Ludloff.com
Shannon and Erik Ludloff
Wedding Ceremony
October 10, 2004
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Shannon and Erik wrote their own wedding ceremony. They used a combination of their own words and borrowed from other various sources; movies, friends, poems. Below is the annotated text from the ceremony.
(The officiant, Kurt Higgins, welcomes the guests)
Shannon and Erik welcome you, their family and friends. Each of you has given something of yourself into their lives. It is fitting then that you share in this celebration of their commitment to each other.
Today Erik and Shannon proclaim their love to the world, and we rejoice with and for them.
In marriage, we give ourselves freely and generously into the hands of the one we love, and in doing so, each of us receives the love and trust of the other as our most precious gift. But even as that gift is shared by two people who are in love, it also touches the friends and family members who in various ways support and contribute to the relationship. All of you are Erik and Shannon’s community, and each of you has played some part in bringing them to this moment. This is why gathering as a community is such an important part of a wedding ceremony. Because Erik and Shannon are now taking a new form as a married couple, and in this form, they become part of their community in a new way.
Who brings this woman to marry this man?
(Parents of bride rise and say “We Do!” Erik walks to Shannon and her father. Erik shakes Jim's hand. Jim kisses Shannon on the cheek and gives her hand to Erik. Jim takes his seat, Erik and Shannon walk to Kurt and face each other.)
Erik and Shannon met just a short year ago. Fate and friends brought them together. But it was their love of travel, which united the two. When they travelled together for the first time they both came to the same conclusion… “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” So here we are, bearing witness to their commitment to a lifetime journey together.
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In the Art of Marriage:
The little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say 'I love you' at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Please repeat after me:
I Erik, take you Shannon to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
I Shannon, take you Erik to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
The genesis of the exchange of wedding rings comes from the ancient Egyptians. These, they believed, were linked to supernatural, immortal love, a circle with no end. They wore bands on the fourth finger of the left hand because they swore the vena amoris, or love vein, connected directly from that finger to the heart, thereby joining a couple's destiny.
Erik, do you have the ring?
(Erik looks to Jason, who fumbles through all pockets as if he forgot where it was)
Please repeat after me:
I give you this ring in token and pledge as a symbol of all that we share and with my constant faith and abiding love.
(Place ring on finger)
Shannon, do you have the ring?
(Shannon looks to Jason, who instantly produces the ring)
Please repeat after me:
I give you this ring in token and pledge as a symbol of all that we share and with my constant faith and abiding love.
(Place ring on finger)
At this time I would like to pause for a moment of reflection on the promises that Erik and Shannon have made today and to remember the friends and family that were unable to be here with us.
(Pause for 30 sec)
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now you will feel no loneliness.
Now you are two persons.
But, there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter
Into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good,
And long upon the earth.
You may kiss the bride.
(Kiss)
It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Shannon and Erik Ludloff
