After our processional, Pastor Cook welcomed our guests and began our ceremony with an invocation.
Pastor Cook: Who gives this woman to be married?
Daddy: I do.
Pastor Cook gave a short homily that involved a story of him growing up on a farm in Minnesota. Probably 85% of his sermons include this farm.
Our first reading: Song of Solomon 2:10-14, 16a
10 My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
11 for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
16 My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Our marriage vows:
Our second reading: Song of Solomon 8:6-7
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned.
Then we exchanged rings.
And our final reading: Ruth 1:16-17
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Pastor Cook then said a blessing, and we recited the Lord’s Prayer.
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 them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
Our wedding weekend:
Friday, we rehearsed, relaxed over dinner, and hosted an open house. Wedding morning dawned bright and early, we got prettified, then had our first look. We waited for some guests and headed down the aisle. Our ceremony was short and sweet, and we finished our family portraits. We were introduced at our reception, ate dinner, raised a few toasts, shared special dances, and didn’t smash our cake. We rounded up our friends for some group shots then snuck out for some private moments while they danced the night away. We partied til the end, packed up the car, and enjoyed a quiet night in our home. Sunday, we said goodbye over brunch and drove into the sunset to an Outer Banks honeymoon.
