Our Wedding Ceremony

Aaron M. Jones and Jennifer M. Wagner

When and Where:

June 23rd, 2001 at 11:00am
St. Anne Convent, Outside Gardens (weather permitting)

Who:

Jenny - Bride
Aaron - Groom
Jack - Jenny's uncle, Officiant
Joan - Jenny's sister, Maid of Honor
Angie - Jenny's friend, Bridesmaid
Emily - Jenny's friend, Bridesmaid
Keith - Aaron's friend, Best Man
Jason - Jenny's cousin / Aaron's friend, Groomsman
Tony - Aaron's brother, Groomsman
Mike & Pam - Jenny's parents
Leah - Aaron's mother
Sister Joan - Jenny's Aunt
Brother Paul - Jenny's Godfather

(about 40 close friends and relatives)

Arrival of the Guests { Music }

Thais Meditation
Mozart Ave Maria
Sansan Carnival of Animals (The Swan)

Processional { Music }

Mothers Process
Groomsmen Process
Groom Process		 Bach - Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
 
Bridesmaids Process
Bride Process		 Pachelbel Canon

Convocation

(Calls family & friends to be aware of what they are about to witness - expressing your hopes, expectations, and commitment)

[ Jack ]

Dear family and friends, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Jennifer Marie Wagner and Aaron Michael Jones. Marriage is a lifelong commitment which embodies all of the warm and precious values that grow out of human companionship and love. It is nurtured by the love you give each other freely. May you always be blessed in your hearts.

Addressing Guests

Invocation

(Call on God or higher being to acknowledge and bear witness to the ceremony)

[ Jack ]

Dear God, we give thanks for the love that has gathered us together in this place and especially for the beautiful love that Jenny & Aaron have chosen to consecrate in marriage. We give thanks for their open hearts and loving spirits, for their wisdom in choosing love, with all its joys, burdens and lessons.

Bless Jenny & Aaron here today with your abundant love so that the words they say and the dreams that they dare to dream can be lived out in their married life in the spirit of your love.

Readings

[ Leah ]

Excerpt from "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

{ Interlude - Ungar, Askoken Farewell }

[ Sister Joan ]

First Corinthians 13:1-7,13

Excellence of the gift of love. Now I will show you the way which surpasses all others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not loved, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to loves forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.

{ Interlude - Ungar, Askoken Farewell }

[ Brother Paul ]

The Prophet "on Marriage" by Khalil Gibran

Then Almitra spoke again and said...
"And what of Marriage, master?"
And he answered saying:

You were born together,
and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when the white wings
of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the
silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress
grow not in each other's shadow.

Address / Homily

[ Jack ]

Consecration

[ Jack ]

Aaron and Jenny, you stand here on this most memorable and joyous day, surrounded by your dearest family and friends in the presence of God. May you draw from the love of those around you, as you prepare to join yourselves in marriage.

Expression of Intent

[ Jack ]

Aaron & Jenny, have you come here freely, without reservation to join yourselves in marriage?

[ Aaron & Jenny ]

"We Have"

[ Jack ]

Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent;

Vows

[ Aaron ]

I, Aaron, choose you, Jenny, in the presence of this community, to be my wife from this time forward. To love you, to be a comfort and safe haven in your life, to hold you close, to listen deeply when you are sad or angry, to learn compassion with you, to nourish you with my gentleness, to uphold you with my strength, to love your body as it ages, to weigh the effects of the words I speak and of the things I do, to never take you for granted, but always give thanks for your presence.

As our lives unfold together, I promise to be faithful, to always express my emotional truth and embrace you as both teacher and student as we do what life calls us to, individually and in relationship.

[ Jenny ]

I, Jenny, choose you, Aaron, in the presence of this community, to be my husband from this time forward. To love you, to be a comfort and safe haven in your life, to hold you close, to listen deeply when you are sad or angry, to learn compassion with you, to nourish you with my gentleness, to uphold you with my strength, to love your body as it ages, to weigh the effects of the words I speak and of the things I do, to never take you for granted, but always give thanks for your presence.

As our lives unfold together, I promise to be faithful, to always express my emotional truth and embrace you as both teacher and student as we do what life calls us to, individually and in relationship.

Blessing of the Rings

[ Jack ]

The wedding rings are an ancient symbol of unending love. May God bless these rings so that they may serve as both a sign of your love and faithfulness, and as a reminder of the covenants you have made today.

Exchange of Rings

[ Aaron ]

Jenny, I give this ring to you as a symbol of my love and fidelity.

[ Jenny ]

Aaron, I give this ring to you as a symbol of my love and fidelity.

Pronouncement of Marriage

(Officiant pronouncing couple as husband and wife)

[ Jack ]

Because Aaron and Jenny have pledged their love and commitment to each other before these witnesses, I declare that they are husband and wife. May God fill your hearts and bless your lives.

Candle Ceremony { Music }

Peter, Paul, and Mary - The Wedding Song

Benediction

[ Jack ]

Jenny and Aaron have asked that their wedding ceremony be concluded with this Native American Wedding Blessing:

"Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Though you are two persons,
There is but one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth."

Recessional { Music }

Mouret - Rondeau ( First Symphonic Suite )
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