Greg and Taylor 8.9.19

by charityrattray

Greg. Taylor. Welcome to your wedding day. And I want to welcome both friends and family here to witness and celebrate your wedding day. All of us are thrilled and honored to be a part of this new beginning. Here we are at launch of it all with both friends and family members here beside you to support and stand witness to the vows you are about to take. Let’s pray.

(PRAYER)

At the beginning of anything let alone your wedding day there is a fullness of promise and a joy just at the thought of becoming husband and wife. And today is your beginning. Today is beautiful. Greg making her happiness more than real. Taylor accepting and giving back this same happiness. Today love not only holds your hand but holds the weight of your future.
Something that stands out today is that you both, have written vows to one another.

(Greg goes first)

As you say yes to love’s commitment understand this is the gift of a love that doesn’t leave. It is powerful. Greg it bears all the weight of whatever comes. Taylor it is pure and it is faithful. Know this today and from now on Greg has love you can rely on.

From that first exhilarating “yes” to your most challenging day where you both even with testing still said “yes, I chose you”, you both have been making commitments in an informal way.

Small commitments add up to this beginning which we know didn’t just start here, today. It started then on those late night conversations, over dinner, or even in passing—all those conversations that began with, “I’m here for you,” and continued with “I will” and “you will” and then transitioned into “we will”—all those late nights that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”—and all the promises you’ve made are becoming real today.

These conversations were filled with plans of your life together, and more, they even now are woven into the substance of this wedding. They brought you both to this day. He believed you would come and give yourself to him. And you, Taylor believed he would offer you his name, his arm, his future, his all. After today you shall say to the world—“This is my husband.” “This is my wife.”

When you are leaving Costco with enough wine for a wedding or enough food for a reception it’s an embarrassment of volume. Bottles and bottles. There is so much abundance it’s more than one person can eat or drink. It’s the same with love. It’s so much more. It’s noticeable to all who stand here today- the love you share. It’s so much more than a month of love, or year of love it’s life long and we can tell. This love marks you. It changes the whole direction of your life. You can no longer go undetected by the crowd around you. It’s obvious you are in love Greg and Taylor. We have seen the pictures on Instagram of your engagement and we are here to share in your happiness as you pledge yourselves to each other.

Taylor this is the whole point of doing life together; a shared happiness, making it your intention to stir up such a joy in Greg he can’t hide it. Another rare gift you will give Greg is a shared history. Days, weeks, months adding up to a 1 year anniversary and then you blink and it’s 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, with God’s blessing 50 years and MORE. In all that time you will have built something with just him, just Greg. And this shared love is irreplaceable. It’s your life.

Greg this beautiful bride before you is wild crazy in love with you. She is where you go I’ll go, your family is my family, your friends– my friends, she’ll have it all. The good the rough, the highlights and the days you wish you could cut. She is yes, to the coaching hours, her commitment is as natural as breathing. She is ready to celebrate being yours! Today, stop take in this moment, drink it in like championship won, the season of dating is done. You’ve set the bar high for every season to come. Stats look good. Life ahead looks good. Today you are giving Taylor your best gift, you. You are and will be her longest and best friend, her favorite dance partner at every wedding, her go to life coach, her most constant text recipient, and you will be the first person she wakes up to each day. You give her shelter when you listen. You give her strength when you don’t even have the words and you simply stand by her. She is home.

Taylor, Greg is home. And this love is where you belong. Believe it and lean on it.

Love well when it’s easy and when it’s hard. Hold on to each other in faithfulness. This is the one person you want to come home to. Home is his heart. Home is his arms. Live there.

Greg make her laugh and find light way of looking at hard things. Love her with the lifelong pursuit to bless her. Today Christ wants to bless you Greg.

He wants to bless you with his presence, his face shining on you. He wants to be gracious to you. He is kind, merciful, forgiving and ultimately He is love. Love Taylor in this same way. The Greek word for ‘meek’ means ‘gentle’, ‘considerate’, ‘unassuming’. God in his meekness gave himself for us, love Taylor with this same meekness.

God gives you his peace in the midst of the trouble and his protection. He defends you from evil and wandering away from him. His desire from your first breath to your last is to bless you. With all that you are given by God, you are now given Taylor. In this moment she is the most incredible gift, you will ever receive besides God himself.

Taylor you have before you today similar blessings from God and a charge as well, to strengthen Greg, believe in his ability, God given, to love you. Trust one another. Pray together. Forgive quickly and without holding back. And when love is worn thin because life deals us days like that remember yours is a love that endures and remains. Your love is founded and given by God, blessed by God. God is faithful and He will ever be faithful to you. Delight in the gift of Greg. Delight in his smile, his thoughts and plans. Delight in the shared life you will build.

By taking the vows you’re about to take, you’re declaring that the very foundation of your life together is a promise more precious than any riches. The ground that you walk on, the roof over your heads, the walls that surround you—the raw material for all of it is a love that is both rich and enriching. It’s an embarrassment of riches.
Here’s my charge to you: Live in the grace you’ve been given. Jonathon Rogers

VOWS
“Do you Greg, take Taylor to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love her, support her, believing in her, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?”
HE SAYS I DO
“Do you Taylor, take Greg to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love him, be supportive of him, believing in him, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?”
SHE SAYS I DO

RINGS Exchange
Wedding rings are symbols of your vows made today. Your rings say you belong to one another and are bound together. May these rings also be a sign that love has substance as well as a mark it leaves upon you. When you are apart your ring remains as a token of promise and belonging. Wear it and remember the giver of this ring is both lover and strength.

Greg, please pick up Taylor’s left hand, look her in the eye, and repeat after me:

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

Taylor, please pick up Greg’s left hand, look him in the eye, and repeat after me:

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

To honor their commitment of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the couple will partake in COMMUNION. This bread and wine symbolize the body of Christ given to them. It is Christ’s faithfulness and the vitality of Spirit of God by which they will be sustained in love. God our Father has been, is, and will be the forged strength of their covenant today. His love endures forever. We welcome you to pray for them as they partake.

Before we finish, I want to remind you of a quote that you might be familiar with. The context is different—no one is in a broadway musical here—but the intent still rings true: “To love another person is to see the face of God.” Victor Hugo
I think that says a lot. The ability to love and be loved is an incredible one, and seeing the two of you rise to this commitment is not only beautiful it gives us a glimpse of God.

And now we’re here: and I am honored to announce you two as husband and wife:
You may KISS YOUR BRIDE.

I now pronounce to you for the very first time, MR. AND MRS. GREG AND TAYLOR LOGAN!