Brie & Patrick- Favorite Ceremonies

Brie and Patrick wanted something unique and personal that reflected their love of their families, friends...and baseball. While they were at it they also were selected to be on TLC's show "Four Weddings"! So, yeah, this ceremony (and my bald spot) has been on TV. Their ceremony featured a handfasting- an ancient tradition made new where a couple's hands are bound together with cords. For their handfasting- used here as a Declaration of Intent or a prelude to their vows- Brie & Patrick stuck with their Pittsburgh Pirates theme and used a gold cord, a black cord, and a white piece of lace from Brie's mom's wedding gown. Both Brie's mom and Patrick's mom took part in the binding of their hands making for a wonderfully warm and humorous family moment. Brie and Patrick also took some standard vows and made them their own.

The Wedding of Gabrielle Berkopec & Patrick Lee

September 8th, 2013

Welcoming Words

Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, whatever you believe and whomever you love, Patrick and Gabrielle want to welcome you to this celebration of their love for one another. Each of you has given something special to their lives. Your love and encouragement will forever be appreciated. Thank you coming from distances near and far to share in one of life's happiest moments with them. May you be as important a part of their tomorrow as you are of their today.

Presentation of Brie

Who, with love and support, presents this woman to be married to this man?

Brie’s mother and step-father: “We do.”

In Memoriam

At this time, we would also like to honor those who could not be with us today. Our thoughts are especially with those who have passed and those who could not make it today. Although they are not here with us physically, we feel blessed they are with us in spirit on this beautiful day.

Community Vow

Brie-  May I call you Brie?

and Patrick- May I call you Dimples McDreamy?

Marriage is the promise of hope between two people who love each other, who honor each other as individuals, and who wish to unite their lives and share the future together. In this ceremony, they dedicate themselves to the happiness and well-being of each other, in a union of mutual caring and responsibility. Therefore, it is all the more important that those of you here with Brie and Patrick may stand as witnesses to the happiness which they have found together, and to the promises they have made to each other. As they join their lives in marriage, they also bring you together in a new relationship, creating new bonds of trust and ties of affection.

Now as important as all of you are , there is one person in particular who i must address at this point. You see, when Brie and Patrick were first dating, Patrick put so much emphasis on the fact that if Grandma Joan didn't like you, there's no way it's going to work out. So after spending an entire evening of Brie nervously cozying up to Grandma, Patrick told Brie, "Yeah, she hated you".  As Brie says “I was in the middle of hyperventilating when I looked over and saw his smirk and realized he was kidding. I was so relieved when I realized I was in the clear!”

So, Grandma Joan, is Brie in the clear?

Now that Grandma has given her okay...

Will all of you by God’s grace, do everything in your power to preserve this marriage? Will all of you, who have supported these two in friendship and love, now bestow your blessing upon them? If so please show them your support by saying, "We will”

Officiant’s Address

Standing in the hallway today, there was a young family with a little girl. The little girl was fascinated by the goings on. Her eyes lit up as the bridesmaids went by, looking beautiful in their dresses and the groomsmen looking... as groomsmen do. The mom explained to her that someone was getting married.  The  little girl thought about this for a moment, looked up at her father and asked  “daddy, why do people get married?” I didn’t hear the dad’s answer, but I did hear the slap that he got from his wife. I decided not to stick around after that.

But that is a really good question. Why do people get married? Brie and Patrick, why are you getting married?

Now as those of you who have programs can see this is a baseball-themed wedding. You might be expecting me to play upon a theme… to ramble off terrible, forced metaphors about how marriage is like baseball.

I could.

I could say something like “Brie and Patrick have finally quit warming the bench and now they step up to the plate…”

or “now you each have a teammate for life”

or how you’ve “made through the season and today you win the pennant”

or how they have loaded the bases with

Pedro Love on first,

Jose Compassion on second,

Jimmy Security on third,

and now Commitment is up to the plate. (Full name: Andrew McCommitment)

I could say that a successful marriage takes teamwork, dedication, a solid game plan, and ice cream in little helmet-shaped bowls.

but I’m not going to say any of those things.

I was never very  good at baseball. I’d steal second, feel bad about it, then go back.

Those that can’t play, coach, and those that can’t coach, umpire.

The simple fact is that you, Brie and Patrick,  are here because you love one another, you are good for each other, and you want to spend the rest of your lives together.

It’s apparent in everything you do:

Brie, Patrick loves you for your generous, giving nature, your caring heart, your genuine warmth towards himself and others and

your astounding ability to cook for a man once rated Time Magazine’s “Pickiest Eater of the Year”.

You are everything that he has ever wanted in a partner and more and he cannot imagine his life without you.

Patrick, you keep Brie centered, you make her feel safe and treat her like gold. You bring stability and constancy into her life, reminding her that every problem is temporary and that if can be fixed you will fix it together. You take care of the big things, but it’s the little things you do everyday that show Brie how much you care and make her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

Brie and Patrick, you have shared so many happy moments together, from that moment that Patrick walked into PNC bank to cash a check and Brie conveniently forgot to give his license back, to the Pirates games, the dinners at Monte Cello’s, the hikes at McConnell’s Mills, and that moment on a December evening on windy Mt. Washington when you trekked freezing through the slush and ice (with Brie in heels...ahem) and Patrick dropped a knee deep in the snow, presented the ring and asked the question and suddenly…

suddenly,  it wasn’t cold anymore. That moment which brings us all here today.

What you mean to each other, how much you love each other and care about each other is obvious to all of here today.

Even though all of us gathered here would like to give you the gift of happiness, it is not ours to give. This marriage will be created by the two of you.

Each day, as you face your lives together, you will renew the wedding vows you make today when you act toward one another from a place of love and caring;

when you consider each other's integrity and intentions;

when you support each others dreams and goals, and when you keep yourselves well-acquainted with laughter and joy.

When there are troubles, stand by each other as you weather the storms together. 

  Don't ever try to change each other, because if you do, you will lose exactly what you fell in love with.

So, each day try to find one more thing that is beautiful in your mate and each day know that the next day will be more beautiful than the one before.

And know this:

‘When God put you two together, He truly hit a homerun.’

Handfasting

In ancient times, before the Irish were even called Irish, most marriage ceremonies were not performed in a church, instead they were held in God’s own cathedral- a grove of trees, on a riverbank, or in a verdant field.

The hands of the couple were tied together by ivy, rope or ribbon. It was meant to signify the strength of two souls united now to face the world in whatever life may bring (or perhaps to keep one of them from running away!)

This is where the terms ‘giving one’s hand in marriage’ and ‘tying the knot’ come from.

Today Brie and Patrick will build on this tradition.

Pre-emptive question

Are you willing now and always to make this commitment to each other?

Please join your right hands

Mothers (Amy and Chris) come forward with the cords

The questions

Will you stand side by side for the rest of your days together? We will.

First cord is placed and tied loosely

Will you bring fun, laughter, joy and happiness to your relationship? We will.

Second cord is placed and tied loosely

And as the years pass and your hands become aged and wrinkled, will you continue to reach out and be there for each other, to give each other that unspoken tenderness with just a touch? We will.

Third cord is placed and tied loosely

As your hands are bound together now, so your lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust.

The knots of this binding are not formed by these cords, but rather by the actions, emotions and words you speak to each other every day.

For always you hold in your own hands the fate of this union.

Personal Vows

And now as your hands are bound together, I ask you to declare your vows to each other.

Patrick:

Brie / Patrick, I promise before God, our family and friends,

to be your loving and faithful husband/wife, to share my

life with you, in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and in

health, in good times and in bad times,

and i promise i won’t delete your girly shows to make room for sports center or Duck Dynasty

for as long as we both shall live.

Brie:

Brie / Patrick, I promise before God, our family and friends,

to be your loving and faithful husband/wife, to share my

life with you, in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and in

health, in good times and in bad times,

and I promise to not to schedule plans during the game, or hijack the remote during Duck Dynasty,

for as long as we both shall live.

Ring Vows

Rev. Mark will ask for the rings.

Your rings are circles and a circle is the symbol of the sun, the earth, the universe, of wholeness, perfection, peace and unity. Like circles, your rings have no beginning and no end and in the sacred tradition of marriage rings have come to symbolize eternal love and the endless union of body, of mind, and spirit.
These rings will be worn by Brie and Patrick to show to the world their love and commitment to one another. May the presence of these rings always remind you of the eternal love you have pledged and devotion you willingly share with one another from this moment on.
Let each of us in his own way, may it be prayer, may it be by a thought, whatever you and I would wish for this couple, let's pray or have our own thoughts as a blessing upon these rings. Let us pause at this time for these silent blessings. (Pause)

These rings, now blessed are a symbol of love and faithfulness. They seal the vows of marriage and represent a promise of forever love.

Patrick:

With this ring, I thee wed. And with this heart, I promise you
all that I am, and all that I hope to become.

Brie:

With this ring, I thee wed. And with this heart, I promise you
all that I am, and all that I hope to become.

Declaration of Marriage

It was Brie and Patrick’s hope that all of you would leave here today knowing how
much they love you; that you would have learned more about their love for each other
and that you would realize that you are not here merely to bear witness to their
marriage, but to celebrate it with them.
Marriage creates from two committed spirits one beautiful tree of life. Its roots are the
trust and devotion that underlie each action, thought and motive. Its branches are
experiences shared, hopes realized, and dreams pursued. And its blossoms are the
kisses, gentle words, and tender sighs that decorate each day and beautify the union of
two loving hearts.
Brie and Patrick, may your love grow like a beautiful tree, sending roots deep and
branches high, with new beauty every season of your life together.
May you find constant reward and challenge as you pursue the ongoing adventure of
learning who you are and where you want to go.
May you always have a special sense of your mission in life together, and may you never
tire of the endless possibilities of exploring your shared existence.
And long, long years from now, may you look at one another and be able to say, “With
you, I have lived the life I always wanted to live – with you, I have become the person I
always longed to be.”

Untie cords

And now it is my great pleasure to pronounce that Patrick and Brie are husband and
wife.

Patrick, you may kiss your Brie!

Family and friends, please join me in celebration as we greet for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick and Gabrielle Lee!