Note: The couple had been together for 10 years. Their wedding website was titled About Freaking Time.
Good evening, everybody. I am sure I am not alone in the pure joy I feel when seeing these two standing here today. I won't say it's overdue, but it's definitely about freaking time. In fact, this ceremony is a celebration of dedication. A strong relationship takes effort. You must be flexible and willing to grow. You must support each other's feelings, especially when they differ from your own. You must take anger and sadness and learn from it, leaving every argument more in love than when you started. With these qualities, you create a balance that strengthens itself year after year. I'd like to begin the ceremony by reading a letter that John Steinbeck wrote to his son while he was away at school: "First--if you are in love--that's a good thing--that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. don't let anyone make it small or light to you. Second--there are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you--of kindness and consideration and respect--not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had...And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens--The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away." I ask you to join me in praising the beautiful life _____ and ____ have built. Please hold them in your hearts as I read their vows. ______ and ______, as you come this day to affirm your love and committment, may you always remember to value each other as special and unique individuals, and to respect each other's thoughts, ideas, and feelings. May you be able to forgive and forget when wronged, and live each day that you may share it together--as from this day forward you will be each other's home, comfort, and sanctuary. _____, will you take _____ as your husband/wife, as your companion and best friend for life? Will you treat him/her with love and devotion, honor and respect? Will you stand my him/her on the triumphs and tragedies of life, as a faithful and caring wife/husband? Will you love _____ when you are together and when you are apart, when life is peaceful and when it is disordered, when you are proud of him/her and when you are disappointed in him/her? Will you honor his/her goals and dreams and help him/her to fulfill them? If so, say "I will." (repeat) May these rings anchor you, in rough seas and in calm. May they settle your fears and raise your spirits. Most of all, may they remind you of the person whose soul you have bonded yours to, and in this union the remarkable life you have made. _____, please place this ring on _____ finger and repeat after me: "Wear this ring and know I love you." (repeat)
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