The ceremony....

They say that most brides put a lot of time into their reception and little on their ceremony. Well I think I spent more time on the ceremony than anything and it was well worth it. The mothers and grandmothers came into Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) and the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen came into Unfailing Love. The selections were sung by Erin Mattox who has a beautiful voice. I came into Canon in D and was escorted by Terry Carter my old youth miniwster. Scott Kindig met us at the altar and told the stories of how we met and the lives that had impacted us. Scott prayed a prayer of blessing over us and joined our two lives. He talked about the fact that a a cord of three strands are not easily broken and what those three strands are made of (our faith in christ, our love for each other and home and the third was our service to the Body of Christ.) Jason Britt took over next after a reading from our friend Heather Heap and talked about the importance of vows and rings. We exchanged the vows that I wrote for us and our rings. I got a little nervous about the rings, but after a quick glance at Jennifer got it right. :) Our friend Stacey Burgess read what she had wrote for us and it was amazing. I actually remember most of it. Then after a precious prayer from Dustin we were led by Chad in our first communion as husband and wife. Chad did an incredible job. One of the most precious and memorable moments from the ceremony came when Chad asked us to turn around and see the people gathered to love on us. It really calmed us both down and was a great way to take in all the faces that were there. After communion and Give Us Clean Hands, we were pronounced husband and wife. We marched down the aisle to Sign, Sealed, Delivered I'm yours, which most everyone loved. It was a great ceremony that I know we will look back on throughout the years, glad that we planned it so carefully and made it a symbol of us.