WHY WE LOVE
WEDDINGS SO MUCH

In a world deeply longing for restoration and healing, marriage is one of God’s chosen means to remind us of Christ’s love for his bride, the Church. God created marriage, and God loves the celebration of weddings. We know this because the Bible begins and ends with a wedding. Immediately after the creation of the universe, the Earth, and everything in it, we have the first. Eve was taken out of Adam’s side so that he might embrace with great love a part of himself–a partner for life. Listen to his joy!

“This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen 2:23).

These are the first human words and the first lines of poetry in the Bible. Adam had found his longed-for love, and their relationship was so closely tied together that his own name is embedded in hers, revealing the deep intimacy of the marriage relationship. Adam’s shouts of joy echo down to this very day, your wedding day, loudly proclaiming the joy and intimacy of marriage.

The last wedding, in Revelation 21, is the wedding of Christ and his Church, when Jesus the groom is joined with his bride at last, having pursued her and given himself for her, selflessly sacrificing his life for her. The bride is presented to him, her radiance shining like a jewel, adorned beautifully in pure white. That day is coming, but until then…

HUMAN MARRIAGE REFLECTS
An extravagant love

Human marriage is the closest reflection we have of the relationship between Jesus Christ and his beloved people. What you must remind yourselves of as you prepare to enter into marriage is the lengths to which Jesus went to act on his love for his covenant people, including each of you. 

1 John 4:10 captures this well:  Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

Despite our depravity, Jesus Christ still pursues, seeks after and dies for his bride, a people, who do not love Him rightly. This is the logic of grace: I do not love God rightly, and yet God pursues and loves me. We thank God for the gift that marriage is; that it shows the most beautiful reflection of the extravagant love He has shown each of us, in that while we didn’t deserve it, He died for us.

The most sacred earthly covenant

It is the absolute biggest honor to witness two people declaring their intention to enter into marriage with one another by the Grace of Jesus Christ through whom, by whom, and for whom they both were created. Marriage is the most sacred earthly covenant, and the vows our couples make represent the most important commitment in their lives short of your commitment to faith in and obedience to Christ Jesus as Lord. We cry almost every time.

Do you take this woman to be your wife; to live  together out of reverence for Christ in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? 

Or this…

I take you, to be my husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward: for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; In sickness and in health; To love and to cherish, Till death do us part; According to God’s holy law; In the presence of God I make this vow.

As we listen to marriage vows each week, we know the vows are useless apart from the power and strength of the Holy Spirit in our couple’s lives, and so we pray that the Holy Spirit would empower them to keep their vows, strengthening them in their love for one another as they continually place their faith in Jesus, the savior of the world. May HE guard you and keep you, leading you in grace and in truth.

May you always be dazzled with each other.
May you be amazed that God has given you such a love. What a gift. 
May you plumb the depths and ascend the heights of each other’s very being.
May every season of life be graced with a deeper love.
May your love grace your family.
May your love grace the church.
May your love grace a world that needs it deeply.
Lift high the cross.
Keep the covenant.
Stay close to Jesus.

You are UnveIling
the mystery of christ

Decades from now, you will look back on your PERFECT DAY. Our continual prayer for each of our couples is that your marriage will be a continual unveiling of the mystery of Christ; that even though the rest of the world may one day see you growing older, because of God’s grace you will see each other become more and more beautiful. Someday you will stand before God in such beauty that it will make your wedding clothes look like rags. In your life and in your marriage, look to the Lord always and be strengthened by his Holy Spirit that dwells within you.

Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate!

This “why” page was extremely influenced by a BEAUTIFUL ceremony script at one of our 2024 weddings. The officiant was gracious enough to share the script with us and any future couples. Please let us know if you would like us to share it with you. You can check out the photos from Heidi and Josh’s beautiful day HERE.