Barnett Wedding: Our Wedding Story Part 3

Barnett Wedding

This is the third instalment of Our Wedding Story. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 before if you would like. Today, I will talk about our ceremony in great length.

The ceremony was my number one priority, because it what the moment that we vowed to support each other for our entire life, become husband and wife, and frankly the “raison d’être” of the gathering. It influenced all the other aspect of the day and decisions we made. It was priority, and it was reflected in the emotions that were shared and the time I spent preparing for it, as opposed to the share of our budget spend on it.

And IT WAS PERFECT and my favorite part of the day BY FAR!!

My absolute favorite moment in the day was when I was about to walk down the aisle, just after my bridesmaids had gone, and I took a second to listen to the song and thought to myself, this is absolutely perfect, I can’t wait to marry the love of my life.

I walk down the aisle with my dad, cute as a button his first real suit and tie, with Marry Me by Train as sound track. I couldn’t wait to see my love again, thinking about how seeing each other earlier at our first look was wonderful. When I arrived at the end of the aisle near my love, he was crying of happiness. Even if he had just seen me a little less than an hour before, he was still overtaken by the emotions of the moment, making it magic. Then I joined Michael at the altar, the music stopped and the ceremony began.

Our friend officiated the wedding, it was brilliant and one of the best decision we have made. He read the ceremony text I wrote and it was great having a ceremony that was personal, intimate and filled with emotions. My dad’s wife talked about marriage and love, we said our vows, we exchanged the rings, my mom and my new nephew brought sand for our sand ceremony, and we signed the papers with each of our brother’s as witness.

If I could go back in time I would change NOTHING, it was better than perfect.

Our ceremony was bilingual in English and French, but it wasn’t repeated, the translated version was included in the programs to allow everybody to understand the ceremony without making it long and boring.

If you are interested, I am including our ceremony text for you to experience the best part of our day with us.

GATHERING WORDS
[Officiant speaks in English]
Welcome! Michael and Charlie have brought us together here for an occasion of great joy and a cause for great celebration. Having found each other, they have built the kind of relationship that will serve them well as the foundation for their marriage. They have chosen each one of you to be here with them to witness their wedding vows as they join together as husband and wife.

[Officiant speaks in French]
As much as today it is a celebration of Michael & Charlie’s marriage, it is also a celebration of their love, which is built upon the ten years they have spent together and all the experiences encompassed by that time. From when they first met in Tring, England, to when Michael proposed to Charlie in Ottawa nine years later, to today, with all of you, in the gorgeous Thousands Islands.

[Officiant speaks in English]
Each of us knows that a marriage is not created by a law or a ceremony; rather it occurs in the hearts of two human beings. It grows out of loving, caring, and sharing ourselves with another. This ceremony is not magic, it will not create a relationship that does not already exist and has not already been celebrated in all the commitments Michael and Charlie have made to each other over the last ten years, both large and small, since they first met. This ceremony is a symbol of how far they have come together and a symbol of the promise that they will make to each other to continue to live their lives together and to love each other solely and above all others.

READING
[Officiant speaks in English]
I would like to invite Catherine, Charlie’s step-mother, to come and talk to you about love.

[Catherine speaks in French]
My dear Charlie, you have invited me to read a text about love, to highlight this memorable day. After researching and reflecting, I have finally chosen part of a song from Marie-Annick Rétif titled Je connais des bateaux [I know some boats].
Since the beginning of time, love songs have been one of the themes most used in music. We can find millions of songs with a simple common title Je t’aime! [I love you!] It illustrates how love is an inspiring subject.
May your union be inspired by these tender lyrics:

I know some boats that were never finished
To marry again every day of their lives,
And who do not fear, sometimes, to get away
From each other for an instant to better find each other.

I know some boats returning to port
Plowed from everywhere, but more serious and stronger,
I know strangely similar boats
When they shared years of sun.

I know some boats returning from love
When they sailed until their last day
Never folding their wings of giants
Because they have the heart the size of the ocean.

Dear Charlie, dear Michael, I wish you happiness and love every day to continue to sail your boats a long, long time…

CHARGE OF MARRIAGE

[Officiant speaks in English, then repeats the same thing in French]
A successful marriage is not something that just happens. It takes work, it takes patience, and it takes time. It takes a commitment from both of you… a commitment to do whatever it takes to make your relationship thrive.

Michael, will you take Charlie to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you be honest with her always? Will you stand by her through whatever may come? Will you love her, laugh with her, comfort her, respect and protect her, and be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

MICHAEL: I do
CHARLIE: I do

VOWS
[Officiant speaks in English]
Michael and Charlie, the symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Before this moment you have been many things to one another- companion, lover, best friend, partner, fiancé. Now you shall say a few words and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this – is my husband, this – is my wife.

MICHAEL: I, Michael take you Charlie to be my beloved wife. You are my love, and my best friend. I promise to encourage you, hold you, respect you, and most of all, to love you in sickness or in health, for all the days of my life.

CHARLIE: I, Charlie, take you Michael, to be my beloved husband. You are the love of my life and my best friend. I promise to encourage you, hold you, respect you, and most of all to love you, in health and in sickness, for all the days of my life.

RING EXCHANGE
[Officiant speaks in English]
The promises which you have spoken to each other today are inscribed forever in your minds, in your hearts. But words are fleeting so let these rings serve as a reminder of the feelings you have in your hearts at this very moment. These rings are visible, tangible symbols of your commitment to one another and of your emotional connection. These rings announce to the world that you have found each other. They are a reminder and a celebration of the promises you have made today and in exchanging these bands you knit your two lives together as one. When you look at your wedding band, remember the great gift that you have been given and all that you have in one another. Remember that you have someone to share this life with. Never again will you have to walk alone.
Now, Repeat after me:

MICHAEL: Charlie, this ring is a symbol of my love, commitment, and of the vows I have just spoken. With this ring, I thee wed.

CHARLIE: Michael, this ring is a symbol of my love, commitment, and of the vows I have just spoken. With this ring, I thee wed.

SAND CEREMONY
[Officiant speaks in English]
Michael and Charlie you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and this is a pledge between two people who agree that they will commit themselves to one another throughout their lives.

Today, this relationship is also symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand. One contains sand from Pointe-au-Pere where Charlie grew up, representing all that you both were. The other contains sand from Aylmer, where Michael and Charlie chose to live, representing all that you are, and all that you will ever be.

As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one.

Just as these grains of sand can never be separated, your lives together will be blended from this day forward.

[THE SONG START]

SONG
On Va S’aimer Encore – Vincent Vallières
[We’ll love each other again]

When we will see in the mirror our faces wrinkled and full of stories
When we will have less years ahead than what we have now
When we will finally have time and we will live peacefully
When the house will be paid and that all remain is to love each other

We’ll love each other again, through doubts and bumps in the road, and even more, We’ll love each other again, through the successes, through the setbacks of life, until death we’ll love each other again

When our children are going to leave, when we will have seen them grow
When it will be their turn to choose, their turn to build
When our heads will be white, when we will have experience
When nobody will be waiting, and all that remain is to fall in love

When times will have changed, we will completely be outdated
When all the bombs will have exploded, peace will be here to stay
When without a compasses, without a plan, we will leave in the wind
When we will lift the sails, and become stardust

We’ll love each other again, after our successes, after our setbacks of life, and even more, We’ll love each other again, at the end of our doubts, at the end of the road, beyond death, We’ll love each other again, at the end of our doubts, at the end of the road, beyond death, We’ll love…

CLOSING WORDS

[Officiant speaks in English]
Michael and Charlie, in the presence of your family and friends who have joined you to share this moment of joy in your lives, you have declared your deep love and affection for each other. You have stated your wish to live together, always open to a deeper, richer friendship and partnership.
We have heard your promise to share your lives in marriage. This new journey has begun here today in speaking your vows before your family and friends and will continue for the days and years to come, standing by each other, sharing all that is sweet and bitter in life. Each tender act, each loving word will be the declaration of what was made here today.

Therefore, it is my joyful responsibility to officially acknowledge your union as “Husband and Wife”. You may now kiss the bride.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs, it is my privilege to present to you for the very first time as husband and wife, j’ai le privilège de vous présenter pour la première fois en tant que mari et femme, Mr. and Mrs., Michael and Charlie Barnett.

Following the ceremony, we walk down the aisle towards the dock, with the song Ho Hey by the Lunineers as a fun sound track and all our friends and family in our toes, where we took a few group photos.

VENDOR CREDITS

Photographer: Marie-P photographe
Venue: Ivy Lea Club
Dress designer: Lis Simon
Dress store: Christianne Brunelle Couture
Shoes: Nine West
Bridesmaids dresses: 1861
Bridesmaids and Best man gifts: Nordstrom
Groom suit, tie and shoes: Moores
Flowers: Michael’s cousin, Samantha Taylor
Hair and Makeup: Fossa Hair Studio
DJ: Sound On Sound Productions
Bridal pearl necklaces, bracelet and earrings: heirloom from grandmother