It has also been said that, “where you end up usually depends on where you start.” So it is with Lori and Eric, for where they stand today, and all the places they will go, is intrinsically linked to their pasts. Your families have been with you your whole lives, and as you start your own family, keep them near to you. father(s) of the bride, Robert Doobovsky & Stephen Colyer) Now all weirdness aside, marriage is in many ways a simplification of life, and it naturally combines the strengths and wills of two young people so that, together, they seem to reach farther into the future than they did before. Above all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness, - a new demand on the strength and generosity of each partner, and a great new danger for both. The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of their solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. With that in mind, I’d like to ask Thank you, Megan. Eric and Lori, you have known each other for over 5 years, from the first glance of acquaintance to this moment of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes until this moment of Yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or on long walks—all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”—those late-night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”—and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of wedding. The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.”
Now take and drink this sweet red wine and taste in it the sweetness and light that will fill your marriage with joy. Savor the fruits of this wine, just as you will savor every happiness your marriage will bring. Delight in it just as you delight in each other. Before this moment, you have been many things to one another: acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last 5 years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never be quite the same between you. For after these vows you shall say to the world: This is my husband. This is my wife.  Lori & Eric, please repeat after me and say these words to each other.
I declare that I will love you always, as no other than yourself - loving what I know of you and trusting that which I do not yet know. I declare that I will love you valiantly in the face of whatever is to come - in hope that the whole of the world may one day follow suit in strength and love. Take this then, as my oath not only to you, but to that love which may save us: Should you ever feel lost, then look to me - and I will strive to be your northern star. Should you ever feel adrift - then look to me, and I will strive to be your anchor. In times of fear, let my love be your armor - and wherever you may wander, let the beating of my heart call you home. Trust in me to make sacrifices without resentment, and to live in honor without self-righteousness. Build with me a home founded in peace, but defended by the sword. Live with me consciously and deliberately, that we might be the change we wish to see in the world. Place me like a seal over your heart, for love is as strong as death.
May I have the rings, please?  A ring is a circle and the circle is sacred and absolute; this has been known since before the beginning of recorded history . It is the circle of the planets and their paths, of the sun and the moon, of time and timelessness; of LP's, CD's and 45's, the hula hoop, and the beach ball; the period that ends a sentence, the path we make when we leave and come back to where we started, and the earth from which we are born and to which we shall return; of pi, the mandala, and the roundness of an eye. The circle, and these rings, symbolize the unity in which your lives are now joined and to which, wherever you go, you shall always return.
It is said that a circle has no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metal is liquified in a furnace at a thousand degrees, poured into molds, cooled and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements. Love is like that. It’s hot, dirty work. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.
Lori; unconditionally (without conditions), just as he is (without provisions), until death do you part (and murder not acceptable), for better or for worse (and trust me, it always gets worse), tell Eric you love him. Eric; unconditionally (without conditions), just as she is (without provisions), until death do you part (and murder not acceptable), for better or for worse (and trust me, it always gets worse), tell Lori you love her. Lori and Eric, I am honored, proud, and happy to pronounce you husband and wife. Friends, family, loved ones; I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Eric Bender! |
Good afternoon friends, family, and loved ones. It has been said that, “when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness - and call it love - true love.” Nowhere is that more true than it is with Lori and Eric, who stand before us today intent on merging their weirdness through the bonds of matrimony. 
As a symbol of this connection of past to present and future, who comes with Lori today as a representative of the families that stand behind Lori & Eric as they move forward into marriage? 
Megan Miller to come forward and say a few words. 
As you journey forth in your life together, making good on those symbolic vows, there will come in your life days of great sweetness and days of bitter sorrow. There will be celebrations and there will be tears. There will be triumphs and there will be tragedies. 
Each of you take and eat this bitter chocolate and taste in it the dark days of disappointment and heartache and know that there will be hard times and with them the opportunity to deepen your bond as husband and wife. 
Lori & Eric, please place your rings on each other's fingers and repeat after me. 
