Photography by Kallima Photography. Event Planning & Design by JCG Events.

UNPLUGGED ANNOUNCEMENT

To please resist from taking pictures during the processional or recessional that we wish everyone to enjoy the moment and that we have wonderful photographers that will be capturing those moments.

PROCESSIONAL

Song: In Christ Alone for Officiant, Groomsmen, Best Man and Groom, Bridesmaids, Junior Bridesmaid, Maid of Honors, Flower girl and Ring Bearer // Bride Processional, Song: The Ludlows by James Horner // Mother of Brides first to stand // ALL STAND

GREETING
Welcome. We are gathered here as witnesses to the joining together of Gabriella and Cameron in the holy covenant of marriage. As followers of Jesus Christ, they believe that marriage is a sacred relationship that is created and ordained by God. Today, they come humbly before their Creator, before their family and before their friends to become one in the covenant of marriage. Gabi and Cameron want to say, "thank you" for coming today. An official marriage really only needs a couple of witnesses, but your presence here today is an overwhelming declaration that sounds something like this, "YES!"

PRAYER
Blessed are You O Lord our God, for you are the King of the everything. You created man in Your own image and woman from the bone and flesh of man. You created the bridegroom and the bride, You created joy and celebration. As we pause to think about it, we are humbled by the gift of marriage and recognize that today we stand on holy ground in Your presence as You supernaturally cause this man and this woman to become knit together as one flesh in your sight. We offer to You this wedding ceremony as an act of worship. May it be a pleasing aroma to You, Lord. As we celebrate Cameron's and Gabi's love for one another, we ask for your favor and blessing to be upon this time.
So be it! Amen. You may be seated.

GIVING AWAY THE BRIDE

It is a gift to have the families of both Cameron and Gabi here today. Their presence is the expression of their permission and blessing upon this marriage. And for the parents specifically, it is also the expression of the release of their children to God and their spouse. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

DECLARATION OF INTENT

"Will you have this man /woman to be your wife? And will you make your promise to her in all love and honor, in all duty and service, in all faith and tenderness - to live with her, and cherish her, according to the ordinance of God, in the hold bond of marriage?

Brett: "Cameron, will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"
Cameron: I will

(Ask audience for pledge to hold this marriage accountable?)

If you agree to walk with Cameron and Gabi in upholding the promises they make today, if you agree to encourage them to always fight for and protect this marriage covenant , would you say, "I do"?

READINGS

Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Genesis 2
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for[e] him." Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made[h] into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

MESSAGE

("Eden" means delightful, and yet God saw that Adam was somehow incomplete. // "Helper suitable" means We think of helper as a servant but, (ezer negeb) is parallel, comparable. Taken from side, not foot or head
// "Bone of bones" means root and understanding of "bone" which means strength)

So God created marriage as a partnership. The bible instructs us that man and woman were both created in God's image. Now we know that men and women are different - right? John Eldredge likes to point out the first clue of our difference is that Adam was created in the wild, Eve in the garden. But the Bible says, "God created man in his image; male and female, He created them". So the beautiful mystery is that somehow, together a husband and wife more fully bear the image of God and can more fully bring the presence of God to those around you. I believe that there will be a synergy effect now that you will be doing ministry together as partners instead of as individuals. Together, you can more clearly represent Jesus in this world.

Next the Bible tells us that a man must leave his parents and cleave to his wife. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. This means that there should be no relationship more important than the one with your spouse. No other human being should get more of your love, energy and commitment than your spouse. (then the honeymoon verse) "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Finally, He said it was good and blessed it. And this is why today is such a joyful occasion.

In fact, the Bible teachers in the days of Jesus believed that God had such a high view of marriage, they taught that if it ever occurred that a wedding procession and a funeral procession happened to meet at the same intersection - the wedding party was to proceed first because it was held in higher regard than mourning a loved one.

So it seems that you are suitable for one another. You both bring many gifts to this relationship. You have much to offer one another. Together you will more fully bear the image of the Creator. Together you will have more resources for ministry.Together you will cause the Fruits of the Spirit to be more and more evident in one another's life. Gabi is like an Italian sports car and Cameron like a diesel work truck. And as beautiful as those gifts are... They will not be enough! I probably don't need to tell you that you will disappoint one another.You'll let each other down. The vows you make today, will not always be on the tip of your tongue. In fact, your wedding vows today are not primarily for today - they are for everyday that comes after - for the decades ahead to come. This ceremony is more than a declaration of your current love, it is a mutually binding promise of future love. Right now, you mostly love the idea of each other but you still have a long journey ahead before you really know one another. Now I know that you two have talked a great deal about your fears and flaws, I'm just saying, there are probably some more!

The most important thing you can offer to one another is to have an intimate, abiding relationship with the Lord. The Colossians passage that was read earlier gives us a hint to this. First we get this this beautiful charge that we are to put on kindness, patience, forgiveness. Then Paul tells us how that will be possible... "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... and let the message of Christ dwell in you richly" The more each of you cultivate your relationship with Jesus, the better husband or wife you will become. I heard someone once say that if you look to your spouse to fulfill all of your needs and validate your identity, you will be empty- you must look to Jesus, not your spouse, to answer your deepest questions about your worth.

And yet, on the flip side of that coin, you must do everything in your power to answer those deep questions for one another - by reminding him that he is a good man, that he is gifted and led by the Lord and that you are proud of him - by reminding her that she is a lovely woman, worth protecting and fighting for, providing security and laying down your life as Christ did for the Church.

The Apostle Paul reminds us - you no longer belong to yourself! 1 Corinthians 7:4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

But you are entering into a covenant with one another and covenants are very significant to the Lord. We know this because His redemptive story in Scripture is full of covenants. Tim Keller points out that there are "vertical" covenants in Scripture between God and His people and there are "horizontal" covenants between two people or groups. The Marriage Covenant is both a Vertical covenant and a horizontal covental. First, with the declaration you made earlier, you are speaking upward with God, then with your vows you will be speaking outward with each other.

It is important for you to understand that you are making this covenant in the presence of witnesses who, by their presence, are also agreeing to uphold you to the vows you will make today.

The reason the two of you will pass in the middle of the audience as you leave today is to use the Biblical image of sealing a covenant. The parties would pass between the two halves of a sacrifice in order to seal the covenant! To break such a covenant has severe consequences. This is a high calling, and I'm sure you know it is not going to be easy! So, with that in mind, and before vows, I just want to let that sink in.
Audience: if you are married, we pause and remember our vows now too.

COMMUNION

First act as a married couple, one of service. Brett describes communion here a bit. // Placement of the Mantilla on the altar kneeling. // When song is complete removal of the mantilla by aunts

VOWS

Cameron:

Gabi, In the Presence of God, Family, and Friends, I offer you my vow. This is my promise to you, that through all of life's challenges, through sickness and hardship, I will love you unconditionally. Today, I give you all of my heart, and I promise to guard yours, to always make you feel wroth of love, provide encouragement, to remind you how beautiful you are, and to make you feel safe and secure. I vow to lead you and our family in a way that pleases God, to always keep our focus on Him and His good plan for our lives. My prayer is that the love we have for each other in this moment, grows even more with every day God gives us. Gabi, I love you with all my heart and I promise to love you even more tomorrow.

Gabi:

Cameron, I could stand here all day expressing how much I love you and how you make me better with each passing day. But instead, I am here today, to give you my vows as your wife. I vow to love you unconditionally in every season of life-good or bad-to love you in both word and deed. I vow to seek the Lord in all things and to commit to grow in Christ's likeness. I, too, promise to support and encourage you in your pursuit of the Lord...to faithfully pray for our family and that we grow to be a better picture of Christ. I vow to fully devote myself to you, and you alone, to trust you, to respect and honor you, to serve you as the Church is called to serve the Lord, to put our marriage first, to love you in sickness or in health, for richer or poorer, in joy or in sorrow and to cherish you forevermore. Today, you become my home-and my home is where I shall dwell all the days of my life.

EXCHANGE OF RINGS
Cameron & Gabi have chosen to use rings as symbols of the permanence of their commitments. So, if you will repeat after me:

"I, (name), give you, (name), this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you."

CLOSING REMARKS + DECLARATION AND BLESSING OF MARRIAGE

So as a servant of God, and by the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And in accordance with the permanence of Christ's love for His church, I remind you both of His own words regarding marriage: 'So you are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.'

"Cameron, you may kiss your bride."

INTRODUCTION OF THE NEWLYWEDS
It is my pleasure and privilege to present to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs...

RECESSIONAL

Cowboy Take me Away by Dixie Chicks

SEE GABI AND CAMERON'S WEDDING RIGHT HERE.