Our wedding was held on the 29th day of December, 2012 in Portland, OR.
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Our Vows:
[blockquote]We have come together to express our joy at the union between Jessica and Christopher. Life is a road that offers wonder and joy but also threatens the most fearsome peril. As Walt Whitman described:
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.”
Jessica and Christopher have resolved in their hearts to travel that road not alone, but together.
Lao Tzu said:
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
Jessica and Christopher love each other deeply, and they ask you to bear witness as they vow to hold that love in their hearts forever.
Christopher: do you here in the presence of family and friends declare your love for Jessica? Do you freely offer yourself to her and willingly accept the gift of self she offers you?
(I do)
Jessica: do you here in the presence of family and friends declare your love for Christopher? Do you freely offer yourself to her and willingly accept the gift of self he offers you?
(I do)
May we have the rings…
These rings represent the vows and promises you’ve willingly exchanged. They reflect the commitment those words inspire and all your hopes and dreams for the future. As you place the ring on his finger please repeat after me. With this ring I marry you. With my loving heart.
As you place the ring on her finger please repeat after me.
May the vows and promises you have made today be as ever present in your hearts as these rings are on your fingers. Let us celebrate the beginning of your journey together and remember, as J.R.R Tolkien said:
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
I would like to present for the first time: Mr. and Mrs. Christopher and Jessica Herrick.[/blockquote]
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Video shot by Chris Buchal. Music is Lover’s Carvings by Bibio
[blockquote]Lovers’ names, carved in walls
Overlap, start to merge
Some of them underneath
Maybe they appear
In graveyards
Maybe they fade away
Weathered and overgrown
Time has told
Meaningful hidden words
Suddenly appear, from the murk
Maybe they’re telling us
That the end
Never was
Never will
The words have gone
But the meaning will never disappear
From the wall[/blockquote]