Our wedding vows…

Vows to my groom…

Jonathan, I want to start off by saying how blessed I am to be the woman you chose to commit your life to. You are so much more than I ever imagined or prayed for. I love the man that God is molding you to be.

Jonathan, what first drew me in to you when we first met was your heart for the Lord. I always say you have the sweetest soul and it comes from a genuine love for God. I noticed this on the first day we met when we talked about our faith and you showed me the little church in Monrovia you grew up in. I continued to see this as we began dating and I watched you speak in church and as we prayed together. Now here we are, and I am so thrilled to be entering this sacred marriage with you. In you, I have found the love of my life, my constant companion, my source of laughter and adventure.

Today, we embark on a grand adventure … in front of all of our family, friends and God. Today, I give you all that I am and I choose you just as you are today and every day to be my husband.

Jonathan, my first vow to you is to continue to make Jesus the center of our relationship. I vow to be a good listener and speak to you gently. I vow to be your biggest cheerleader, motivating you and challenging you to live up to the calling you have received. Jonathan, I promise to be your ray of sunshine making all of your bad days brighter. I vow to pray for you and for our family every day. I vow to always be faithful to you and take care of you no matter what life throws our way. Jonathan, I vow to respect and trust you. I also promise to scratch your head when you’re tired. And lastly Jonathan, I vow to love you unconditionally for the rest of my life.

In all we will experience–whether it be joy, sorrow, peace, anxiety, hope–I promise to stand by your side, to hold your hand, to laugh it off and try again. Jonathan, I promise to walk through life with you forever and always. These are my vows to you.

Vows to my bride…

Caitlin, from the first time I met you, I experienced the heart of our God in a way I never have before. The sweetness of your smile, your warm embrace, the fruits of your faith in the Lord Jesus, your concern for others, and the love and loyalty you have for your family, are traits that have left an imprint on my soul forever. In so many ways, you have been a testament of what God’s true love is. The countless times you would stay up until 11:30 at night for a short phone conversation about my day when you would have to wake up at 3:30 the following morning will always remind me what sacrificial love is. And today as I make my vows to you, they will be pure reflections of the amazing woman you have already been to me since knowing you. Next to my relationship with God, I vow to show you every single day that you are my number one priority. To put your cares, fears, concerns and doubts before my own. I have been given a task by God that is both a responsibility and an amazing privilege, to love you as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. This kind of love is not merely an emotion or feeling, this love that God commands involves sacrifice, selflessness and a consistency that is unshakable. With that being said, I want to promise before God and everyone here, to love you this way for the rest of our lives.

I vow to lift you up everyday in my prayers, to read the Bible with you, and to provide an environment of living for you where you will blossom and thrive for Christ. I vow to stand by you in sickness, ahead of you in trials, behind you in support, and with you in joy. I vow to affirm you in public and private. I vow to continually pursue you by making date night a priority. I vow to remember that neither one of us is perfect, but to strive to remind myself of the ways we are perfect for each other. And lastly, I vow to be faithful to you, and to never leave your side. I turn to God to support me in my desire to be a worthy husband of your love. I am so excited that after all of the goodbyes we have had, we finally get to go home together, and Lord willing one day, start a family. These are my vows to you.

And our first look…

A note on first looks …

To be honest with you I had never been a fan of “the first look.” I always imagined our first look would be when I come down the isle. But something inside me told me to do a first look and so we did and I am so thankful we did.

This completely helped settle down my nerves and made reading our vows go a lot more smooth. We got the chance to see each other and read our letters to each other before anyone else saw us. It was such a special, intimate moment for us.  I can now say that the first look is soo worth it. I couldn’t imagine not doing it because it really helped me shake off those nerves and so by the time it came to read vows in front of everyone, I felt I was able to speak more clearly. I highly recommend doing this. Even if you think you won’t be nervous on your wedding day, you probably will.

It’s a big day.