Searcy/Clark Ceremony

On behalf of Estella and Jason, I want to welcome you and thank you for being a part of this special day. 

We are here to celebrate a joyous occasion. Estella and Jason, I speak for your family and friends when I tell you how honored we are to be here to share this wonderful moment in your lives.

This is the beginning of a new chapter. Estella and Jason have a love that formed quite some time ago. We have all heard that there is a time and place for everything. Today, Estella and Jason are at that time and place. 

It has been said that marriage is falling in love over and over again with the same person. Every marriage is as unique as the people that it joins. It could be said that Estella and Jason have already committed to each other, and I wouldn’t disagree. But today, they are expressing that commitment to those that matter the most to them. They are saying to us, we love each other, we support each other, and we want to spend the rest of our lives together. 

We all know that love is patient and kind. There is no envy, love does not boast, it is not proud or rude, and is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered, there are no records of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never ends. 

Barbara Cage once said, “Love is a partnership of two unique people who bring out the very best in each other, and who know that even though they are wonderful as individuals, they are even better together.”

Estella and Jason, it is time for your vows.

Jason, please repeat after me, “I love you Estella, and I promise to be a loving and caring husband, I promise to always cherish your presence and place our marriage above all else.”

Estella, please repeat after me, “I love you Jason, and I promise to always be there for you. I promise to receive your love with love and to work hard at keeping our marriage true and everlasting.” 

(I found this example for vows; they are different, and it is not the standard repetition of the same thing to each other. They are simple and sweet, what do you think? I have hundreds of different ones if you don’t like this idea. These are short, some of the other non-traditional ones are kind of long.) 

Estella and Jason, you will now exchange rings.

As you Jason, place this ring on Estella’s finger, please repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and to our partnership in life. You have my heart always.

As you Estella, place this ring on Jason’s finger, please repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and to our partnership in life. You have my heart always.

An Unknown author wrote:

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, difficulty 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. 

Estella and Jason, before you met, your lives were on different paths with different destinations. But love has brought you together and joined these separate paths into one. Each of your friends and family here today has a small stone that represents their unique individuality and their presence at your wedding today. Each person here has played or will play a unique role in your relationship and marriage, and therefore you asked them to be a part of your wedding and this celebration of your love for each other. You both have a stone of your own that symbolizes your previous separate lives, separate sets of friends, separate families and the different life’s journeys you once traveled.

I ask that everyone please take their stone and pause to make a wish or blessing for love and happiness for the couple, for the future of their marriage. Or any other special wish or blessing most meaningful to you. This will send them on their journey as husband and wife. 

As you walk out after the ceremony, please place the stones into the glass vase on the table, and Estella and Jason will then add their individual stones to the vase. This vase will have a special place in their home and will be a beautiful reminder that each of you has joined them today in their celebration of marriage and left them with your blessing and good wishes. 

As the stones are combined with love into one container, so then are your friends and family joined through you into one. And your once solitary life’s paths are also now one. All that was once separate is now shared, and in this sharing you both will find new strength and joy as together you forge a new life’s path and destination.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great joy that I now present the newlyweds, Jason and Estella Clark!! Jason, please kiss your bride!