Dean and Twyla's Wedding Ceremony
July 03, 1999
First Baptist Church of Gray Gables
Callahan, Florida, United States of America
Dean and Twyla's Wedding Ceremony
July 03, 1999
First Baptist Church of Gray Gables
Callahan, Florida, United States of America
Introduction
Brother Larry:
Sacred is the hour when two Christians come in love to be made one in marriage. This is the purpose of the Heavenly Father for his own. In the beginning God saw that it was not good for the man to be alone. He took part of the man and created a helpmate at his side to love, encourage, and strengthen in every test and circumstance of life. With the coming of each generation the Creator and Author of life has said, �Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of the Lord.�
Dean, you and Twyla have found each other in the providence and will of God. You have come before God, your loved ones, and your friends to be united in the bonds of holy matrimony. Because of your love for each other you have expressed your wish to leave your parents and all others in order to share life together. The happiness of this moment is enhanced by the approval, blessings, and prayers of your families.
Twyla has agreed to become the wife of Dean. The testimony of favor toward this union is given by her family. So that friends may know of this, I shall ask, �Who gives Twyla in marriage to Dean?�
Stephen:
Her family and I do.
Brass Quintet Performs
Sunrise, Sunset
Blessing Prayer
Brother Larry:
O Lord of life and love, bestow thy grace upon this marriage, and seal this commitment of thy children with thy love.
As thou hast brought them together by thy divine providence, sanctify them by thy Spirit, that they may give themselves fully one to the other and to thee. Give them strength and patience to live their lives in a manner that will mutualy bless themselves and honor thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Opportunity for Objections
If there is anyone who knows of any reason that this couple may not be legally joined in marriage before the Lord, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace.
(Brother Larry pauses for possible objections)
Advisory Thoughts and Prayers Part 1
Brother Larry:
As the two of you come to this marriage alter you profess your love for each other. God�s word will serve as a constant help in understanding what love really is and how it conducts itself in making life rich and beautiful. �Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous, or conceited, or proud; love is not ill-mannered, or selfish, or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up: its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal� (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 TEV).
Dean and Twyla Perform
Dean: Piano, Twyla: Vocal
Wedding Song (There is Love)
Advisory Thoughts and Prayers Part 2
Brother Larry:
Marriage is a companionship which involves mutual commitment and responsibility. You will share alike in the responsibilities and the joys of life. When companions share sorrow the sorrow is halved, and when they share joy the joy is doubled.
The wedding vows which you are about to take are voluntary and equal. Regard them not as burdens to weigh you down but as winged hopes and promises to bear you up together into a more abundant life. A marriage, in order to be real, must be based upon love. Now true love is not passion to possess and rule, but the desire to share and to bless. Let each respect the will and the work of the other, rejoicing in every success and bringing comfort in every failure. Profess not, nor demand perfection in a mortal being, but be long suffering and kind to human errors, ready to forgive and to be forgiven. Let no secret divide, no rivalry estrange, no difference embitter your hearts; but seek by openness and reason and goodwill to find the golden key to understanding. Do not become proud because of favoring or circumstances, nor overcome by adversity, but study to be quiet and have firm faith in the goodness of God. Do not forget the little courtesies that sweeten daily life. Let your wedded happiness be pleasant and helpful to your neighbors, and your partnership be useful to the world. So by the grace of God and your own faithfulness may your years together brighten as they pass.
Instructions
Brother Larry:
The love that you now feel will grow stronger through the years if you give yourselves to its nurture and care. This must have the attention and commitment of both husband and wife.
Dean, you are instructed:
Husbands love their wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. In the same way married men should live considerately with your wives, with an intelligent recognition of the marriage relation, honoring the woman as physically the weaker, but realizing that you are joint heirs of the grace of life in order that your prayers may not be hindered.
Twyla, you are instructed:
In like manner you married women must reverence your husbands. that is, you are to feel for him all that reverence includes, to respect, defer to, to honor, appreciate, admire, and be deeply devoted to your husband. Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.
Acceptance
Brother Larry:
Are the two of you now prepared to accept these and other applicable instructions from the Scriptures as binding upon each as long as you both shall live?
Dean and Twyla repeat the following vow in unison:
Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from the following after thee; for wither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and thee will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part Thee and me. (Ruth 1:16-17)
Unity Candle Lighting
Twyla and Dean light the unity candle together.
Piano performs
Ashokan Farewell
Vows
Brother Larry asks Dean and Twyla to join right hands and take the following vows
Brother Larry:
Dean, do you take Twyla to be your wife; do you commit yourself to her happiness and her self-fulfillment as a person, and to her usefulness in God�s kingdom; and do you promise to love, honor, cherish, trust, and serve her in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to her, so long as you both shall live?
Dean: I do.
Brother Larry:
Twyla, do you take Dean to be your husband; do you commit yourself to his happiness and his self-fulfillment as a person, and to his usefulness in God�s kingdom; and do you promise to love, honor, cherish, trust, and serve him in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to him, so long as you both shall live?
Twyla: I do.
Wedding Ring Instruction and Presentations
The best man and matron of honor take the rings from the ring bearer. Brother Larry receives Twyla�s ring from the best man, and gives it to Dean. Brother Larry receives Dean�s ring from the matron of honor and gives it to Twyla. Twyla hands her bouquet to the matron of honor.
Brother Larry:
The wedding ring is a symbol of marriage in at least two ways: the purity of gold symbolizes the purity of your love for each other, and the unending circle symbolizes the unending vows which you are taking, which may be broken honorably in the sight of God only by death. As a token of your vows, you will give and receive the rings.
Dean and Twyla each repeat the following presentation separately:
I give you this ring as a token of my love for you and as a symbol of our marriage union. With it will go all the devotion and loyalty of my life. To you, I give all that I am and have. My promise to you is that we shall be together for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part. Please wear this ring as a reminder of the promises and the love we share. It is written on our rings �I am my beloved�s and my beloved is mine.�
Declaration
Brother Larry:
For as much as Twyla and Dean have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and have witnessed the same by each giving and receiving a ring, I therefore declare them to be husband and wife, in the name of God the Father. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.
Brother Larry tells Dean that he may kiss the bride
Brother Larry:
As we share your joys, we all share a heartfelt prayer for your abiding health and happiness. May God�s choice blessings be with you now and always.
Final Prayers
Brother Larry:
Dean and Twyla ask that we all join in a final prayer for their marriage. Let us pray.
Brother Larry improvises a prayer which includes the bonding of Dean�s and Twyla�s families. Dean�s children are asked to stand together at the alter with Dean and Twyla. Each one of them is mentioned by name: Maggie, Ephraim, Petra.
Maggie reads a prayer from the children:
We, Dean�s children pray for your richest and fullest blessings on the marriage between our father and Twyla. We ask you to closely bond us now and in the future. We thank you for the new family that you have created and ask for your continued guidance in the days ahead. Amen.
Brother Larry with Dean and Twyla
Dean with Maggie, Ephraim, and Petra
At the Reception
Heading to Charleston for the honeymoon
Thank you for visiting.
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