The Wedding Ceremony of 

Lila and Nate

June 2, 2012

Homer, AK

Seating of Honored Guests

“Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root

Bridesmaids’ Procession

“Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole

Entrance of the Bride

 “The Book of Love” by Stephen Merritt

Welcome and Statement of Intent

Welcome everyone.  We are here today to celebrate the union of Lila and Nate in a life of love and happiness.  

To audience: Each of you has played a special part in their lives and your presence here means the world to them. Their greatest wish is that you leave here with unforgettable memories of today and their love for one another.

Nate and Lila want to especially acknowledge their families on this occasion; they offer their profound gratitude to their parents for all the love and care they showed in raising them. The unconditional gifts of love and support that you have continually given them have inspired them to become who they are today, and they thank you, from the bottom of their hearts, for guiding them to this celebration of love here today. Without you, this day would not be possible. 

We now welcome readings by family members.

Readings

·      Judy Little, Mother of the Bride

From The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods by Julia Butterfly Hill

"The trees in the storm don’t try to stand up straight and tall and erect. They allow themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go… Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are the ones that break. Now is not the time for you to be strong… or you, too, will break. Learn the power of the trees. Let it flow. Let it go. That is the way you are going to make it through [a] storm. And that is the way to make it through the storms of life."

·      Virginia Gray, Grandmother of the Bride

“A Time to Laugh” by Sister Joan Chittister, originally published in her book, There is a Season

1. Laugh when people tell a joke. Otherwise you might make them feel bad.

2. Laugh when you look into a mirror. Otherwise you might feel bad.

3. Laugh when you make a mistake. If you don't, you're liable to forget how ultimately unimportant the whole thing really is, whatever it is.

4. Laugh with small children… They laugh at mashed bananas on their faces, mud in their hair, a dog nuzzling their ears, the sight of their bottoms as bare as silk. It renews your perspective. Clearly nothing is as bad as it could be.

5. Laugh at situations that are out of your control. When the best man comes to the altar without the wedding ring, laugh. When the dog jumps through the window screen at the dinner guests on your doorstep, sit down and laugh a while.

6. When you find yourself in public in mismatched shoes, laugh -- as loudly as you can. Why collapse in mortal agony? There's nothing you can do to change things right now. Besides, it is funny. Ask me; I've done it.

7. Laugh at anything pompous. At anything that needs to puff its way through life in robes and titles…

8. Finally, laugh when all your carefully laid plans get changed; when the plane is late and the restaurant is closed and the last day's screening of the movie of the year was yesterday. You're free now to do something else, to be spontaneous… to take a piece of life and treat it with outrageous abandon.

·      Chani Little, Sister of the Bride

From Graces by June Cotner

"May your love be firm, 
and may your dream of life together 
be a river between two shores -- 
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night 
illuminated from within. May the heron 
carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring 
the sea's blue grace. May your twin thoughts spiral upward 
like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind, 
and be as noble as the Douglas fir. 
May you never find yourselves back to back 
without love pulling you around 
into each other's arms."

Wedding Message

It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship that keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life.  It is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friends nurture each other’s hopes, support each other in disappointments, and encourage one another to grow to their best potential. True friends can really get on each other’s nerves! But they never hold hard feelings. Lila and Nate came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship.

Nate and Lila, please join hands. 

Exchanging of Vows

NATE:

Lila, I love you. I want to marry you because you are my best friend. I love that you will go camping with me at the river every weekend and that you support my fishing habits! I promise to be a devoted and loving husband and father. I promise to support you and love you and our family in every way possible. I could never ask for a better wife and mother for our children. I promise to always put the toilet seat down. Love you, Babe!  

LILA:

Four years ago, I feel in love with you for your caring heart, your relaxed attitude, your sense of humor, and your love of adventure. You have been my playmate, confidant, and my greatest challenge. But most importantly, you are my best friend and I choose you to be my one love for life. As we begin this journey together, I promise to care for you. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving. 
 I promise to keep a sense of humor and to regularly de- clutter the drawers and closets of my junk. 
But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you. 
 I love you.

Ring Ceremony

And so we come, Lila and Nate, to the presentation of rings by which you symbolize and bind your love.

Your rings are circles: the symbol of unity, of wholeness, and of perfection; of the sun, the earth, and the universe.  They are without beginning or end and have no point of weakness. Let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love and friendship.

Nate, place the ring on Lila’s finger and repeat after me:  “Lila, I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love you and be true to you, forever and always.”

Lila, place the ring on Nate's finger and repeat after me:  “Nate, I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love you and be true to you, forever and always.”

Engagement Ring Ceremony:

The engagement ring is a symbol of promise and intention. Now the intention is realized and the promise fulfilled. Please place your engagement ring on Lila's finger over her wedding band to symbolize the love that brought you together will always protect and sustain your marriage.

Pronouncement of Marriage

I am pleased to pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss one another.

Blessing of Marriage

Nate and Lila, in this company of friends and family, you have joined yourselves together in matrimony. May the commitment and devotion that you feel for one another grow stronger every day of your marriage. Love is the greatest treasure that we have the ability to share with one another. Never take each other for granted and always enjoy one another’s company. 

Presentation of Couple

Family and Friends, I present to you for the first time as husband and wife, Nate and Lila!

Recessional and Receiving Line

“Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

 

Wedding Party and Participants

Officiate                      Steve Wolfe

Maid of Honor            Sonja Lapinski

Bridesmaids                Chani Little

                                 Mary Simondsen

Best Man                     Darren Riley

Groomsman                Eris Johnson

                                                     

Flower Girls                Grayce Geagel

                                  Samantha Geagel

                                  Trinity Pedersen

Ring Barers                 Dakota Geagel

                                  Michael Geagel

Dedication

We would like to dedicate this ceremony to our fabulous grandparents and loved ones who have left this world. Their love and influence will always be remembered! A chair is left open for Barney Johnson, a dear friend of the bride. We love you, Jumbo Prawn! 

Expressions of Our Gratitude

Each of you has played a special part in our lives and your presence here means the world to us. Thank you for traveling from near and far to celebrate with us! We would especially like to thank our grandparents, Virginia and Bill Gray and Dorothy Johnson, for being here to spend this day with us.

We would like to acknowledge our families on this occasion; we offer our profound gratitude to our parents for all the love, care and support they have provided in raising us. Judy and John Little and Kathy and Arn Johnson – the unconditional gifts of love and support that you continually give us have inspired us to become who we are today, and we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for guiding us to this celebration of love.

Today means a lot to us, and there were countless people who contributed to its success. Thank you 

all so very much!! A special thank you to Steve Wolfe. Thank you to Dorothy and Bill Fry, Nikki 

Geragotelis, and Lauren Isenhour for all your help, advice, and generosity.  Thank you to Debbie 

Limacher, Kim and Gordon Terpening, Cindy Brinkerhoff, and Charlotte Adamson - for everything!

Thanks to Kathy and Arn Johnson for graciously welcoming guests and helping with the food; and

to Hilary Richardson, Danielle Petta-Flores and Ryan Dexter, Brian Henderson, Rani Berg, Mary 

Simondsen and Jeanne and Weston Gray for being wonderful wedding consultants and helping 

decorate. Thanks to Dana Bachiochi for the incredible invitation art. Thank you to Arn and 

Eris Johnson, fishermen extraordinaire, and to all the ladies who made hors d'oeuvres! Thanks to the Geagels’/Pedersen’s for lending us their well-dressed children. Thank you to John Little for hours 

of invitation-folding, wedding set-up, and for building the driftwood arch of our dreams along with 

Jeff Little. And to Judy Little, Chani Little, and Sonja Lapinski  - who did everything from folding 

invitations to making dozens of candles and crepe paper flowers to picking out dresses to arranging 

bouquets to answering frantic, middle-of-the-night texts about what type of chicken to serve

(among many other things) – you are the best friends anyone could ask for. We love you all so much!