Leah & Alex's Wedding

Leah & Alex's Wedding

On Saturday June 8 2019 I had the incredible good fortune to marry my friends Alex and Leah at Madison's Olbrich Gardens. What an incredibly lovely and warm location to match  the lovely and warm couple! The ceremony was quick and fun!

 

Leah GLOWED in her lace gown!

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Approach

[Father and mother of the bride walks Leah down aisle]

[Father of the bride hands off Leah to Alex]

Introduction: Siobhan

 

[To all]

 

Welcome family and friends.

 

On behalf of Leah and Alex, we are so thankful you’re here to participate in this joyous occasion. The couple has professional photographers here to capture the best version of events, so please put away cell phones for now. 

Following the ceremony, the bride and groom would like to spend a few moments with each of you before their first dances. So, get ready to hug them on their way back down the aisle!

 

 

[To bride and groom]

 

Leahat this time, I’ll have you hand off your bouquet.

 

[Leah hands off bouquet]

 

Reading: Siobhan

To Leah and Alex

Leah and Alex, today you are surrounded by your loved ones, all of whom have made a journey, some of great distances and some… not so much… to be here with you and witness your wedding ceremony. So what I’d like you to do now is take a moment to look around you and let it all soak in. Maybe wave at a couple folks.

 

Leahand Alex you and I have known each other for a little while now, brought together by Madison’s happenin’ dog scene and what can only be described as the sheer gravitational pull of our mutual friend Lindsey.

 

As I’ve gotten to know the two of you over drinks and dogs, I can see that you’re the perfect complement to one another. You’re both so warm, loving, funny, sincere, open, and genuine. These are all the qualities we value in you and you value in one another.

 

 

TO AUDIENCE

 

So let me tell you all a little bit about what brings us all together today. As with many modern love tales, Leah and Alex met through Facebook back in… let me make sure I get this right… 2013… or was it the end of 2012… or yep could have been May of 2013.

 

Alex went on tour with his band and he can’t remember if they talked during that time but they probably started hanging out in February at a bar that was in either Milwaukee or Madison that was named Spooky’s House or was it Ground Zero.

 

Anyhow, they cemented their love for one another by celebrating their 11-month, or one-year, or 15-month anniversary with a trip back to Milwaukee where they may or may not have been together before.

To Leah and Alex

 

All joking aside, Leah and Alex, in the time that you’ve known one another, you’ve blossomed together as a couple and individually within your relationship. You’ve committed to continuing to build a fantastic life together full of dogs, movies, lovely friendships, napping, music, dog parks, and dog parties.

 

Your devotion to one another is downright palpable. That is so powerful and it’s the reason we are here.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

At this time I’ll invite Leah’s parents to step forward to share a reading.

 

[READING]

 

I’d like to now invite Alex’s mother Rebekah to share a reading.

 

[READING]

 

Thank you, that was lovely.

 

 

 

Advising the Couple: Siobhan 

 

Leahand Alex, in the days ahead of you, you will see stormy times and calm times, times of conflict and times of joy.

 

Allow these thoughts to be your guide:

 

Hold hands when you argue.

Do your fair share of chores.

Try new things and visit new places together. Build new traditions together.

Every day take five minutes together or separately to intentionally appreciate your partner.

Continually embrace the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than break.

Always believe the best of one another rather than the worst.

Remain communicative, especially when something is hard to talk about.

Confide in and trust your partner. Ask for help when you need it.

Ask one another out on dates. When you get asked out on that date, get excited. Go on the date. Flirt with one another.

 

And finally during those stormy times ahead, remember this moment. Remember the depth of love you feel for one another right now.

 

 

Vows and Ring Exchange: Siobhan

 

Leahand Alex, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift. It's a lifelong commitment as well as a challenge to love one another more completely each and every day.

 

Just as the first chapter of your relationship has been full of love and joy, so too may the upcoming years bring you endless happiness.

 

May I have the rings, please?

 

Alex, please place the ring on Leah’s finger. Do you, Alex, take Leah to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage?  Do you promise to love, comfort, and honor her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live? If so, say I do.

 

 

Leah, please place the ring on Alex’s finger. Do you, Leah, take Alex to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage?  Do you promise to love, comfort, and honor him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live? If so, say I do.

 

Pronouncement: Siobhan

Alexand Leah, you have committed yourselves to each other in marriage by the exchanging of vows and rings in the presence of your friends and family.

 

May you live together in happiness from this day forward.

 

By the authority vested in me by the state of Wisconsin, it is with great joy I now pronounce you husband and wife.

 

Alex, you may kiss your wife!

 

[Kiss]

 

I now present Mr and Mrs Alex Gaspar!!!