|
Chapter
29: Kiss The Bride
Next, Reverend Callahan asked
Jack and Sue to repeat the sacred vows to each other. Do you Jack Hudson take
Sue Thomas to be your wife to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her,
comfort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness
and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others as long as
you both shall live, until death do you part? Jack says; I do.
Do you Sue Thomas take
Jack Hudson to be your husband to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love
him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness
and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others as long as
you both shall live, until death do you part? Sue says; I do.
At last, it is time for Jack and Sue to exchange wedding rings.
Reverend Callahan goes on with the ceremony with these words. May
these rings be blessed as the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives
are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go may they always return to one another and may these two find in each
other the love for which all men and women yearn. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home which they establish together be such a place that many will find there a friend. May these
rings on their fingers symbolize the touch of the spirit of love in their hearts.
Then
Jack Hudson, in placing this ring on Sue Thomas’s finger, repeat after me: Sue Thomas, you are now consecrated to
me as my wife from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with
this ring, I thee wed.
Next, Reverend Callahan turns to Sue Thomas, in placing this ring on Jack Hudson’s finger, repeat after
me: Jack Hudson, you are now consecrate to me as my husband from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge
of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed.
Jack
slipped a gold band graced with a princess-cut solitaire diamond with three baguette diamonds on either side on her finger
at last. Sue slipped a gold band with seven round diamonds for a comfortable fit in a gold channel on his finger at last. The wedding rings are a symbol of their lasting commitment to each other, a circle
of love with no beginning and no end.
Reverend Callahan ends the ceremony with these words.
May you always share with each other the gifts
of love; be one in heart and in mind; may you always create a home together that puts in your hearts and filled with love
and generosity and kindness. In as much as Jack Hudson and Sue Thomas have consented together in marriage before their company
of family and friends and have pledged their faith and declared their unity by giving and receiving a ring are now joined.
I ask our heavenly father
to bless this union, now and for all time and let no man put asunder. And so, by the power vested in me by
the State of Virginia and Almighty God, I now pronounce you man and wife and may your days be good and long upon the earth.
You may kiss your bride.
Jack drew her close and kissed her until they were both breathless. Then Jack took
Sue’s hand and marched her out of the church. The
wedding party and all other guests threw rice and birdseeds at the happy couple as Jack escorted
his bride to their sleek white stretch limousine. Right
before they got into the limo, Jack pulled her into his arms and gave her a drawn out kiss, guaranteed
to make them both tremble with anticipation of their wedding night.
When
he finally released her, he tucked a finger under her chin and gazed into her eyes. The ceremony was everything Sue could
have hoped for though it seemed to have passed by in a blur. Not to worry, everything was captured on video and on film, from
the moment they both arrived at the church.
|
