Wedding Vows

 My Vows to Bennett

I am blessed to have you as my best friend, my confidant, my rock that steadies me, and my comforter when I am anxious or afraid.

Thank you for continuously supporting me and encouraging me to believe in myself.

I love how you always make me feel beautiful even when I am a mess, and I love that you spoil me with sushi and chocolate popsicles. The safety and openness I feel with you allow me to be silly and laugh with you, which is one of the best feelings in the world.

I promise to be your best friend, your confidant, your strength when you need someone to be strong for you, your comforter when you are sad or upset.

I promise to stand beside you and hold your hand… sharing my life, my dreams, my heart – all that I am. I promise that you will never have to face the world alone.

Thank you for sharing the rest of your life with me.

Forever will not be long enough to show you how much I LOVE YOU!

Always keep me in your heart and wear this ring as a reminder of my love.

The passion of love bursting forth 

is more powerful than death

and stronger than the grave

Love cannot be quenched with oceans or floods

It cannot be bought.

I give you this ring as a promise of my unending love..for I have found the one my soul had searched for...I am yours and you are mine.

With this ring, I promise to be your wife, partner, and best friend for the rest of our lives.

Welcome friends and family. I’ll try to keep this short (take out papers) Today marks the 3^rd day of Tishrei, the 3^rd day of the Hebrew New Year. Hatchala Chadasha – That means to a new beginning. With the new year we start our new beginning. We start our lives as a married couple, joined together in front of you, our friends, family and God. It is a new beginning. We won’t be starting a new family and having children But we can sure try. We will be officially joining our families together to make a new family. We will be celebrating with our children Josh, Rory, Jessica, our grandchildren Mack and Sylvia Grace, with Dani and Miki and with Jacob and Salina and our newest grandbaby Elizabeth. Let’s not forget Buffie’s mother, sisters and all the rest of the family that has welcomed me into their hearts. Thank you all.
We will be living together for the first time in a new house in a new place, a new beginning. Best of all we will be in a new relationship. Not boyfriend and girlfriend, not fiancés but husband and wife. It’s because we love each other and want to be married in the eyes of God all mighty. We’ve wanted and prayed for this for a long time. Today, it is finally happening… something new. Marriage is a holy contract. It is so much more than 2 people living together. It is 2 separate lives that merge and become one NEW life together. In our case it is two families that merge into one as well.
Buffie, I call you my angel, my gift from God. What greater gift can the Father give his children then the gift of the love and the companionship of a soul mate? As I look out at the faces of our children today, I pray that they will all be as blessed with a love like ours. I love and cherish you Buffie, my sweet, beautiful bride. It seems like the more I love you, the more you love me and then I love you even more… That is why our love grows stronger every day. I vow to love you Buffie and to love you more every day of our lives together.
 
In Hebrew the groom says: Ani l’dodi, v’dodi lee
I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.  This Jewish marriage vow is from the Song of Solomon 6:3
It refers to giving yourself to your soul mate, the person you want to spend your life with. The person you want to share yourself with. Intimacy is not only relegated to the body but to the mind as well. To be intimate in spirit, in belief. This little phrase encompasses so much. It is a commitment before family friends and GOD to give yourself wholly to your spouse. I make that commitment to you here, today.
Another Hebrew wedding vow is "Harey at mekuddeshet li b'taba'at zo k'dat Moshe v'Israel." 
These words translate to "Behold, thou art consecrated unto me with this ring according to the law of Moses and of Israel."
Today in front of the Lord God All Mighty, we consecrate ourselves to one another, entering into a sacred covenant of love, trust and commitment. I promise to cherish, honor and support you, striving ever to be loving, tolerant, patient, honest, fair and loyal.
With God as my witness, I love you and with this ring I thee wed.