding ceremony of Mr. and Miss Sand Dollar. They stand here today to make a commitment before God, and before their family and friends. They have decided to seal their commitment to each other with the bond of marriage, and wish to share this day with the people dearest to them.

Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage, only you can do that—through love and patience; through faithfulness and trust; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of all the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as husband and wife.

Mr. and Miss Sand Dollar have chosen each other to begin this new journey in their lives. Though every marriage begins with love and hope and happiness, there are times in every relationship where their faith will be tested. You are here today to share their joy, and also to help them through times of struggle. For those of you who are married, we ask you to share your good advice, and wisest comfort. For others, we ask for your support and friendship to help them through.

Mr. and Miss Sand Dollar, the hands you hold are young and strong and full of love, hands that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and every day after.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours as you build your future, hands that will love you and cherish you through the years.

These are the hands that will hold yours when fear or grief comes your way, that will wipe the tears from your eyes—tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will hold your children and give you support and encouragement to chase down your dreams.

These are the hands that will hold you as you struggle through difficult times, and will give you strength when you need it.

These are the hands that, even when wrinkled and old, will still be reaching for yours, giving you the same love you are filled with today.

Mr. SD, will you repeat after me?

I, Mr. SD, take you Sand Dollar, to be my wife.

I promise to be faithful to you, putting you before all others.

I promise to always support you and respect you, take care of you, and provide for you.

I promise to always stand beside you, in good times and in bad,

and to love you all the days of my life.

Place this ring on Sand Dollar’s hand, and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I take you as my wife before God.

Sand Dollar, will you repeat after me?

I, Sand Dollar, take you Mr. SD, to be my husband.

I promise to be faithful to you, putting you before all others.

I promise to always support you and respect you, take care of you, and provide for you.

I promise to always stand beside you, in good times and in bad,

and to love you all the days of my life.

Place this ring on Mr. SD’s hand, and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I take you as my husband before God.

With these vows and rings exchanged, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.

Introduced for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Sand Dollar!

Did you write your own ceremony or vows? How did you come up with them?