I had one of the most amazing days of my life officiating at my best friend’s wedding this weekend.
It was a sweltering day (95 degrees outside!), but the bride and groom still looked beautiful and so incredibly happy under their wedding chuppah.
Ben and Lindsey had chosen many different elements to combine into their ceremony. They had both sets of parents escort them down the aisle, were married under a chuppah, were bestowed with the seven blessings, and had a wine ceremony, inspired from Ben’s Jewish heritage. The ring vows they shared were traditionally Lutheran, and they also had a hymn (”Morning Has Broken”) and a “Passing of the Peace” during the ceremony.
Lindsey really wanted a handfasting as well – she and I knit the cord that was used! The words we chose came from a favorite book of hers, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon:
You are Blood of my Blood,
and Bone of my Bone.
I give you my Body,
that we Two might be One.
I give you my Spirit,
’til our Life shall be Done.
My favorite moment had to be their love story – I know both Ben & Lindsey very well, but I still had them fill out the “Homework” I give to all of my couples – a questionnaire that has tons of questions about their relationship and what they love about each other. It was so incredible to read all of these details! They love story was light-hearted, and touching. The couple’s first conversation was an argument about who had better bagels – Montreal or New York City. When I talked about each bagel location, the family members from those locations cheered to show their bagel support!
I could not have asked for a more beautiful or perfect ceremony. It was beautiful, funny, touching, and sentimental. It was also incredibly emotional – I managed to NOT cry until the very, very end – my voice broke a little as I declared them husband and wife.
What an amazing ceremony. What wonderful friends. Lindsey and Ben are such an incredible people, and are going to have a blast being married. They’re in Hawaii for the next couple of weeks, and I’m sure they will have a beautiful time!
