Words for the Bride and Groom

On June 14, 2019, Danielle and Aaron were married. It was a beautiful and God honoring day. These are the words that I shared with them during the reception.

Family and Friends, thank-you so much for coming and making this day in the lives of Danielle and Aaron so special. You all have had a part in these two becoming the people that they are today. Thank-you for your part in their lives.

On November 30, 1991, Dave and I were married. After our good friend, Eric Mounts, pronounced us husband and wife, Dave and I walked out of the auditorium and into the foyer. At that moment, Dave started crying. I had never seen him cry before and I thought, “What’s wrong? Does he not want to be married?.” I have come to find out that Dave cries only at the big events in our lives, weddings, graduations, and I cry at all the little events in between.

Aaron and Danielle,

This has been a wonderful first day in your life together as husband and wife. Your marriage ceremony was God honoring and very worshipful, just as God meant for it to be as a symbol of our marriage as the church to Christ. Thank-you for leading us in worship during your beautiful wedding ceremony.

Aaron, we have been praying for you for 22 years. We didn’t know who God would send into Danielle’s life, but we knew the kind of young man we wanted God to send. We have been praying for a young man who loved God with his heart, his soul, his mind, and all his strength. We have been praying for a young man who would be a gentleman and a gentle leader for this special daughter of ours. We have been praying for someone who is kind, thankful, respectful, and thoughtful, a hard and dedicated worker who will provide for Danielle, and someone who follows Christ no matter the circumstances in life.

You, Aaron, are that answer to our prayers. Thank-you, Dan and Resa, for raising this wonderful young man. Aaron, we are so excited to welcome you into our family. Being the oldest like Danielle, you are also the guinea pig. Being in-laws is new for us, but we will happily practice on you. We may try to convert your allegiance, but if you remain an Ohio State fan we will still love you. We never want to take the place of your parents, but we would be honored if you would now call us “Dad and Mom.”

Danielle, what a treasure you are to our family. We have been preparing for this next chapter in your life for 22 years. I have tried to teach you how to cook, how to clean, how to work hard, how to care for your family, and most of all how to serve and love our Savior. I have not always done everything right, but it has been a joy to raise you and nurture you. Remember our first conversation about boys. We talked about how important it was to save your heart for that right young man. You were 12 when we had that conversation. My goal has been to model and teach to you how to be “virtuous woman who is far above rubies” taken from one of my favorite passages in Scripture, Proverbs 31. So we went and got your ears pierced and I gave you ruby earrings to help you remember how important that was. When you were 16, we went to the Dodge house and talked more about boys and what you should look for in a husband and made a list of the those qualities. We also talked about how important purity was. For about 8 weeks, we sat on the back veranda of the Dodge house and every time we sat there I reminded you that you were a princess and how valuable you were. We gave you a ruby ring to again remind you how important purity of heart and body is and also to once again remind you that “your value is far above rubies.”  It has been fun to look at your pink fuzzy notebook and see the list of qualities you wanted in your future husband. Aaron, you have all those qualities, even the blue eyes.

Just last week, Danielle, we had another conversation about being a virtuous woman and I gave you a ruby necklace. The next step is for you to not only be a virtuous woman but also a virtuous wife. “Your value is above rubies.”

Aaron and Danielle, as you start this next lifelong chapter in your lives, remember how much your family loves you. We are always here for you. Aaron, as you love Danielle like Christ loves the church she will be as Solomon says “a crown to her husband.”