Sarah And Brad's Wedding Ceremony Script - The story of Bob and Mr. Rogers. Indianapolis Public Library.

Brad & Sarah
Simon Reading Room
Indianapolis Public Library


Welcome!  Thank you for being here today!

We are gathered here today to celebrate and to witness the joining of Sarah and Brad in marriage. As they promise to love, trust in that love, honor one another as individuals, and anticipate with joy spending the rest of their lives together.  They are surrounded by you - their friends and family - in this beautiful 101-year-old Simon Reading Room.   Thank you for gathering here to witness their marriage and to share in the joy of this special occasion. 

When I met with Sarah and Brad we talked about today and the reason why we are all here and they didn’t elope to Paris or just silently pass the moment in a courtroom with a Justice of the Peace.  They both decided that today is about family and friends.  They wanted to celebrate their marriage with all of you. They chose to get married here because they were both born and raised in Indiana.  They met as college students at IU 10 years ago. Many of you came from cities far and wide to meet here, in the middle of the country. Thank you!  

These few moments spent in the ceremony are the formalities of today, the time that Sarah and Brad acknowledge their love for each other and commit to spending the rest of their lives together. The rest of the evening is about all of you and the love you all share.  Family, friends from childhood and college, and people from different stages in their lives.  Each and every one of you has played an important part in their lives.  You have helped make them the people they are today.  We are here to celebrate life and how marriage is a part of life and an occasion to celebrate. Brad and Sarah would like to acknowledge that today also happens to be the 34th wedding anniversary of Brad’s parents, Brock and Becky Zehr! (brief applause?)

We would also like to give a special hello to Sarah’s grandmother,  who is watching the ceremony via livestream.Hello GRANDMOTHER 

At this time, we’d like to take a moment to remember those who are not here with us today, those who could not be here or those who have moved on to greater things, we know that they are here with us in spirit. Let us pause for a moment of silence to remember those who are no longer with us.

Moment of silence
 
Sarah and Brad, Today, as you two are joined in marriage, there is a vast and unknown future stretching out before you. The possibilities and potentials of your married life are great. We join with you in hoping you make real your dreams!  That you are reborn in each other as you share your loves and dreams, wants and desires and together are enriched by them. Through your commitment to each other, may you grow and nurture a love that makes both of you better people, a love that continues to give you great joy, and also a passion for living that provides you with energy and patience to face the responsibilities of life. There was a time when your lives were two separate paths.  Gradually, they were joined as you grew closer together.  Today, you proclaim to the world your choice to stay on the same path together.  

There are many things I could say here about marriage.  You are making a formal proclamation today, however, you have already lived successfully the many things that marriage is about. When you met, Sarah, you were the reporter and the writer, and Brad, you were the editor.  It takes both to make a great story.  You both served as editors-in-chief of the Indiana Daily Student at IU so you both know your abilities to be a leader, a follower, and most importantly, a collaborator.  You have both lived your own lives while maintaining your relationship no matter the distance or difficulty.  Half a world away from South Africa or a few hours away between Boston and New Hampshire.  You’ve proven you know how to navigate life and the changes it brings, having the courage to change careers and make decisions that are good for you as individuals and as a couple.  That is the most important part of marriage.  Living and growing and living satisfying lives individually and finding the place in the middle where you connect, learning from your differences and finding your home in the peace you find in each other. 

Brad and Sarah would now like to share a memory from the beginning of their relationship. They had been dating less than a year when Brad traveled to Cape Town, South Africa for a five-month study abroad. During this time, Brad sent Sarah many postcards. The following reading is from one of the postcards that Sarah saved. Carrie Schedler, who is also a former editor-in-chief of the Indiana Daily Student, will read the letter. 

“Once upon a time, there was a boy named Bob and a girl named Sally. They worked together at their college newspaper. Bob didn’t belong — he was a science nerd, not a sexy, popular journalist. Sally was the newsroom favorite, a super-lifer. Bob liked to read rules about grammar and style because it satisfied his tendencies toward perfection and overanalysis and introversion. Sally liked to work herself into a dither to satisfy her need to prove herself and earn her way. Bob noticed Sally every day, she was always laughing and getting excited about nothing. He knew he liked her, but he was going through a strange thing called freshman year and really didn’t know who he was anymore. Sally was cuter than any girl he’d ever kissed. She was always talking, making friends, making jokes. Therefore, Bob always knew where Sally was in the room but never really looked at her. Sometimes, Sally and Bob would sit down next to each other and edit the same story. Bob was so nervous sitting next to Sally that he couldn’t read correctly. The page was blurry, and his throat sunk when Sally’s arm bumped into his. One day Bob kissed Sally and liked it. They lived happily ever after. Love, Brad”

Thank you, Carrie. I will now read a few words about love by an author we all know. See if you can recognize him. 

When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade. And of course the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way. ... It’s what’s inside us that matters most. You can really love someone else when you really love yourself. ... As human beings our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have. Something inside which is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression. ... Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun, like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now, and to go on caring, even through times that may bring us pain. 

These words were written by the one and only Mr. Fred Rogers. Never too old or too late to hear his message. 

And with that, it’s time for us to move forward to the “business end” of the ceremony. ;)

Do you Brad, take Sarah, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part.

Brad:  I do. 

Do you Sarah take Brad, to be your lawfully wedded  husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part.

Sarah:  I do. 

Now Sarah and Brad would like to share the vows they have written for each other.

Vows  

Ring Exchange

The rings are the universal symbols of marriage.  They mean many things.  From now on you will wear these rings and they will remind you...  They will remind you of the endless circle that they are.  Like love, there is no beginning and no end.  They will remind you daily that you are married.  Sometimes they will remind you of the commitment that you have made - for better or worse.  But, may they always remind you that there is one other person in the world that has pledged to love you forever, through thick and through thin and with all that they have. 


please repeat after me....

Sarah, I give you this ring with all that I am and all that I ever will be.  Wear it and know that I love you.
As you place the ring on her finger:
With this ring, I, thee wed.  


Brad, I give you this ring with all that I am and all that I ever will be.  Wear it and know that I love you.
As you place the ring on his finger:
With this ring, I, thee wed.  


The Hand Ceremony 

As you are holding hands, take a moment to see the gift that you are to each other.  

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. 

These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. 

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will give you support and encouragement to chase down your dreams.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

These are the hands that will lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into eyes that are filled with overwhelming love for you.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.


Blessing and Proclamation

We have gathered here today to celebrate the union of Brad and Sarah and to honor their commitment to not just gazing at one another, but to looking outward together in the same direction. Today they proclaim their love to the world, and we are happy for them.

 As families and friends, all of you are here from the community of support that surrounds them. This is why gathering as a community is such an important part of a wedding ceremony. Each of you, by your presence here today, is being called upon to uphold them in honoring and loving each other. Always stand beside them, Never between them. Offer them your love and support, Not your judgment. Encourage them with your kindness and loving hearts, And honor this marriage into which they have come to be joined today.


Sarah and Brad are now taking a new form as a married couple, and in this form, they become part of their community in a new way.

Life and love are the greatest gifts bestowed upon humanity.
May your union grant you patience, tolerance, and understanding
as well as the passion and excitement every marriage should possess.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you support one another, as a sign of mutual independence.
May you continually rediscover your love in one another, as the greatest gift of all.


It is my great pleasure to acknowledge your union as “Husband and Wife.”


You may now kiss your bride.
Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to introduce to you:   Mr. and Mrs. ....