Wedding Ceremony by Jasmine

Dearly Beloved,

 

Today is a day of celebration! 

 

Today we are gathered here, in this beautiful place, to (finally) witness the wedding of Kelly Iva Owen and Malia Kae Simmons.

 

Life is good.

 

Are you excited?

 

I am here to officiate this wedding because it turns out if you bother and nag people enough about getting married, they will finally say fine—but you have to do it.

 

I am honored to stand before all of you who are so dear to Malia and Kelly to join these two wonderful people in marriage.

 

As a new minister this is a pretty great assignment. I know you two are going to be fantastic partners in marriage because you pretty much already are.

 

Over the past 15 years together You have demonstrated your love for each other through good times and bad.

 

You have built a great life together. 

 

You have created a family together. (Shout out to Moose!). 

 

You treat each other with such respect and care and admiration.

 

One of the greatest days was that time in LuluLemon when someone asked me if I was the third sister.

 

Kelly and Malia, you are two people who have chosen to commit to each other every day for the past 15 years. 

 

Now, let’s make it official!

 

To begin, Kelly’s brother Corey will share a reading.

 

(Pause for Corey’s reading)

 

What a gift it is in this life to find someone you want to share your days with. 

 

Someone to build a home with, 

to binge tv shows with, 

To travel the world with, 

to maybe get a golden doodle who will then take charge of the whole house. 

 

It brings me so much happiness to see what a great match you have both found in each other. 

 

You each bring something different and valuable to the relationship 

 

and not only do you respect your differences, you really cherish them.

 

Malia— your kindness, your warmth, your easy going love of fun and your general good vibes makes everyone around you feel content and safe and just...happy.

 

Kelly—you have a way of celebrating all the little things in life, of making even the mundane exciting and fun. 

 

And funny. Let’s pretend it’s mostly on purpose. 

 

You’re full of so much enthusiasm that it’s contagious. 

 

Sure, you’re also prone to wild exaggeration but that’s part of your charm. 

 

You are different but you’re also alike in the ways that are important.

 

You are both wonderful hostesses and caretakers, always making us feel cared for.

 

You love your families so much. 

You are the fun aunts. 

You love traveling and exploring. 

Look where we are right now because of you! 

 

Together you have built a life full of both adventure AND comfort.

 

Here we are, in this beautiful Italian villa (is this really happening??) living this amazing experience. because of you. 

 

And it also feels like family, like love, like home. Because of you.  

 

I see how you complement each other. I see how you celebrate each other, and how much you love and also really LIKE each Other. 

 

What a wonderful foundation on which to build your lives.

 

And now, Malia’s brother Justin will share a reading

 

(Pause for Justin’s reading)

 

Kelly and Malia have chosen you all

to be here with them today

To witness their wedding vows

Because each one of you means a great deal to them and to their future lives together.

 

It is in your company

that these two have learned

the lessons of love, friendship, and what it is to create a family.

 

Each of you,

by your presence here today,

forms a community of support that surrounds Malia and Kelly.

 

Kelly and Malia, Your wedding rings are an unbroken and never-ending circle

which represents a commitment of love that is forever.

 

When you look at your beautiful rings,

may you be reminded of

the love that surrounds you here today.

 

We are going to pass their rings around to you (please be careful—we need these for later!)

 

and we ask that each of you

briefly hold the rings

and silently warm them with your blessings and wishes for their marriage.

 

When Kelly and Malia exchange rings,

the rings will have been warmed by the love and support

of their closest family and friends.

 

And as we warm the rings, Malia’s brother Conor will share a reading.

 

(Pause for Conor’s reading)

 

Kelly and Malia have chosen to do a hand fasting ceremony.

 

In the history of some European traditions,

weddings were celebrated by a simple ceremony in which two partners would join hands and their wrists would be tied with a cord,

symbolizing the binding together of their individual lives.

 

It is from this practice that we get the expression “tying the knot”. (Marissa brings up rings)

 

Kelly and Malia, please exchange rings.

 

Please join hands.

 

(Christina comes up to wrap hands)

 

Malia and Kelly, this cord is a symbol of the connection between your two lives.

 

As your hands are bound together by this cord, so too, will your lives be bound together in marriage.

 

These are the hands that will love you.

 

These are the hands that will hold and comfort you through the years.

 

These are the hands that will give you support and encouragement.

 

These are the hands you will each work with, create with, and use to build a life together.

 

The knots of this binding are not formed by these cords but instead by your vows,

the promises you make in your hearts and uphold each day through your actions.

 

Malia and Kelly—

• Do you promise to be best friends?

• Do you promise to laugh with each other, cry with each other, and be present for each other?

• Do you promise to love each other faithfully when you are together and when you are apart?

• Do you promise to respect your differences?

• Do you promise to love each other faithfully through easy times and when things are difficult?

• Do you promise to support one another’s dreams?

• Do you promise to grow old together and be by one another’s side through all the days and nights of your lives?

 

Remember, you hold in your own hands the making or breaking of this union.

 

Just as your hands are now bound together, so too, are your lives.

 

(Hand Fasting cord is removed, without untying it.)

 

• After a decade and a half,

• In the presence of your friends and family, surrounded by love in this beautiful Italian garden,

• I am happy to pronounce—

you are married!

• You may now kiss your bride!