wedding

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The Wedding Ceremony

CAROLINA AND JAMES

A WEDING BY THE CAPITOL

JULY 10^TH , 2010

Officiating: Rev. Tricia Newel Bennet

Location: Museum, Washington D.C.

Matron of Honor: Diana Skinner

Best man: Jeph Snyder

Maids: Becca Berkson, Jessica May, Cara Kurtz, Sarah Skelly-Gee, Monica

Groom’s honor guard: John Gee, Kris

THE CEREMONY

We are gathered today in this beautiful place, in the presence of family, friends and a loving God to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony.

Carolina Lourdes Felipe and James Louis Skelly – Marriage is one of the most profound passages a human being can experience and one of the most powerful bonds two people can share. It means agreeing to be best friends and lifetime companions. It is a commitment to each other’s interests, happiness and individual fulfillment and to providing one another with the support and stability necessary for a long term committed relationship to grow and flourish.

Knowing that a successful long-term marriage takes commitment, hard work, a lot of Grace and a village of support, Carolina and James want you to know that they have requested your attendance here today not only to be their guests at this joyous occasion, but to ask that each of one of you, from this day forward, might know yourself as guardian of their love. You are one of a precious group of individuals, carefully chosen to make up the support team for their marriage.

They ask you all to be there to rejoice with them in their triumphs and to listen to theme and support them through any hardships they may endure. Your wisdom and commitment to their success has, and will continue to be invaluable to them as they years go by.

Marriage is like a third entity that must be treated with great care. This third entity is separate from you as individuals and must be nurtured. A marriage must be given what it needs to thrive. Patience, tolerance, and open communication will help you to make your marriage and family home a gently and peaceful place.

As young people to day Carolina and James have the rare opportunity to create something, which is currently on the brink of extinction in our world today. A marriage lasting 50 years or more! They would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their parents.

Your children want you to know that is your love and commitment that has them standing here today and thy thank you from the bottom of their hearts.

To honor those who have passed before us and specifically for Nicholas Felipe who we know is with us today in spirit…. with a big smile on his face. Carolina and James would like to invite Vanessa Sanz de Acedo to come forward to offer a reading.

An Old Gaelic Blessing

May the road rise to meet you

May the sun shine always in your face

May the wind always be at your back

May the rain fall gently on your fields

And until we meet you again may God keep you

In the hollow of his hand

As witness to their vows today, Carolina and James would like to ask all of you to please be forward and courageous with your support of their marriage and to remind them of their vows, their love and this day, should there be moments when they may need reminding.

As you face one another this afternoon all of your relationships are about to be forever transformed. Carolina and James would like to recognize the significance of this event not only because it marks their union, but because it marks the moment when two families become blended into one.

SANCTUS (Veil ceremony)

At this point, I would like to call Carolina’s grandmother, Josefa Espino and James’s aunt Betty Watts, the veil sponsors, to come forward. They are going to place a ceremonial veil over James shoulder and Carolina’s head. This symbolizes the unity of the two families into one; it is also a prayer for health and protection during your marriage.

HOMILY

I became a minister after having been a family therapist for over 20 years. In that capacity, I have worked with literally thousands of people. I have seen relationships grow and flourish and I have seen them fall apart.

One of the results of all those years of witnessing relationships is a very long list of things that support a marriage and things that do not. This informs my personal belief that a marriage ceremony and the vows that a couple make to one another on their wedding day should not be rote, but joyfully and carefully considered.

During the process of writing a ceremony with a couple, I ask a lot of question. I do this so that I can get a sense of who they are as individuals – and as a couple. I most enjoy learning how they wish to be perceived as a couple once they are married – how they want to be known in the world as husband and wife.

Carolina and James answers were so lovely – they defined their union with all their qualities that you hope to see in a marriage.

They inspire one another to be their best selves. They challenge and support each other. They are committed to family and friends and to conserving their energy for the things in life that really matter to them – and bring them joy. They want to be known in the world as the couple whose home is always open, warm and full of fun and celebration. They acknowledge that relationship takes work, and that their ultimate goal is to provide one another with the kind of love and acceptance that lasts a life time.

And so, it is my honor and absolute delight to perform a wedding ceremony for a couple who already possess so many of the necessary ingredients to a lasting marriage.

At this time, I would like to ask Larry O’Connor to come forward to offer a reading of the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon:

where there is doubt, faith ;

where there is despair, hope

where there is darkness, light

where there is sadness, joy

O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

I now invite you to share with Carolina and James the pledging of their love and commitment to one another and to witness the first evening of their new life together.

THE MARRIAGE

We have gathered here today so that your love might be sealed in the presence of so many who love you. I invite you now, to declare before your community your consent to become husband and wife.

Carolina and James have you come here of your won will and choice to be married?

Will you love honor each other in marriage all of the days of your life?

The wedding ring is an unbroken circle – with no beginning or end they represent the possibility of life long love. From this day forward they are the visible symbol of your spiritual commitment to one and another.

This wedding band is a precious and perfect circle. As you join Carolina together in marriage, let It always be a reminder to you that are encircled by her love.

THE VOWS

Do you James, take Carolina, to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, to bring her your passion for living, your honesty and your patience, to host great BBQ’s with her, encourage her to take time off to do nothing … and remind her of Rule # 62 (not ever take yourself too seriously) – for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward as long as we both shall live?

Do you Carolina, take James to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, to bring him your joy and generosity, to always express your interest in the things that are important to him, to sing and dance in the kitchen and to read to him from the newspapers over morning coffee—for better or for worse, fro richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to over and to cherish; form this day forward for as long as you both shall live?

CLOSING

And so we find ourselves at the end – and the beginning. This is the end of a wedding ceremony and the beginning of a new couple’s life together.

Carolina and James have asked that we close this afternoon with a reading from Emmet Fox.

Reading from Emmet Fox

All of the old traditions tell us that there is more than one path to the great God. The shortest and easiest pathway of all is the pathway of love. It is the one pathway that is open to all, irrespective of what their personal conditions or circumstances may be. For every person everywhere, true attainment awaits through the yoga of Love, for yoga means union and it is our union with God that makes the attainment possible.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Carolina and James, you possess the beginning of a great partnership. You exist separately, yet complement each other beautifully and happily choose to enter into the union of marriage so that you may create a bigger life together.

Express your love delicately to one another and know that your marriage is sacred. Your family and friends surround you on this day as a symbol of their love and unwavering support. It is an honor to be here to share this joyous day with you.

Stay who you are. Remember to keep your eyes on God and joy in your hearts. It is my pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife.