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A Joining of Souls
Took place June 21, 2008by Jeffrey Pierce
Briana and I were legally married on April 30, 2008 in an intimate ceremony in a century-old greenhouse at a local historical site. Wanting to share the experience with our friends and family, we gathered on June 21, 2008 to hold a handfasting, a bonding, and a celebration of our love and our union. My dad, Phil, performed the ceremony. These are our vows.
Phil (to those gathered): Welcome. We've gathered here today to celebrate the reunion of Briana and Jeffrey. I say, "reunion," because there is something timeless to the magic these two create together. Something bigger than what meets the eye. Briana and Jeffrey represent more than just a couple, more than just love, more than just the blending of a family. They represent the beginning of a dream. Those of you who know these two well know that they won't stop until they've changed the world, until they've made it a better place for their children and their children's children. What we celebrate today isn't merely love - it's the planting of a seed, a seed that these two have nurtured into a tiny seedling and that they're commited to nurturing until it's become a forest and spread beyond the two of them, until it's redefined the world.
When Briana and Jeffrey met, they had eached reached a fork in their own road. Each knew that to embrace the fullness of the potential that awaited them on the road ahead, that they couldn't do it alone. That they needed a partner. That they were better together than they were alone.
Briana and Jeffrey stand in the midst of the handfasting circle.
Jeffrey (to Briana): When I met you I was at a place in my life where I had so many dreams and I knew that I could never achieve them on my own. And when you came into my world, from the very first words you shared with me, I knew that I found that - an equal and a partner and someone who made me better than I could be on my own. I fell in love with you so quickly and I'll never stop loving you.Briana (to Jeffrey): I have dreamed of you my entire life and searched for you - and I found pieces of you here and there. Slowly, I realized what I wanted and I realized what I needed. And it was everything I've ever dreamed of and so much more. As soon as I met you, I knew. And I have never been happier. Never. And it get's better every day. I love you with all my heart.
"You may kiss the bride."
Phil (to those gathered): Briana and Jeffrey lived life before they found each other. With souls as beautiful as their own, other souls were drawn to them and entered their lives. That's why we're here. Each of us, in our own way, is here because we are a part of their world, of their life. But closest to their hearts are four children, Moira, Gavin, Caitlyn, and Celina. As Briana and Jeffrey weve themselves into a couple, they also weave their children into a family.
Cutting the cake that Bri's mom baked and decorated for the event.
Phil (to Jeffrey): Jeffrey, do you promise to love Caitlyn and Celina with all your heart, to watch over them and guide them as if they came from your seed, and to nurture them as they reach their dreams and support them in their endeavors.Jeffrey: I do.
Phil (to Briana): Briana, do you promise to love Moira and Gavin with all your heart, to watch over them and guide them as if they came from your womb, and to nurture them as they reach for their dreams and support them in their endeavors.
Briana: I do.
Tossing the bouquet.
Phil (to Jeffrey): Your word is as strong as your heart. What pledge do you give Briana, in front of all of those assembled here today?Jeffrey (to Briana): When I tell you that I admire you, that I see you as my equal and my partner, those aren't just words. I will support you in any dream you have. I will give you everything that I can give, every single day. I can't tell you what tomorrow will bring, but I can tell you that I'll be at your side. I'll be with you every step of the way. Tomorrow I'll love you more than I do today and the day after that I'll love you more. I'll never stop until we move on to whatever comes next and I'll love you even then.
Bri delights in our gong, a gift from Jeffrey's brother.
Phil (to Briana): Your word is as strong as your heart. What pledge do you give Jeffrey, in front of all those assembled here today?Briana (to Jeffrey): I... You used all of my words. [laughs] I pledge to love you with every fiber of my being; to the depths of my soul; forever and a day. And to grow and to strive to be the absolutely best person that I can be and to do that every single day, every single moment of every day, and to love you better than you every imagined a person could do. I love you.
Jeffrey offers Briana one last gift.
Phil (to those gathered): Your have born witness to this rite, to the words spoken here by Briana and Jeffrey, whose hearts and souls have intertwined as one. Love them. Support them. Encourage them. And now, as husband and wife, celebrate with them.Phil (to Briana and Jeffrey): May both of you be blessed, both in your union and in all your undertakings. You may kiss the bride.
Briana and Jeffrey Pierce
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