Katie & Kory- Favorite Ceremonies

Can you get that "full ceremony" feel in a shorter ceremony? Absolutely! 

Katie & Kory were thoroughly invloved in preparing the materials for their wedding ceremony. We collaborated in getting the wording right so that their personal message of gratitude for their friends, family and an appreciation of all of life's moments big and small came through loud and clear.  

They had two readings, each by an aunt (close aunts are always great for readings), and a mid-ceremony song sung by Katie's sister.
Their ceremony also featured one of my favorite things- a presentation of the couple to each other by both sets of parents. 

Oh, and check out their vows! This was a long-form style that they wrote together and read in turn. 

All-in-all a lovely, yet shorter, ceremony packed full with meaning and emotion. 

The Wedding of Katherine Jaus & Kory David

July 13th 2013

Opening Remarks (everyone remains standing)

Friends, we have been invited here today to share with Katie and Kory a very important moment in their lives. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife. This beautiful couple didn't get here all by themselves. They have been loved and cared for by you, their families, depending on you for sustenance, knowledge, guidance, and love. Without you, this day would not be possible.

Presentation of the Couple

Robert and Ellen, do you support your child's decision to join together in holy matrimony with Kory, and do you vow to receive him as a member of your family from this day on?

Rob and Ellen Jaus: We do

Chuck and Jenny, do you support your child's decision to join together in holy matrimony with Katie, and do you vow to receive her as a member of your family from this day on?

Chuck and Jenny David: We do

May the blessing of their marriage extend throughout your families forever.

Opening Prayer:

The following is a prayer that was written by Katie’s Grandfather, the late Dr. Fredrick B. Wilkes which he wrote for his engaged couples and shared with them during their Pre Cana sessions:

You are on the threshold of your life together. You are, or should be, filled with enthusiasm. The world must seem a glorious and wonderful place to you. If there is ever a time when you have aspirations, dreams, ideals, that time is now. You are entering that happiest of all periods in the human condition, when you take to yourself this other person…to merge with, to become one with...no longer alone, but from now on, united together by this sacrament of matrimony.

(Everyone sits down)

Community Statement:

Rev Mark: Katie and Kory would like to thank each of you for being with them today. They know that making the journey took considerable effort for a good many of you and for this they are deeply grateful. Although many of you don’t live right around the corner, you are never far from their hearts. You’ve shared in their best and their worst days, and you are an irreplaceable part of their yesterdays, their today and all of their tomorrows.

On this happy and joyous day, Katie and Kory would also like to remember those who are not here with us. Their losses are deeply felt and their spirits are missed.

The Lords Prayer

Our Father...

First Reading:

"Wedding Prayer" by Robert Louis Stevenson

I would like to invite Katie’s Aunt and Godmother, Beth Wilkes to come up and read

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us,
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the health, the work, the food,
and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;
for our friends in all parts of the earth.
Amen

Song:

To Make You Feel My Love (Adele)

Sung by Sarah Jaus- Sister of the Bride

Address

A great, but short, speech by Rev. Mark went here. Omitted here because of personal details.

Second Reading:

I would like to invite Kory’s Aunt and Godmother, Martha Mitchell and his cousin, Shelby to come up and read an

Apache Wedding Blessing:

May the sun bring you new happiness by day;

May the moon softly restore you by night;
May the rain wash away your worries
And the breeze blow new strength into your being,
And all the days of your life
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth."

"Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives -- remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

Declaration of Intent to Marry

The covenant of marriage is one that can be entered into only by persons who are both legally and spiritually free to offer themselves to each other. Therefore, in the presence of God and in the presence of all of the witnesses here, I will ask Katie and Kory to state their intention. Katie and Kory, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in the holy state of matrimony?

“We have.”

Before we move into the vows, I’d like to remind us all that this is a rare opportunity, perhaps the only opportunity in our lives, that each of us – family and friends – will be here together as one. Take a minute and look around. Savor this time. Like all of life’s important moments, this one will soon be a memory.

Vows (read)

Katie: I believe in you Kory, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together. With my whole heart, I take you as my husband, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine.  I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family’s love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph.
I will dream with you, celebrate with you and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring.
You are my person -- my love and my life, today and always

Kory: I believe in you Katie, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together. With my whole heart, I take you as my wife, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine.  I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family’s love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph.
I will dream with you, celebrate with you and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring.
You are my person -- my love and my life, today and always

Exchange of Wedding Rings

Do we have the rings?

Cory was contractually obligated by the Eagles to pay .000000000001% per week into the “Engagement Ring for Katie Fund

(Best Man Jody David will have the rings)

Bless, O Lord, this ring to be a sign of the vows by which this man and this woman have bound themselves to each other; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Katie and Kory, let these rings serve as a reminder of the feelings you have in your hearts at this very moment. There are times in life that we tend to focus on the things we have not yet accomplished, there will also be times of great loss. Yet as you look at your wedding band, remember the great gift that you have been given and all that you have in one another. Remember that you have someone to share this life with. Never again will you walk alone.

Kory, please turn to Katie and repeat after me:

(This ring is a reminder to you and the world)

(that on this day we vowed before God and these witnesses)

(our lifelong commitment to each other).

(Whenever you see it it will remind you)

(that I am now and will always be in love with you)

Katie, please turn to Kory and repeat after me:

(This ring is a reminder to you and the world)

(that on this day we vowed before God and these witnesses)

(our lifelong commitment to each other).

(Whenever you see it, it will remind you)

(that I am now and will always be in love with you)

Conclusion

Before I pronounce you married partners, I have just one more thing I want you to do. Your wedding day is one that seems to fly. It’s a day filled with emotion, friends, rings and dances. Many people remember how fleeting their own wedding day was. So I want you to take a few seconds to look into each others eyes. Think about the happiness that you’re feeling in this place, in this moment. Really let that feeling register in your heart and your mind. Now I want you to think about your life together in twenty years. Where are you? What are you doing? We all know that your visions of the future are not identical, but always complimentary. John Lennon once said, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together, THAT is reality”. That new reality starts now!

Announcement and Kiss

Katie and Kory, 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 a witness. In the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today, it is my honor and delight to declare you henceforth to be husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.

Introduced as a couple for the first time

Family and friends, please rise to your feet and join me in celebration as we greet for the very first time as husband and wife, Mr. & Mrs. Kory and Katherine David!