At James Stokes & Co. Photographers, we don’t just capture the love stories of our clients; we also cherish the moments within our own family. As seasoned photographers and wedding enthusiasts, James and I (Katie) have had the privilege of documenting and even participating in the weddings of several beloved family members. Our upcoming post is a special one, as we share the details of a recent project—our sister’s wedding in August 2024. This blog will provide a sample wedding ceremony outline and speech that perfectly reflects the love and faith shared by the couple. Join us as we blend professional insight with personal experience to offer a heartfelt guide for couples who cherish their Christian faith.
Photo Credit: Bert James Photography
Welcome & Opening Remarks
PLEASE STAND FOR THE BRIDE
You may be seated.
On behalf of Johnny & Karissa, I want to welcome and thank you all for being here on this lovely August afternoon. Whether you journeyed from near or far, your presence here in this beautiful setting means the world to them.
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You did it! You two look amazing – we hope today you feel cherished and celebrated for the two remarkable people that you are and the union you’re commemorating today. What began as a serendipitous meeting has blossomed into this incredible moment and ultimately in a family.
Acknowledgments
Before we get rolling, I’d like to thank my wife, Katie, for her unwavering dedication to family. Your love and support are a true testament to your loyal and unrelenting character as a loving nurturer mother, sister, & friend.
You truly are a force and your talents never cease to amaze us!
To everyone who helped make this day possible, you know who you are and we wouldn’t be here without your efforts. A heartfelt thank you on behalf of the lovely couple and their families. It is our hope that you all feel welcome and have a blast!
To Karissa’s father, Rick, thank you for raising such a kind, loving individual, who has such a deep love and care for those around her. It is your example she has followed all these years. Your sacrifice and servant’s heart is a rare find and I know Karissa is honored to be the daughter of a man who loves as recklessly as you do. Your influence is evident in the beautiful soul standing before us today. Johnny is truly blessed to have Karissa by his side and as the mother of his children.
To Johnny’s parents & grandparents, your work ethic, and perseverance have shaped Johnny into the man he is today. There isn’t anything this young many can’t do. He is so incredibly talented and I admire his tenacity and willingness to try anything. He is fearless in his pursuit of new skills and knowledge. We know that whatever you set your mind to, you will accomplish. How fortunate both Atlas and Octavia are to call you their daddy. A title you cherish and assume wholeheartedly.
And to all of you, the friends and family who have supported these two, your job is not over! I charge you to continue to point them toward each other in love, faith, and mutual support as they continue in their lives together. It takes a village and you’re their people!
To the Couple:
While each of you may have faced your own unique challenges along this journey, your paths have converged, and it is grace that has carried you to this moment. You’ve decided to commit to each other and create a covenant with your Heavenly Father – who promises to give you all you need.
He promises today and always that nothing can separate you from His love. When your love fails – he remains steadfast and in it you will find peace that transcends all understanding. Furthermore, in the years ahead, you will find strength in the eternal hope that only he can provide.
It is in God’s example, that we are shown forgiveness. Our confession to God and each other grants us freedom from our past and victory over sin and the world.
In every circumstance, God promises to give us more of himself! – To always be with us through life’s twists and turns. We invite him here today and later you will invite him into your union.
God does not promise a life and marriage free from trouble, he doesn’t promise you wealth or a new crotch rocket, he doesn’t promise to answer your prayers immediately, he doesn’t promise you won’t get cancer, in fact he says he will use life’s suffering to grow your faith and character.
God doesn’t promise you will have a sinless life or that by following Christ you will have an instagram perfect marriage. Life will not always appear to be fair, yet God’s ultimate sovereignty holds all things together and he is working ALL THINGS FOR YOUR GOOD!
This side of heaven, you’re two broken people saying through all of this and more, you will make a home and be a shelter for one another. You promise to be signposts for each other, your children, and the world that Jesus is the savior and He resigns above all!
With your God-given strengths and abilities, you are called to serve each other selflessly in humility. The foundation you’re setting begins in your home and it has the power to transform not only your family, but generations and with it all of society.
Mother Teresa said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family”
Sounds really easy and common, yet all of us here likely know all too well the wounds caused by those closest to us. The two of you will hurt each other. Your children will disobey you.
So, what are you going to do about it?
John Mark Comer writes, “Transformation happens over time, not overnight. It requires patience, persistence, and a deep commitment to the way of Jesus.”
Will the fluffy gospel of self-love and romance carry you through life’s toughest challenges? Can your snap score rescue you, or will you seek comfort in fleeting distractions? Will you lose yourself in gaming, scrolling, or the 500 hours of videos uploaded to YouTube every minute, hoping to numb yourself?
All of these things and more are what the prophet Jeremiah calls broken cisterns. Wells that were supposed to hold rainwater, but failed to do so. All of these things the world has to offer us will not quench our thirst in our search for the Glory that can only be experienced in the presence of the one who created us for himself.
Psalm 18:19 tells us that we were created for God’s enjoyment and delight! He takes delight in you! And not just when you look like this! How amazing is that? Even on our worst hair day, Jesus sees us, knows what we’re going through, and is always our number one fan and advocate. We all need people in our corner who will push us back out into the ring of life – telling us we’re doing great even when you look and feel like a hot mess after pulling double overtime or breastfeeding every waking minute of the day. You don’t have to have it all together.
Meredith Grey says to Cristina Yang:
“You’re my person. You will always be my person.”
Be each other’s person.
And yet, you weren’t created to fulfill every need, desire, or whim for each other. You aren’t each other’s superhero or source of happiness. Embrace the freedom in this truth—you don’t have to be perfect or meet every expectation. Joy is found in the relationship that God is calling all of us to.
Francis Chan, a respected pastor and author, offers this perspective on the purpose of marriage:
“Marriage is not primarily about making us happy, but about making us holy. Through the highs and lows of married life, we are challenged to love one another as Christ loves the Church, and in doing so, we undergo the process of sanctification.”
God doesn’t expect perfection – but he does ask you to keep showing up each day with all that you have, prayerfully, graciously, humbly – giving freely of yourselfs in obedience to the calling he has put before you.
Jesus bids you to come and drink the water that only he can offer and he promises that you will never be thirsty again.
One of my all-time favorite stories in the bible starts with a conversation Jesus has with a woman at the well asking her for water.
This isn’t your ordinary first-century interaction. According to tradition, Jesus should not have spoken to a Samaritan woman, he was breaking all the rules. He was a rebel like that, going against the entrenched dogmas and prejudices of his day. To help put this into context, the woman at Jacobs well, was a Muggle from the other side of the Hogwarts Express who had been married five times and Jesus was unlike anyone this world has ever seen, raising people and himself from the dead, even Harry Potter didn’t do that.
This unlikely woman was the person God chose to reveal that he was the long-awaited Messiah who would save and deliver his people after 1500 years of prophecy. Her. He picked her. Someone no one else wanted.
The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1:4-5
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
He wants us! Even if we’re team Slytherin.
That means that God chose you for himself and ultimately created your union and any children that come from you to be part of his family. You’re called to raise them up in the Lord.
Johnny this is the most important job you have next to fixing all our things with motors that the Stokes kids break!
Joking aside, nothing else when life is over will have more significance than how you lived out your calling to your family. He doesn’t just send us a manual in five different languages and expect us to figure it out, although I have do doubt you could.
– For every step of the way, there is Grace and a master reset button in the form of repentance.
Marriage Advice
Karissa and Johnny, I wanted to share some marriage advice with you, offered by someone you love dearly, but couldn’t be here today.
“Age is a natural part of life.” That is according to God’s plan for us. If you fight against it too long, you spoil it. If you accept it you will be free to be yourself. Our human diminishment is the necessary change that we undergo to find a richer life and time itself comes to naught because we are born for eternity.
Grandma Judy or “Doodoo” as she is so fondly called titled her book “Counting My Blessings.”
She made it her life’s work to live a life full of gratitude – spending each day finding the joy in her career as a nurse, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother documenting much of it for us to remember that we are her greatest Blessings.
We see so many of the same qualities that she has in you and at the early age of five grandma Judy wrote this quote from you.
“Grandma, It Be’s How It Be’s,”
A simple yet profound statement that reflects your early understanding and acceptance of reality. Things are the way they are, and we have to accept them as they come, not resisting or overthinking our circumstances, but finding peace in life as it unfolds.
Grandma went on to write, “So many memories of us together through good times and bad we have managed together and will continue to do so. All of this with the love and mercy of God as the most important guide as we walk through this life”.
I know that she would be so proud of you!
Charge to the Couple
Karissa, honor and support Johnny as you would honor and support the Lord. This means respecting his role as the leader of your home and valuing his efforts in guiding and providing for your family. Johnny, in turn, it is crucial that you conduct yourself with integrity and honor. Lead with wisdom, compassion, and responsibility. Your role as the head of the household requires you to be a model of strength and character, ensuring that your actions and decisions reflect a commitment to the well-being of your family and align with the values you hold dear.
You and I – we both understand the strong-willed nature of Shotliff women. Building and maintaining trust will be essential in your relationship. Make it a priority to encourage your wife each day through your words and actions. Be open and honest with her, seek guidance from trusted men in the Lord, and commit to praying continuously for your marriage. Learn how to vehemently disagree with one another and compromise. The realty is, men and women are wired very differently and you may want the same things from very different sides of the coin. Getting your feelings out on paper often goes way better than words said in haste or fragmented sentences text to one another during an argument.
Be okay in the silence, but do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Make that a rule in your home among others, like setting regular date nights, budget meetings, and monthly calendar conversations.
“Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”
In the spirit of this wisdom, remember that “To love is to have a strong desire for the well-being of another,” as beautifully reflected in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. Work together as a team, support each other, and remember, you are stronger together than apart.
Fight against every evil that willfully works against your marriage.
For followers of Jesus, marriage holds a sacred place in our faith as a divine institution established by God from the beginning in the Garden. It is not just a partnership but a covenant, a promise, that mirrors the relationship between Christ and the Church, characterized by unconditional, sacrificial, love and commitment.
As Dallas Willard wisely puts it, “The greatest challenge to becoming a loving person is to not become the kind of person who is easily hurt.”
Lastly, “Do not be afraid.” – Sure, the world can be a scary and unpredictable place. But over 70 times God called his children to not have fear and to be brave. We are called to trust in God’s sovereignty and will for our lives. He’s got this!
Unity Braid Ceremony & Scripture Reading
At this time, we will have the Unity Braid Ceremony. Rivalee would like to share a passage from Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV):
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Prayer of Blessing
Almighty God,
We thank You for the gift of marriage and the love that binds husband and wife together.
We lift up Johnny & Karissa to You as they stand before You today. We ask that You bless them with Your grace and presence. May their union be filled with mutual respect and unconditional love.
Grant them wisdom and understanding to nurture their relationship and build a home that reflects Your love. May their life together be marked by patience, kindness, and unwavering support.
Bless their journey together, Lord, and let Your guiding hand lead them through all the joys and challenges they may face. May they find strength in each other and comfort in Your promises.
We thank You for the love they share and the commitment they make to one another. Surround them with Your peace and joy, and let their marriage be a testament to Your grace.
In Your holy name, we pray,
Amen.
Exchange of Vows
Karissa and Johnny, please join hands and repeat after me.
Johnny:
Karissa, I vow to be your husband, living together in the union of marriage. To be your best friend and partner in life. To honor, cherish, and love you and forgive you always, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all our days with the help of God.
Karissa:
Johnny, I vow to be your wife, living together in the union of marriage. To be your best friend and partner in life. To honor, cherish, and love you and forgive you always, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all our days with the help of God.
Exchanging of the Rings
Noah, can you give Johnny the rings?
Johnny, as you place the ring on Karissa’s finger, please repeat after me:
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my abiding love, a promise to be faithful all the days of my life.”
Karissa, as you place the ring on Johnny’s finger, please repeat after me:
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my abiding love, a promise to be faithful all the days of my life.”
Pronouncement
And now, without further ado, by the power vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the State of Wisconsin, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. Johnny, you may kiss your bride.
Closing Remarks
Family and friends, it is my honor to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Johnny and Karissa Boblick
