("Make You Feel My Love" instrumental) ("A Thousand Years" instrumental) - Welcome. Welcome, welcome. How 'bout this place? How 'bout this couple? Thank you all for coming on
behalf of Andrew and Shawn. They'd like to express their
love and their appreciation for all of you as family and friends that have come to this special occasion. You may be seated. My name is Jim Fountain. I don't do this for a living. You'll figure that out real quick. I've known Andrew since he was a baby. My son, Justin, who's in the wedding, and Andrew are best friends. My wife and Andrew's mom are best friends. I've known him since he was a little boy. I could remember when he came to my house and would spend the night. I have to tell ya I'd get
up for my morning cereal, go to the refrigerator
and there was no milk and there was no cereal. That kid raids that pantry pretty hard. Andrew and Shawn and I have been meeting with my wife for a couple of years. About two months ago they asked me to come over to the East
house for the evening. They had a question for me. And I thought, well, as a mentor they probably want me
to read some scripture, that'd be fine. I'll be happy to. Andrew kind of made it a big deal and he says, "Shawn has
a question for you." And I thought that's a big deal for just reading some
scripture at a wedding. She looked at me and said,
"Uncle Jim, would you marry me?" I said, "Well, we'll have
to run that by the wife. "Might be a little crowded." This is my first wedding. Who knew it would be so easy to get qualified on the
internet to marry somebody? I can guarantee you it will be official. By some odd quirk in the law in Tennessee this is gonna happen and
my biggest desire for today is that this is God-honoring
and I hope we can do that. We're finally here gathered together as a community of family and friends in God's presence to
witness the holy marriage of Andrew and Shawn, which
is instituted by God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and to be held in honor among men. Let us therefore reverently remember that God has established
and sanctified marriage for the welfare and happiness of mankind. It is therefore not to be
entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly,
and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate these two persons come now to be joined. We humbly ask God to bless them. Would you pray with me? Heavenly father, we are grateful to You for Your countless blessings in our lives. For the significance of this
wedding day, we thank You. For this important moment in
an ever growing relationship, we thank You. For Your presence here and now and for Your presence at
all times, we thank You. Bless this union with your bounties, happiness, and prosperity. And may their lives together be good and long upon this earth. In Christs' holy name, amen. You ready to start this thing? Doug, are you sure you're ready? Every wedding, generally most
weddings start with a question and end with an announcement. Both of them are pivotal to a marriage. So I will start with the first question. Who gives this woman to
be married to this man? - [Doug] Her mother and I. - You may kiss your bride. (crowd chuckling) Kiss your daughter. You might kiss your bride
when you get back there. You guys come forward. Now no one, he's gone his way. We've talked about this
for a while, haven't we? Today, uh oh, did the mic just go off? There we go. Today is your wedding day. For months you've been told
that today is all about you, and it is. But if it was only about you, then we would have done this
with just the three of us. We wouldn't have bothered with
400 and some people out there looking at me doing
this for my first time. Andrew and Shawn, I want you
to do something that's unique. It's my first wedding, so I get to throw things
out there that are unique. I want you to turn around and I want you to look at who's here. Just turn. You don't have to go far. That's quite a train you've
got going there, girlfriend. Take a second. This is the only time that all these people will be assembled. Take a minute and take it in. Look around you, see this beautiful place. These people love you and care about you., and they care about you
as a married couple. They have traveled from
all over to get here. They got babysitters to be here. They bought new dresses and put
on fancy clothes to be here. They canceled other plans to be here because they care about you. Take this in. Now, you that have gathered, you're here simply as observers. You are invited by Andrew
and Shawn to be participants. You're invited to be
participants in their lives, in their marriage from this day forward. We are called to rejoice
in their happiness, to help them when they have trouble, and to remember them in our prayers. At this time, I'd like to ask all of you that are gathered here today as family and friends of Andrew and Shawn, will you commit yourselves
to uphold this marriage, to do your part in helping them keep their commitment to one another, to love them, care for
them, and pray for them? If so, please respond
by saying, "We will." - [Crowd] We will. - Fabulous. And you can turn back around. And now let's just talk
about the three of us now. Andrew and Shawn, I'm up
here, don't look at him. A wedding ceremony is also an
opportunity to make a covenant before a covenant making God
and his people, the church. Marriage is an act between
the two of you and God, but just as you observed,
you're not in this alone and you never will be. By the two of you standing here before God and these witnesses, you're
committing to getting married. Oh, boy. You're making a commitment to spending the rest
of your lives together. I wanna confirm your intentions by asking you each a question. I'll start with you, Andrew. Do you do Andrew of your own free will choose to marry Shawn on this day, to join with her as husband and wife for all the days of your life? If so, say, "I do." - I do. - How about a little louder so the guys in the back can hear ya? - I do. - That's what I thought you said. So do you Shawn of your own free will choose to marry Andrew on this day, to join with him as husband and wife for all the days of your life? If so, say, "I do." - [Shawn] I do. - There you go. At this point we have scripture that's being read by Kyle and Joseph. Both of you come up if you can. - Hear God's word from
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Two are better than one, because they have a good
reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will
lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm, but
how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord
is not quickly broken. This is the word of the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-17. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy, love
does not parade itself. It's not puffed up, it
does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, takes no evil, does not
rejoice in inequity, but rejoices in the
truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. - Thank you. Andrew and Shawn, what
we are doing here today is one of the few things that is common to the entire human experience. In every period of history,
in every generation, in every culture, every
religion, every nation, every tribe has placed a value on what we are doing here today. But this can't end well. I heard the other day of a saying, life starts for each of us with us crying and those around us are smiling. As I thought about that, I remember when my children were born. In the moment of birth, I
remember the doctor rubbing it or toweling off a baby
and my son started crying. But the moment he cried,
we all started to smile because it was like, wow, he's healthy 'cause crying meant he
was taking his breath and he was healthy. But I thought it was fascinating
that when we start life for each of us, we're crying and those around us are smiling. But then I heard somebody
went on and said, "But if we know Jesus Christ
as our Lord and savior, "when we die, we are smiling "and those around us are crying." I thought, wow, isn't that accurate. Because as a believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that the time
on earth is minuscule in comparison to eternity. The joy of going and being
with our Lord and savior is the biggest blessing you can ever have. In the same way, somewhat the same way, you both are smiling right now. But when the end comes, however it comes, you won't both be smiling. All human marriages begin with
joy but they end in tragedy. However this ends, human bond
is eventually torn apart. At best, marriage will
last around 60 years and then it ends in heartache. So why in the world do we do it? Why are we doin' this? Because you love each other so much. The end doesn't override
the joy of life together. We do this because it
joins the two of you, not only with each other, but with God. As you come together
with God and each other you will grasp how long
and wide and high and deep is the love of Christ. I love that verse in Ephesians. How long and wide and high and
deep is the love of Christ. Your marriage will be an example to others the faithfulness of Christ. People will know what
Christ love looks like by looking at the way you
look and love each other. That's why we're doing this. After the service today, I'll
sign this piece of paper. You gave me this. I'm so thankful that y'all
took the time to go get this. This is your marriage license. This is what I'll sign
when this is all over. It was given to you by
the state of Tennessee, and I'll sign it and I'll send it back to the state of Tennessee. Everyone who's been married
in Tennessee has one of these. Some folks will have it in a nice frame up on a wall somewhere in their house. Some might have it in a lock box with other important
documents to keep it safe. Regardless of what you do
with this piece of paper, I want you to know it's
just a piece of paper. That's all it is, really. In fact, everything we're doing here today is not a marriage. Don't get me wrong, this is a great day. It's wonderful to be in this place with these people witnessing
your vows to one another. But this is a wedding,
it's not a marriage. What makes a marriage is what comes next. What makes a marriage
is what you do tomorrow and the next day and next week
and next month and next year. But it ain't always easy. A lot of people can attest to that. It can be downright hard. Sometimes Shawn, Andrew will think he's the smartest man in the world. And he's pretty doggone smart. He got great grades in high school. He got into Vanderbilt. He got a graduate degree from Vanderbilt, but he's not the smartest
man in the world. There's a lot of men
in here that many times we think we're the
smartest man in the world. We don't shy to tell a lot of people that we think we're the
smartest man in the world. But we're not. And Shawn, I hate to break it to you, you're not the smartest
woman in the world. Which reminds me of a story. If you know me, I like to tell stories. But they cut me down and told
me I had to cut this back, 'cause I had three wingers for you but I'm gonna just give you this one. There once was a man who loved to fly. He lived in a town at the
base of a mountain range. The closest city was about an hour drive
around the mountains, but by plane it was 10 minutes. He came up with a business plan. I'll buy a single engine plane, I'll run a shuttle service from the town I live in to the city. Every 30 minutes I'll fly the plane and we'll leave either
the town or the city. The plan was working great. On one flight he had three passengers. He had a preacher, a boy scout, and the smartest man in the world. Just as the plane started to
crest the top of the mountains, the engine started to
sputter, then it shut off. The pilot worked the controls and switches and tried to get the engine to start. When he realized he couldn't do anything, the pilot looked at the
passengers and he said, "Hm, not good. "We aren't gonna make it. "But there's really a bigger problem. "We only have three parachutes. "And I'm so sorry but
I can't leave my family with the debt I've created." And he grabbed the chute next to him, he opened the door to
the plane, and he jumped. Smartest man in the world turned to the boy scout and the preacher. He said, "I'm the
smartest man in the world. "I may be able to solve world issues. "I may be able to come up
with a cure for cancer. "I must live." So he grabs a pack next
to him and he jumps. The preacher leaned over to the boy scout and put his hand on his shoulder. He said, "Son, I never want you "to look back on this day with any regret. "I'm at peace with my maker. "I want you to live, I want
you to have this last shoot "and may God be with you." The boy scout looks up at the preacher and he takes his hand and he
shoves it off his shoulder. And he says, "Don't
worry about it preacher. "The smartest man in the world "just jumped with my backpack." In many ways life is like that. We grab ahold of things that we think will take care
of us in times of crisis. We think what we got is a parachute, when really all is that we
got is a boy scout backpack with dirty laundry and
an old rusty jackknife and an empty canteen. When we need it the most,
it's not gonna do us any good. The only thing that really saves us and your marriage is Jesus Christ. That's the smartest man in the world. In Ephesians it says in 5:32, Paul says that marriage is based on
that covenant relationship between Christ and the church. It's a covenant sealed in blood. It is unbreakable. As Christ's covenant with
the church is unbreakable, so is the marriage covenant you two take today is unbreakable. In Hebrews 13:4-5 it says let marriage be held in honor among all. And let the marriage bed be kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your life from the love of money and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will
never leave nor forsake you." Andrew and Shawn, let me remind you, by choosing each other, you are choosing never to pursue another. You are uniquely God's gift to one another to become one flesh physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Be content with what you have. Through all your weaknesses, Jesus Christ is perfectly
content with you. Be content with one another. Do not forsake one another, as Christ will never forsake you. I wanna give each of you some thoughts. I'm gettin' close, don't get nervous. Andrew, let me give you some thoughts of who I believe you need to be. Andrew East, you must be a man of God, a man of integrity beyond what is normal. You must lead this relationship. You anchor yourself in Christ first, and then second your marriage. Be a faithful, sacrificial
husband filled with love and peace and patience and devotion. Give Shawn a sense of protection,
security and stability. Shawn desires this more than
anything else in her life. Shawn is always, as I have seen Shawn, taking care of everyone around her. But what she really longs for
is someone to take care of her and, dude, that's you. When Shawn's dad placed her
hand in yours moments ago, something changed. He's passed on those leadership role and he's given it to you. Take this role on with every
fiber of energy you have. Andrew, love her, respect her, and most of all, pray for her. I didn't think I'd get through that. Shawn, I'm gonna make this. I really this is a one and done. I won't ever do this again. (crowd laughing) If somebody asks, I'm not doing it again. Shawn, you must love unconditionally. Andrew wants to be your hero. He wants to feel like
he is worthwhile to you and needed by you. He desires more than anything else to see a look of love and
admiration in your eyes. He wants to know that you celebrate him, depend on him, feel privileged
to be married to him, and expect great things from him. A voice of support,
confidence, and encouragement from you is electric to him. Learn to yield to his leadership. When you pull him aside to pray for him, when you tell him he's been on your mind, and when he sees in your eyes that you are proud of
the man he is becoming, it's like a shot of pure
adrenaline to Andrew. Shawn, love him, respect him, and most of all pray for him. I'm gonna wrap this up. In Hebrews 12:1-2 the writer
refers to our Christian life and he uses the analogy of a race. A lot of people like to
think of it as a marathon. Not a short race, a long race. Then it says that we are to
run the race with endurance, the race that is set before us. Andrew and Shawn, keep your eyes on Jesus, who began and finished
the race that we are in. Jesus never lost sight
of where he was headed to the exhilarating finish with God. I gotta say that one again,
'cause that's pretty cool. Jesus never lost sight
of where He was headed to the exhilarating
finish in and with God. He could put up with
everything along the way. He was loved, yet He was hated. He was encouraged, yet betrayed. He was hung. He was hugged, yet He was beaten. He was welcomed, yet He was rejected. He was praised, yet He was defamed. He was poor, but He owned everything. He had great friends, but
He was deserted in the end. He did nothing wrong but was killed for a
crime He didn't commit. But he put up with it all and He finished the race
that God asked Him to run. Shawn and Andrew, let Christ
be your example today. Shawn and Andrew, I guarantee you, when you get to the finish
line, you'll be smiling when those around you will be crying. May God bless you along the way as well as bless you both on this journey. Praise be to God. That's enough of me. Now we're gonna get to the
last part of our service. The vows. What I want you to do
is I want you to turn and grab each other's hands and look into each other's eyes. As best you can, it's just the two of ya, don't worry about all these
people and that helicopter, as if you all didn't know that. Andrew, I want you to repeat after me. I, Andrew, take you, Shawn. - [Andrew] I, Andrew take you, Shawn. - To be my wedded wife. - To be my wedded wife. - With deepest joy, I
receive you into my life. - With deepest joy, I
receive you into my life. - That together we may be one. - [Andrew] That together we may be one. - As Christ is to His body the church. - [Andrew] As Christ is
to His body the church. - So I will be to you. - So I will be to you. - A faithful, sacrificial husband. - A faithful, sacrificial husband. - Always will I be mindful of my responsibility to your union. - [Andrew] Always will I
be responsible to my... - Always will I be mindful of my responsibility to our union. - Always will I be mindful to my responsibility to our union. - There's a thing on you, I
didn't want you to get stung. - [Shawn] Thank you. - I promise you my deepest love. - [Andrew] I promise you my deepest love. - My unselfish devotion. - [Andrew] My unselfish devotion. - My most tender care. - My most tender care. - I promise you. - I promise you. - That I will live first under our Lord. - That I will live first under our Lord. - In order that I may lead us. - In order that I may lead us. - Always into a life of faith
and hope in Christ Jesus. - [Andrew] Always into
a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. - Therefore, Shawn, from this day forward. - Therefore, Shawn, from this day forward. - No matter what may lie ahead of us. - No matter what may lie ahead of us. - I pledge to you my life. - I pledge to you my life. - As a loving and faithful husband. - As a loving and faithful husband. - Now, Shawn, repeat after me. You ready? - Yeah. - Huh? A little different than
a balance beam, isn't it? (crowd laughing) I, Shawn, take you Andrew. - I, Shawn, take you Andrew. - To be my wedded husband. - To be my wedded husband. - With deepest joy I
receive you into my life. - [Shawn] With deepest joy
I receive you into my life. - That together we may be one. - [Shawn] That together we may be one. - As Christ is to His body the church. - As Christ is to His body the church. - So I will be to you a
faithful, sacrificial wife. - So I will be to you a
faithful and sacrificial wife. - As you have pledged to
me, so I pledge to you. - As you have pledged to
me, so I pledge to you. - To respect you. - [Shawn] To respect you. - To learn from you. - [Shawn] To learn from you. - And ever desire to please you. - [Shawn] And ever desire to please you. - Always will I be mindful of my responsibility to our union. - Ever will I always be mindful, I forgot (chuckling) - Always will I be mindful, let's take it in segments.
- Always will I be mindful. - Of my responsibility to our union. - Of my responsibility to our union. - I promise you my deepest love. - I promise you my deepest love. - My unselfish devotion. - My unselfish devotion. - And my most tender care. - And my most tender care. - In confidence. - [Shawn] In confidence. - I yield to your leadership. - [Shawn] I yield to your leadership. - As we join our lives
together in Christ Jesus. - [Shawn] As we join our lives
together in Christ Jesus. - Therefore, Andrew,
from this day forward. - Therefore, Andrew,
from this day forward. - No matter what may lie ahead of us. - No matter what may lie ahead of us. - I pledge to you my love. - I pledge to you my love. - As a loving and faithful wife. - As a loving and faithful wife. - You made it. Good job. Andrew and Shawn, stay right there. What do you give as a
token of your sincerity for these vows that
you're about to assume? - A ring.
- A ring. - Nice job. Can I have those rings? We had to work on that in rehearsal. The ring is a symbol of a commitment which binds the two of you together. There are two rings because
there are two people. Each make a contribution
to life of the other and to their new life together. Let me say a blessing over these rings. Pray with me please. Bless, oh Lord, the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may abide together in your peace and grow in their love for you and for each other. Amen. Andrew, take this ring, hers. And place it on her left hand. As you do, repeat after me. Shawn. - Shawn. - I give you this ring. - I give you this ring. - As a symbol of my never ending love. - As a symbol of my never ending love. - And faithfulness. - And faithfulness. - And I place it on your finger. - And I place it on your finger. - I commit myself to you
from this day forward. - I commit myself to you
from this day forward. - With all that I have. - With all that I have. - And all that I am. - And all that I am. - Now, Shawn, take that. Place it on his finger
and repeat after me. Andrew, I give you this ring. - Andrew, I give you this ring. - As a symbol of my never ending love. - [Shawn] As a symbol
of my never ending love. - And faithfulness. - And faithful. Faithfulness.
- Faithfulness. And as I place it on your finger. - And as I place it on your finger. - I commit myself to you
from this day forward. - I commit myself to you
from this day forward. - With all that I have and all that I am. - [Shawn] With all that
I have and all that I am. - Andrew and you, as
much as you've consented to join together in
holy state of matrimony and having pledged and sealed your vows by giving and receiving of these rings in the presence of God
and these witnesses, so by the power vested in me, and by some quirky thing in the law that lets me do this, I now pronounce you man and wife. Where God had joined together,
let no man put asunder. Andrew, you may kiss your bride. (crowd cheering) Save something in the
tank for later, big fella. Let me just offer, (kissing) okay. (crowd laughing) Let me just offer a prayer
of closing and benediction. Please pray with me. May the love of God, Andrew and Shawn, be above you to overshadow you, beneath you to uphold you, before you to guide you, behind you to protect you, close beside you and within you to make you able for all things and to reward your faithfulness
with joy and peace, which the world cannot and can never give, but neither can the world take it away. So may the Lord make
His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up
His continence upon you and give you peace. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be glory now
and forever more, amen. - [Shawn] Amen. - So now I'm gonna turn you around and I wanna say thank you. Turn and face the audience. Ladies and gentlemen, for the
first time it is my privilege to introduce you to Mister
and Mrs Andrew East. (crowd cheering) (lively music)
