Congratulations Kyrstin & Joseph, July 18, 2014!!

Last night I had the honor and privilege of officiating the ceremony that joined two soulmates as husband and wife!:) Joseph's mom was very kind and offered her backyard as a quiet setting for this intimate ceremony. She made me feel very welcomed from the moment I arrived!:) Thank you so much for your hospitality!! :) The ceremony was short and sweet!:) Afterwards we took a few pictures and signed the license!:)Their wedding anniversary will remain special to me!:) It happens on my grandson's birthday!:) Congratulations and Best Wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Petit, July 18, 2014!!

Happy 1st Anniversary Shayna and Daniel!

A year ago today, I had the honor and privilege of officiating Shayna and Daniel's wedding! :) I met this wonderful couple through Daniel's mom being friends with a dear friend of mine!:) I love when that happens! Shayna and Daniel's wedding was enchanting! It took place right next to the stream in Layton Commons Park and it was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon!:) Shayna looked like a goddess with a flowered halo and Daniel looked the nervous groom! :) They exchanged personal vows with each other which made the ceremony their own! :)And I was able to make their dream wedding come true by offering my services on Sunday! :) Happy 1st Anniversary Shayna and Daniel! May all that you are always be in love and may love always be in you! May life's situations always serve you well to strengthen the bond of friendship, love, and spirit that you have so lovingly created between you! May you always see and encourage the best in each other and may you always be each other's best friend and greatest love!

Tanya and Jayson's 4th of July Wedding Day Celebration

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! Today is the day that the nation celebrates its birthday! :) Today is the day that Tanya and Jayson chose for their wedding day!:) Monday I received a message on Facebook from my new friend Tanya, asking if I was available on the 4th of July. I was indeed available and was honored to officiate their wedding!:) She and Jayson wanted to get married on the 4th of July with a very simple and meaningful ceremony!:) I knew that the perfect place for them was Oquirrah Lake! It was a beautiful day today, the perfect weather for a wedding on the lake! The ceremony took place with the wedding party and me standing on one of the fishing docks of the lake while their guests look on from the shore! The ceremony was beautiful with the vows and the exchange of rings and a new twist on the SAND CEREMONY. Instead of bringing sand from the store or another place, I had Tanya and Jayson scoop up a handful of sand from the shoreline. They poured their sand into a cool lantern-looking mason jar. Their guests also poured sand from the beach into the MARRIAGE jar to "pour" their blessings unto Tanya and Jayson's marriage!:) Tanya and Jayson, may all that you are always be in love and may love always be in you!

Happy Anniversary, Kelly and Channing!

Three years ago today, I had the honor and privilege of officiating Kelly and Channing's wedding ceremony! It was a little different than most I have done. I had the honor and privilege of co-officiating it with a dear friend of Kelly's, and now a dear friend of mine! The ceremony took place at the NOAH'S in South Jordan in the roof garden! It was a beautiful early evening ceremony with the reception afterwards! Kelly found me through one of the wedding websites that I was listed on at the time. My co-officiating their wedding ceremony was only the beginning of our friendship. They are part of my ever-growing "family" that God has blessed me with over the years of being a wedding minister! Kelly and Channing, Happy Anniversary! May all that you are always be in love and may love always be in you! May life's situations always serve you well to strengthen the bond of friendship, love, and spirit that you have created in your loving marriage! May you always see and encourage the best in each other and may you always be each other's best friend and greatest love!

The Woods on Ninth Wedding - June 21, 2014

I had the honor of officiating Gabbi & Freddy's wedding at The Woods on Ninth this last Saturday. It was really great to officiate this wedding for multiple reasons - Gabbi & Freddy are such an amazing and beautiful couple, and I always love getting called to do a wedding at The Woods on Ninth because when my husband and I were looking for wedding venues we almost got married at this wedding venue! The gardens are amazing, they have the most spectacular wood floors in their venue, and there is an old world feel with their cobble stone walkways.

When I first met with Gabbi & Freddy we got together at Starbucks, I immediately fell in love with them along with their adorable 22 month old daughter. That night we hit it off and they asked me to officiate their wedding.

For Gabbi & Freddy we wrote their ceremony together - I do this with every couple so that it is a personal reflection of the couples that I am marrying. In their ceremony we included a Family Blending Sand Ceremony to blend two separate families in to one complete family. For the couple's blending ceremony we did a Wine Ceremony. The wedding ceremony turned out better than planned with the outdoor element and personalization of the wedding ceremony.

Gabby & Freddy congrats on your big day! May all that you are always be in love, and may love always be in you!



Freddy waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle.



Gabbi the beautiful bride walking down the aisle with her son



Family Blending Sand Ceremony



Bride & Groom saying their vows

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Travis Barnes, August 17, 2013!:)

HAPPY WEDDING DAY, TRAVIS AND SAMMY!!

Today, August 17, 2013, I had the great honor and privilege of officiating Travis and Sammy's wedding in the beautiful setting of East Canyon Resort in Morgan Utah!  I met Travis and Sammy through a mutual friend and now they are part of my ever-increasing extended family!:)

This is the wedding ceremony that I shared with Travis's and Sammy's friends and family!:) The ceremony began with a ring bearer and a flower girl walking down the aisle.  They were followed by our beautiful bride being escorted by her mom!:) So amazing!:)  

waiting patiently and a little nervously for our bride!:)

"A true marriage is an act of transformation...!"

"Sammy, are you choosing Travis to be your husband?"

"Travis, are you choosing Sammy to be your wife?"

"I present for the first time, Mr. & Mrs. Travis Barnes!"

Rev. Annie Benjamin

                                                             SAMMY AND TRAVIS

WEDDING CEREMONY

AUGUST 17, 2013

READING

Love is friendship that has caught on fire.  It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving.  It is loyalty through the good and the bad.  It accepts less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.  Love it content with the present.  It hopes for the future, but doesn’t brood over the past.  It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working together toward common goals.  If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that you lack. Sammy and Travis asked for it, they found it, and today they share it! J

WELCOME

Friends and family, it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you here today!  On behalf of Sammy and Travis, I want to thank you all for coming—all of you who have traveled near and far and all of you who are joining us in spirit! Welcome! J

GATHERING WORDS

Marriage is a promise of hope between two people who love each other sincerely, who respect and honor each other as unique individuals, and who wish to share together a vast unknown future filled with unlimited possibilities and potential!

Sammy and Travis, you have come here today as two and shall leave this place of celebration as one united in that promise as you enter together into the holy and blessed estate of matrimony!  May your bond of friendship, love, and spirit grow deeper and stronger with each day that you shared as husband and wife! J

MEANING OF MARRIAGE

A true marriage is an act of transformation, a creation and rebirth as two lives blend into one.  There is no loss or giving up of one’s individual self; it is the giving-over of self to something greater.  Sammy and Travis, in this creating process, you will each be challenged to discover again and again, new depths and possibilities in yourself and in each other.  This wedding ceremony and the vows you will speak to one another today are the beginning of that process. In a sense, the whole of your lives up until now has brought you to this moment, and together you create something wholly new and transcendent, something that has never existed before—your unique marriage—an express that is at the same time public and private, precious, sacred and truly unique to the two of you.  In the precious act of marriage, you will open yourselves up to an even fuller experience and expression of the vast miracle of love.  The commitment to love that forms the heart of your unique marriage means that you will walk through the rest of your days with a true best friend beside you, one you can laugh with and cry with, grow old with, and feel forever young with. J

CHANGE TO GUESTS

Family and friends, love has gathered us here today in this beautiful setting where the sky is our only ceiling, the earth our only floor, and the horizons our only walls.  It is the unconditional love and commitment which exists so strongly between Sammy and Travis.  It is also the love and commitment that each of us has for this amazing couple.  We are here today to show our love and support as Sammy and Travis embark on their journey of discovery as husband and wife.  Let us always be there to show our love and support! J 

QUESTIONS OF INTENTION

Sammy and Travis, you have asked me here today to join you as husband and wife.  Are you both freely choosing to enter into the holy and sacred estate of matrimony, to enjoy together all its rights and potentials/

We are! J

Sammy, are you choosing Travis to be your lawfully wedded husband?  Will you love him, comfort him, honor and respect him through all that life places before you?  Will you hold him in highest regard, always offering your deepest love and friendship to him throughout your days together?

I do! J

Travis, are you choosing Sammy to be your lawfully wedded wife?  Will you love her, comfort her, honor and respect her through all that life places before you?  Will you hold her in highest regard, always offering your deepest love and friendship to her throughout your days together?

I do! J

RING VOWS

(Rings will be tied on a ribbon in my notebook)  These rings, your gifts to each other, are the outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible love which joins your two hearts together.  They are the symbols to the world of the friendship, love, and faithful that we celebrate today.  They are round like the sun, the moon, the earth, and the universe.  As circle, they are the symbol for infinity.  They have no beginning and no end with no points of weakness.  May they be blessed so that you, the givers and receiver, walk in peace, joy, and harmony and be forever surrounded by the unconditional love and commitment that has brought you together! J

Sammy, please repeat after me: “Travis, I choose you to be my wedded husband, my equal partner in life, beside and apart from me in all of life’s situations.  I ask you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you and trusting what I have yet to see. (Place the ring on his finger.) With this ring, I marry my best friend today, tomorrow, and always!” J

Travis, please repeat after me: “Sammy, I choose you to be my wedded wife, my equal partner in life, beside me and apart from me in all of life’s situations.  I ask you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you and trusting what I have yet to see.  (Place the ring on her finger.) With this ring, I marry my best friend today, tomorrow, and always!” J

BLESSING

May all that you are always be in love and may love always be in you! May life’s situations always serve you well to strengthen the bond of friendship, love, and spirit that we celebrate today! May you always see and encourage the best in each other! And may you always be each other’s best friend and greatest love! J

PRONOUNCEMENT

Sammy and Travis, you have exchanged words of love and commitment and have sealed this pledge with the giving and receiving of rings.  It is not a minister standing before you that makes your marriage real. It is the love, honesty, and sincerity with which you have said and done these things tonight.  Under the ordinance of God and according to the laws governing the state of Utah, it is now my great honor and privilege to pronounce what your souls have know forever, that you are indeed husband and wife! J

Travis, you may now kiss your bride! J

Now, I present for the first time ever, Mr. & Mrs. Travis Barnes! J

Happy 5th Anniversary, Contessa & Travis!!!

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY, CONTESSA & TRAVIS!!!

5 years ago today, I had the great honor and pleasure of officiating Travis and Contessa's wedding ceremony!:)   It was a beautiful backyard wedding with all the trimmings! :)  At sunset, everyone in attendance lit candles to symbolize our coming together and celebrating Travis and Contessa becoming husband and wife!:)

Travis and Contessa, may all that you are always be in love and may love always be in you!  May life's situations continue to strengthen the bond of friendship, love, and spirit that exists so strongly between you!  May you always see and encourage the best in each other! And may you always be each other's best friend and greatest love!!

The bride being escorted by the aisle!:)

 "Contessa and Travis, will you love, comfort, honor and respect each other?"

 Lighting the celebration candle! :)

 The Marriage Candle...

 ...uniting Contessa and Travis as husband and wife! :)

Mr. & Mrs. Travis Ramsey! :)

CONTESSA BREDHAUER & TRAVIS RAMSEY

WEDDING CEREMONY

AUGUST 8, 2008

LIGHTING OF SEPARATE CANDLES

Contessa’s mother and Travis’s mother come forward to light the two separate candles.

WELCOME

Friends and family members, on behalf of Contessa and Travis, thank you for being here tonight!!

I am Rev. Annie Benjamin.  Before I begin, I would like to thank this wonderful couple standing before me for granting me the honor and privilege of joining them in holy matrimony.

We are gathered here on this beautiful evening in this place where the horizons are our only walls, the sky our only ceiling and the earth our only floor to share with Contessa Breann Bredhauer  & Travis Glen Ramsey a very important moment in their lives.  In the years Contessa & Travis have been together, first as a couple then as a small family with the birth of their son Teagon, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife.

MEANING OF MARRIAGE

Marriage is an ordained institution.  We have a sacred relationship that should never be entered into with carelessness nor insincerity, but a relationship entered into with great love, devotion, and tenderness.

Contessa and Travis, real love is something beyond the warmth and glow, beyond the excitement and romance of being deeply in love.  It is caring as much about the welfare and happiness of your marriage partner as about your own happiness alone.  Real love is not total absorption in each other.  It is looking outward in the same direction.  Love makes burdens lighter because you divide them.  It makes joys more intense because you share them.  It makes you stronger so you can reach out and become involved...with love…in ways you dared not risk alone.  Contessa and Travis, this is the kind of love that you embody.

INVOCATION

In acknowledgement of the purpose and power of this occasion, please join me in prayer.

“Father God, open us and fill us with your presence.  Elevate our spirits, lift our hearts and minds to an awareness of this Sacred and Eternal moment as we joyfully celebrate the marriage of Contessa Breann Bredhauer and Travis Glen Ramsey.  Bless them, and bless all who are gathered here. Amen.”

In 1Corthians 13, we find this description of love:

 “Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one.  Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, nor quick to give offense.  Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over other people’s mistakes.  But delights in the truth.  There is nothing love cannot face.  There is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.  Love will never end.”

QUESTIONS

Contessa and Travis, if you now freely choose to be joined in holy matrimony, with all its rights and potential, please indicate this by facing each other and joining hands.

Travis, do you take Contessa to be your lawfully wedded wife?  Do you take her to be your partner, your lover, and your best friend?  Will you love her, comfort her, honor and nurture her in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy?  Will you change with her and grow old with her?  Will you give her your deepest friendship and love from this day forward as long as you both shall live?

I do!

Contessa, do you take Travis to be your lawfully wedded husband?  Do you take him to be your partner, your lover, and your best friend?  Will you love him, comfort him, honor and nurture him in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy?  Will you change with him and grow old with him?  Will you give him your deepest friendship and love from this day forward as long as you both shall live?

I do!

CHARGE TO GUESTS

Dear friends and family, I now turn to you. Contessa and Travis have a relationship that is woven into the fabric of the community that you all represent.  The ideals, the understanding, and the mutual respect that they bring to their union have their roots in the love, friendship and guidance which you have given them.  The love and support you give this couple will be indispensable in helping them to nurture their togetherness as a husband and wife and as parents to Teagan.  It will also help them to meet the challenges that may lie ahead.  I therefore charge you to do all in your power to aid and sustain and encourage their union.  Will you who are here today witness their pledges and do your utmost to uphold this union?  If so please answer now,

“We will.”

                                                                             VOWS

Contessa and Travis, now it is time to repeat your vows to each other.

Travis, please repeat after me:  Contessa, I take you to be my wife, my partner in life.  I promise to walk by your side forever and to love, help, and encourage you in all that you do.  I will take time to talk with you, to listen to you, and to care for you.  I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner, lover, and best friend.  Everything I am and everything I have is yours now and forevermore.

Contessa, please repeat after me:  Travis, I take you to be my husband, my partner in life.  I promise to walk by your side forever and to love, help, and encourage you in all that you do.  I will take time to talk with you, to listen to you, and to care for you.  I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner, lover, and best friend.  Everything I amd and everything I have is yours now and forevermore.

RINGS

May I have the rings please?  (I raise them up to bless them)

These rings are circles, symbols that remind us of the sun, and the earth, and the universe.  Symbols of holiness, of perfections and peace.  Symbols of God and His love for us, that which has no beginning and no end.

May these rings be blessed as a symbol of this affectionate unity.  Your lives are being joined today in one unbroken circle.  Wherever you go, may you always return to one another in your togetherness.  May you find in one another the love for which all men and women yearn.

May you grow in understanding and compassion.  May the home which you have established together as a family be a sanctuary that all who are here today and others through the years.  There, may they find true friends.  May these rings, soon to be on your fingers, symbolize the touch of the spirit of love that is in both your hearts.

Travis, please take Contessa’s  rings, put them on her finger one at a time, and repeat after me: Contessa, These rings symbolize our past, our present, and our future. Today, I give you these rings, my gift to you, as a symbol of my promise.  With all that I am and all that I have, I pledge my unending love to you.

Contessa, please take Travis’s ring, put it on his finger, and repeat after me: Travis, I give you this ring, my gift to you, as a symbol of my promise.  With all that I am and all that I have, I pledge my unending love to you.

Contessa and Travis, may you both wear your rings forever as a sign of your commitment and the desire in your hearts.

 BLESSING

Contessa and Travis, may all that you are, always be in love.  May all that is love, always be in you.  May your love be as beautiful on each day you share as it is on this day of celebration, and may each day you share be as precious as the day you first fell in love.  May you always see and encourage the best in each other.  May the challenges life brings your way make your marriage even stronger.  And may you always be each other’s best friend and greatest love.

UNITY CANDLE

Lighting the Unity Candle is a symbol of the union created by a man and a woman who enter into marriage. They are no longer two but one.  The bible says, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”  Today we see Contessa and Travis uniting themselves as one..as one in the flesh and as one in the spirit.  These candles symbolize that union.  The two outer candles represent the individual lives of Contessa and Travis and the families from which they came.  Each of you has been given a candle that represents your continuing importance in each other’s lives.  Soon all of this candles will lit by one small light to create a much bigger brighter light that represents the unity of friends and family supporting this couple in their marriage.
(Attendants light the first candle of each row.  When all candles are lit, Contessa and Travis light the unity candle.)

                                                                 PRONOUNCEMENT

Contessa and Travis, we have heard your promise to share life in marriage.  We recognize and respect the covenant you have made by the giving and receiving of rings.  It is not a minister standing before you that makes your marriage real.  It is the honest love, and sincerity of what you have said and done here before your friends and family.

According to the ordinances of God and the laws governing the state of Utah, it is now my honor and privilege to announce in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that you are now husband and wife!

You may now kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Travis Ramsey.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you for the first time,  Mr. and Mrs. Travis Ramsey.

BENEDICTION

May the Lord bless you and keep you.  And may the Lord make His face to shine up you, and be gracious unto you.  May God give you His peace in your going out and in your coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in your labor and in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears, until that day when you come to stand before Jesus in that day which there is now sunset and now dawning.  Amen.