Complete Book of Wedding Vows (37 page)

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Authors: Diane Warner

Tags: #Family & Relationships, #Marriage, #test

BOOK: Complete Book of Wedding Vows
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tender and nurturing father/mother as well, always there for __________________ and __________________, not only providing their physical needs, but their emotional needs as well, always a good listener, a loving counselor and a friend."
"Because of you, my heart is at peace at last; because of you, I am happy and stable; because of you, I look forward to the future with joy instead of dread; because of you, my world is whole again; because of you, I believe in marriage anew; and because of you, my children will be blessed with a loving mother / father. You are the kindest, gentlest, most loving person I have ever met; what a blessing that I met you that day after church (personalize this to meet your circumstances) and that our friendship grew into a love that is eternal. I commit myself to you this day as your husband / wife and as the mother / father of your children. May God bless our marriage and our new family."
Up Close and Personal
This is a true story that is very dear to my heart because it is the love story of my son and the woman he married almost two years ago. Darren was a 29-year-old attorney when he met Lisa, and by that time my husband and I were beginning to wonder if he would ever find someone who would meet his high standards.
One summer Sunday afternoon when Darren was playing his trombone with a Sacramento jazz band at a charity
 
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concert, he noticed a stunning woman in the audience and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. There was quite a crowd there that day and she disappeared after the concert before he could come up with a way to meet her, although he did ask around to see if anyone knew who she was. Finally, two months later his band was playing for another fund raiser when he saw her again in the audience, and this time he wheedled an introduction. She told Darren immediately about her recent divorce and her young son, expecting Darren to lose interest. He didn't, however, and although she refused to give him her telephone number, he finally convinced her to take his telephone number and give him a call sometime.
After an agonizing week of waiting, Darren finally heard from her and the two of them hit it off immediately over the phone. After a week of telephone conversations, they agreed to meet at a restaurant for dinner, which became their first date.
Slowly, but surely, they got to know each other, fell in love and were eventually married at The Lodge at Pebble Beach in Carmel on an elevated terrace overlooking the ocean and the 18th green. Lisa's son, Jeffrey, was 3 years old at the time of the wedding, and this is the vow Darren wrote and recited to him that day as Darren knelt down and placed an arm around Jeffrey who stood sweetly and quietly in his miniature black tuxedo:
"Jeffrey, I promise to be there as a father to you, to protect you, to support and comfort you and our family, and to love you all the days of my life."
I usually do a pretty good job of keeping my emotions under control during a wedding, but this was one time I lost it completely and couldn't step the flow of tears. In fact, both my husband and I had a tough time controlling our
 
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emotions because of the joy we felt for all three of them. We were so happy for Darren to have finally found Lisa, such a beautiful person inside and out, but to also have little Jeffrey as part of his instant family was almost more joy than our hearts could bear.
''Not only do I vow to be a good and faithful husband to you, ____________________, but I also vow to be a patient, loving father to ________________, ______________ and ______________, caring for them and providing for them as my own. I vow to be their strength and their emotional support, loving them with all my heart from this day forward."
"As we become one on this, our wedding day, we become part of each other: your feelings become my feelings; your sorrows become my sorrows; your joys become my joys; your worries become my worries, and your children become my children. I promise to be a true and faithful husband / wife and father / mother, always there to comfort you, rejoice with you and endure all the complexities of life that we will face together as a family in the years to come. My love for you and the children is pure and unshakable and I hereby commit myself to all of you from this day forth and forevermore."
In a recent wedding on a yacht anchored at a marina on Orcas Island in the San Juans, a couple recited their vows. The bride stood with her two children at her side. When the minister asked her:

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