I was involved in an event this weekend that puts sports to shame. I would not have missed this event for the world. As an ordained minister, I was truly honored to be asked to marry two of my "car kids"... Two honorably discharged veterans in our group of car enthusiasts that are 30 years younger than us and call us car mom and car dad. They came to me to ask that I perform the service to unite them in the bonds of holy matrimony. Those of you that are facebook friends can see the beautiful bride and the look on the grooms face when I playfully took her in my arms. :wink: To understand some of the wording of the service, you must know that Jack, the groom, does auto restoration in the huge shop that was decorated for this ceremony. The service: Procession: Jack and Tom enter from the side. Wedding party enters from rear. Mo and father enter and stop just before they get to Jack. Tom: "Marriage is a coming together of body, mind, and soul. Morgan Lee Stanford and Jack Robert Bean now celebrate their commitment. They profess their willingness to sacrifice one for the other; to honor, cherish, and dedicate themselves to the concept of family; to undertake their own conquest of chaos; to take personal risks in order to gain everything that makes life together worth living; to be loyal and forgiving to each other in good times or bad; to always try to make life together be better than it would be apart. Who gives this woman's hand in marriage? Morgan’s Father: Her brother and I do. Morgan’s father steps back and goes to his seat. Morgan takes the last step alone to stand next to Jack. Tom: We gather at this house of Automotive Repair to WELD Morgan and Jack together in the bonds of holy matrimony. We are here to witness their sincere and sacred promise to each other. May the tide of life wash all their yesterdays clean; may there be two sets of scattered footprints on their pathway of life conspiring to travel more smoothly as one. [ Pause ] Their yesterdays… [ Pause ] They, and so many others, wrote the check for freedom that we cash every day…….. Chris Coates and Clayton Bridwell read “A Christmas Poem” (poem at the end of this post) - (I did not realize but the groom had sent this poem to his mother and father during his first deployment to Afghanistan) Tom: Morgan and Jack have written their own vows and now that they are emotional from the reading of the poem, they will share them now. Morgan and Jack turn to face each other Morgan shares her vows first Jack shares his vows second Tom: Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be. May Morgan and Jack be disciples of that philosophy and seek a marriage as it should be, to make poor soil rich, to cut thorns to free blossoms, to bring structure from chaos, to rise above illusion, to bring safety when there is fear, to find a new beginning with a mutually remembered past." Love one another, but be not bound by love. Drink from each other's cup, half full not half empty. Sing and dance together in joy, but also celebrate time alone. Give of your hearts, but as captives one for the other. For only the creator may fully possess our heart and souls. In his name, you stand as two great trees in the sun, roots intertwined, together in his light. "Do you, Jack, take Morgan to be your only wife in the sight of man and God?" Jack: Absolutely Tom: "A simple “I do" will suffice. :wink: Jack: “I do" Tom: "Do you, Morgan, take Jack to be your only husband in the sight of man and God?" Morgan: You betcha! Tom: A simple "I do" will suffice. :wink: Morgan: "I do" Tom: Jack, place the ring on Morgan’s finger and repeat after me “With this ring, I thee wed” Morgan, place the ring on Jack’s finger and repeat after me: “With this ring, I thee wed” Jack and Morgan: We all ask that you always respect one another, in good times and bad. May your love freshen like a dry summer's rain, gain strength as do waves on the shore, and bend like living tree branches in winter winds. [ Pause ] Jack, I will now bestow upon you the 2 magic words that will stop any argument you find yourself in with Morgan: “Yes Dear.” [ Pause ] Learn them… [ Pause ] Use them. [ Pause ] In the name of all that we hold sacred in this life and in the next, I now pronounce you man and wife..." Jack, you may kiss your bride. After the big kiss- Jack and Morgan turn to face the audience Tom: I now have the DISTINCT privilege of presenting to you for the first time: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Robert Bean. Tom instructs those in attendance to rise. Jack and Morgan proceed to the back followed by the wedding party This is the poem that Clayton and Chris read. Chris played the part of the home owner (black text) and Clayton, the soldier (red text) The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep Secure and surrounded by love, I would sleep, In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child. "What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack; brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!" For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts, To the window that danced with a warm fire's light. Then he sighed and he said "It’s really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times. No one had to ask or beg or implore, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before. My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December." Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Grandma always remembers." "My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ', And now it is my turn and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures; he's sure got her smile." Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag. "I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life for my sister or brother, Who stand at the front against any and all To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall." "So go back inside," he said, "Harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all right." "But isn't there something I can do, at the least? Give you money," I asked, "Or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, for being away from your wife and your son." Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, that we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
I cannot get the picture to show but if you click on the link, you can see my facebook cover photo to commemorate the wedding... if security settings allow... https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15894809_1164007373652327_1162258381108035589_n.jpg?oh=22a78521266c5a8a3158a92f797d5128&oe=58D9495D
Tom, it is very cool that you've become a man of the cloth. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Congratulations on your first wedding ceremony.