| Rehearsal | Friday, June 5, 4:30 p.m., Rockwood |
| Best Man | Thaddeus Zukowski |
| Matron of Honor | Laura Libby |
| Bride's parents | David and Anne Margot Nasjleti |
| Groom's parents | Marvin and Gail Aronson |
PRELUDE (4:30 P.M.)
PROCESSIONAL (5 P.M.): Air on a G String
Charlene walks to place at gazebo
Best man to right side gazebo
Groom and his parents (them in front) process;
parents sit in front row; groom to middle of right of gazebo facing forward
(Wagner's Bridal Chorus plays)
Bride and her parents process (them in front)
Bride's parents sit in front row
Bride stands in middle of left opening of gazebo
Bride and groom face minister
OPENING WORDS (Charlene)
We have come together today to join Esther Nasjleti and David Jacob Aronson in marriage, to be with them and to rejoice with them in the making of this important commitment. The essence of this commitment is the taking of another person in his or her entirety: as a lover, a companion, and a best friend. It is, therefore, a decision which is not to be made lightly, but reverently, thoughtfully, and in the knowledge that love is both humankind's highest achievement and life's most precious gift. Into this state Esther and Dave now come to be joined.
TO THE COUPLE
Marriage involves at once the highest privileges and the greatest responsibilities of life. Its achievement of happiness and success is dependent upon the mutual love, the unfailing patience, and the absolute fidelity of one to the other. You will henceforth lead a blended life, each seeking and promoting the joy, the comfort, the health, and the enrichment of the other, all of which will divide your sorrows and multiply your satisfactions.
But a good and growing marriage does not happen automatically. It is based upon the profound and lasting commitment you have made to each other which we are confirming today. It develops through continued sensitivity to each other, through giving of yourself, being open and understanding toward each other, and caring so much for the other person that his or her happiness is as important as your own.
Built upon a deep commitment, marriage grows not only through your joys and successes, but even more through your sorrows and disappointments. They are inevitable, and you must be as supportive as possible to each other when they come. Our lives are rewarded by the happiness that comes from success, but they are deepened and strengthened by suffering. May you have a full measure of the patience and understanding that you will need to see you through the hard times, the disagreements, and the disappointments, as well as the joys and satisfactions that will be part of your marriage.
Ultimately the members of a marriage are individuals, free souls seeking their individual ways. The love which they commit can lighten the burdens, can make the journey more joyful and fulfilling, and can ease the loneliness. But each remains a free soul, and the marriage must enhance the free movement of each and never try to bind its members.
READING, presented by Ed Nasjleti
The Presence of Love,
by Samuel Taylor ColeridgeAnd in Life's noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart's Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro' all my Being, thro' my pulses beat;
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light,
Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you,
How oft! I bless the Lot, that made me love you.
INTENTIONS
Dave and Esther, you met in a modern format, growing close to each other through an electronic medium even your parents couldn't have imagined. Yours was a growing but cautious relationship before you ever saw each other in person. It deepened through the written word imprinted on a cathode ray screen. And that relationship grew and developed into a deep and abiding love, a love which brings you here to bind yourselves in marriage.
Esther and Dave, you have shared with me that you believe marriage to be a promise to live two lives together, to create for each of the two a life more full and more joyful than either could have alone. We who are with you today share your joy. We wish for you a love that makes both of you better people, a love that continues to give you joy and zest for living, and a love that provides for you the energy to face the responsibilities of life together.
We wish for you a home not simply a place of stone and wood, but an island of sanity and serenity. We hope that this home is both a place of private joy and retreat and a temple wherein the values of your lives are generated and upheld. We hope that your home stands as a symbol of human beings living together in love and in peace.
Are you ready to make the promises by which you commit yourselves to each other in love? If so, answer, "We are."
(Bride and groom so respond)
(Charlene says to Esther then Dave)
Do you, Esther, take Dave, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, respect, trust, and remain faithful to, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?
If so, please say, "I do."
(Bride so responds)
Do you, Dave, take Esther, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, respect, trust, and remain faithful to, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live? If so, please say, "I do."
(Groom so responds)
(Charlene to those assembled)
Will all of you here gathered who have witnessed these promises help Dave and Esther to cherish and protect each other and to stand faithfully by them through the sorrows and joys of their lives? If so, respond by saying, "We will."
(Crowd so responds)
VOWS (bride hands flowers to bridesmaid)
Esther and Dave, please face each other and hold hands for the exchange of vows.
Dave, please repeat after me:
I, David, take you Esther, to be my wife. I will share with you everything I have, and everything I am, my heart and soul, my mind and body, and my joys and sorrows. I will love, respect, trust, and care for you, remaining faithful to you as long as we both shall live.
(Groom so repeats)
Esther, please repeat after me:
I, Esther, take you David, to be my husband. I will share with you everything I have, and everything I am, my heart and soul, my mind and body, and my joys and sorrows. I will love, respect, trust, and care for you, remaining faithful to you as long as we both shall live.
(Bride so repeats)
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
From the earliest of times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love. An unbroken and never ending circles symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you have made today.
(Best man holds rings in his hand; Charlene lays her hand over them.)
Let us bless these rings. Let them be the visible signs of the vows here made, that they who give them and who wear them may ever be reminded of their promises, evermore living and growing in the spirit of Love. You may now exchange rings.
(Best man hands bride's ring to groom)
Esther, this ring is a symbol of my love and respect for you, my trust in you, and my faithfulness to you. Its shape, a circle, symbolizes that these will never end. The gold it is made of symbolizes the value we place on them. The hole it forms symbolizes the emptiness of my life without you. Fill it, then, with your hand in marriage, and make me whole.
(Best Man hands groom's ring to bride)
David, this ring will be a reminder to you that I will love, trust, respect, and remain faithful to you forever. It will be a symbol to the world of our commitment to each other.
UNITY CANDLE
When two people marry, they unite their lives and their spirits, yet they do not give up their individuality. The candles you see before you represent two independent lives, formed early in the homes represented by the parents lighting the candles. Esther and Dave will light the third candle to signify the unity they find in their love for each other.
(Pause in silence. Parents move into gazebo. Mrs. Aronson lights taper held by Mr. Aronson who lights right hand side votive (Mrs. A. touches his hand as he lights). He passes the flame to the taper held by Mr. Nasjleti who lights the left hand votive (Mrs. N. touches his hand as he lights). Esther and Dave use the first two tapers which they light from the votives to light the middle candle.)
BLESSING (Charlene)
Esther and Dave, may the warmth of your love melt the snows of all your barriers, and may you truly be united as one, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Your parents, your families, and your friends now recognize your commitment. Let us pray.
Most holy God, mother and father of all creation, may your blessings continue for David and Esther. May you encourage and help each of them to develop into a more complete person, by becoming a more united couple. May the spirit of life grant them patience to mend their differences and wisdom and guidance in all their decisions. May they find grace in times of disappointment and peace that comforts them all the days of their lives.
DECLARATION
You have consented together in marriage, declaring your love for and commitment to each other. By the authority vested in me by the laws of this state and by the power of your own love, I now declare Esther and David, henceforth, wife and husband. Go forward from this moment as partners in life, giving and sharing in all that you do with the love that you hold for each other.
CLOSING WORDS
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be a shelter to the other.Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.Now there is no loneliness for you;
now there is no more loneliness.Now you are two bodies,
but there is only one life before you.Go now to your dwelling place,
to enter into your days together.And may your days be good
and long on the earth.(Apache song, translator unknown)
PRONOUNCEMENT/BREAKING THE GLASS
The breaking of glass in the Jewish tradition is often a joyous conclusion to a joyous occasion such as a wedding ceremony. The shattering of the glass reminds us that even in the presence of today's joys we remember the splintering sadness of the past. But today, today, we shatter the glass so that all our happiness may break out as we celebrate this new union. It gives me great pleasure to present to you who are gathered here today Dave Aronson and Esther Nasjleti, husband and wife.
(Silence while Best Man places "glass" on ground between them as they face the congregation.)
(Bride and groom break glass together.)
(Bride and groom embrace as Chossn Kalah Mazel Tov is played.)
RECESSIONAL
Bride and Groom together, the two attendants, parents, then Charlene.