Mr. and Mrs. Van Nute

Married March 21, 1999 in San Jose California

Acknowledgements and greeting	Marriage defined	Dennis' poem
hands	Legal vows	Special vows
Apache Blessing and end of ceremony

Welcome everyone.

We are here today to celebrate that most beautiful of commitments between a man and a woman. That of marriage But today we are not only uniting a couple, but celebrating and acknowledging a family with Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie,

who are an important part of this celebration.

Who gives this woman to this man?

I do.

Thank you, Dennis.

Marriage is an important event, a time for reflection, to consider what is important to each of us in life, and what is important to Van and Shana are their family and their friends. There are a few people Van and Shana would like to acknowledge, for without them their love would not exist.

First, Shana's sister-in-law Becky for without her passing on Shana and Van may not be together. It was Becky's death that showed Shana that Van would always be there for her and for her family, even through the bad times Becky's sweet spirit continues to be with us today. Even though Becky has passed on, her sweet spirit is with us today. The earrings Shana is wearing were a gift from Becky for her wedding day.

Van and Shana would like to take a moment to acknowledge the four people in their lives who have made them who they are today - their parents - Torrie and Carole and Dennis and RoseMary.

These four people have taught them their values, shown them how to laugh, to appreciate all that life has to offer, and to love unconditionally. Their generosity, support and love is unending. Will these four people please come up here a moment

Thank you.

(Van and Shana give them gifts)

It is also today that Van and Shana continue the tradition of birthday weddings that their parents started so many years ago Torrie, Carole, Dennis and RoseMary, may Van and Shana follow in your footsteps and have a marriage and a love that will last forever.

Marriage is a legal contract, but, more, it is an agreement between two people to share their lives, their fortune and misfortune, to share the good times and the bad. The essence of this commitment is the accepting of the other in his or her entirety, as friend, lover and companion throughout life.

Marriage is most solemn and is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously, and with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. It is the sharing of a home, a sharing of financial responsibilities, the nurturing of children, but mainly a sharing of feelings, friendship and loyalty. It involves nurturing, not only when things are going well but when the difficult days occur. That is when the marriage partner is there to sustain and love.

Marriage is an agreement to build a home together. And home is the abiding place of one's affections, a restful and congenial refuge, a place to gain new support from a loved one, a place where feelings will be acknowledged and thoughts respected.

Marriage is also about day-to-day companionship, and day-to-day living. It is about sensual pleasures and the enjoyment of sharing the intimacies of daily life. A healthy marriage involves balancing, togetherness with separateness, union with individuality. It is about equity and fairness and the sharing of responsibilities: it involves caring about and caring for one another.

Marriage does not always come easily and it will take work and dedication by you both to make it last. Marriage, like a rough stone, can, with care, sensitivity and diligence, be shaped into a beautiful gem that will last a lifetime.

Shana 's father, Dennis, has written a poem for this occasion

I never knew you, I never knew your place in my heart
I saw you in the halls at Oak Grove
Too young-looking to be there,
Not my sort at all.

I never knew you, I never knew your place in my heart
I saw you in the halls at Oak Grove
Too pretty to accept me
Not my sort at all

I never knew you, I never knew your place in my heart
I hunted everywhere that you weren't
Rocket scientists, cowboys, I wanted to be happy
To find someone to share my life

I never knew you, I never knew your place in my heart
I hunted everywhere that you weren't
Diving teams, special olympics, I was always looking
To find someone to share my life

I finally knew you I finally knew your place in my heart
When least expected,
Sharing a difficult time with friends
Without knowing it, I found my love, my wife

I finally knew you, I finally knew your place in my heart
Fun and kind and wonderful
Without knowing it I found my love,
Sitting on my mother's couch

This day we pledge our love
We vow to always keep
Our places in the other's hearts
No more searching No more looking
For our ever-lasting love we have found

Here, in this place, I ask the two of you to consider all that has been said and to resolve to work together so that you may enjoy one another to the fullest into your older age.

No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you now assume. When you both keep these vows, your home will be happy and full of joy.

Van and Shana, will you please join hands and face each other.... Shana, please take hold of Van's hands, palms up, so you may see the gifts that they are to you.

These are the hands, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all of the days of his life.

These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too feels his child within your womb.

These are the hands that look so large and clumsy, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.

These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family. These are the hands that will hold and love Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie as his own.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief racks your mind.

These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes, eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

Do you. Van Alton Nute take Shana Lee Anderson to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to love and comfort her, to honor and keep her in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity and forsaking all others be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

Do you, Shana Lee Anderson take Van Alton Nute to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love and comfort him, to honor and keep him in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity and forsaking all others be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

Van, please repeat after me
I, Van take you Shana to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish today and always.

Shana, please repeat after me
I, Shana take you Van to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish today and always.

Van, please place and hold the ring on Shana's hand and repeat after me...
Shana, this ring 1 give you, in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love. With this ring I thee wed. And with all my worldly goods I thee endow.

Shana, please place and hold the ring on Van's hand and repeat after me...
Van, this ring I give you, in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love. With this ring I thee wed. And with all my worldly goods I thee endow.

Now Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie, you are a very special part of today. Just as your mom and Van have exchanged their promises to each other, so Van now makes his special promise to you

Van, do you take Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie as your own? Do you promise to love and care for the, to provide for their needs, physically and spiritually, to always be there for them, to support, protect and comfort them through all the days of your life?

I do.

Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie, do you take Van to be your loving father from this day forward?

I do.

Van, please repeat after me.
Cheri, I place this ring on your finger as a sign of my promise today.
Brandon, I place this ring on your finger as a sign of my promise today.
Stephanie, I place this ring on your finger as a sign of my promise today.

Van and Shana have written their personal vows but they are too emotional to say them themselves, so I will read them. Van, these are Shana's vows to you.

I have felt a very special love for you since we first met. First as a friend, then as a boyfriend, now as my husband

The relationship we have is beautiful. Even during the hardest times, you amaze me. You always know what to say and how to react to me to make everything better

Daily, I thank your parents for raising such a wonderful person, someone who seems so tough on the outside, but is so soft and kind on the inside

You have taught me how a relationship should be, and I thank you for that. I love you for accepting me as I am, and for not trying to change me, for loving and accepting my children as your own, and for putting our needs before your own I love your patience, your morals, your touch, your stubbornness (except when it is towards me), your passiveness, your belief in people, your loving ways and so much more.

I vow to be your faithful loving wife from today on I vow to make time for you to listen to you, to love you, to respect you, and to cherish you always. I vow to be open and honest with you always and never to take you for granted.

I promise to talk by your side and go through the good and the bad times with you. I vow to support and encourage your hopes, dreams, and goals and to help you achieve your full potential.

I give my entire mind, my body, my soul and myself to you. I will hold dearly your heart you give me today as I know you will hold mine. From this moment on, I will be proud to be your wife.

These are Van's personal vows to Shana.

True love is the one thing that makes life worth living. Some people spend their whole life searching for their true love and never find it One's true love is the person that leaves a little empty space when they are gone, and the person who fills that empty space when they return Your true love is the person in your life you can't live without, and your true love is the person you would give your life to protect. Your true love is the person who makes the little things in life so special, and also makes the bad things in life a little easier to handle. True love is the willingness to say you are sorry, and having it in your heart to forgive all of the mistakes your true love makes. It is the willingness to talk out a problem and not to run way from that problem.

Shana, I don't know if words are enough to express how much I love you. 1 will promise to show you every day when you mean to me. From this day forward I vow to protect you for the rest of my life. I also vow to protect your children as my own. We will face all of life's challenges and we will celebrate all of life's joys as a family So on the day that I vow to be your husband, soulmate and lover, I also vow to be your best friend I love you.

So many of us are immigrants in this country. This is in honor of the original inhabitants of our continent. It is An Apache Blessing.

Now you will feel no rain
For each of you will be 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 each of you will be companion to the other
For you are now one person
And there is but one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter into the days of your Togetherness
And may your days be long and good
Upon this earth and beyond.

Now that you have joined yourselves in solemn matrimony, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion which you now so very obviously possess.

May the music of the meadow
With its song of silver streams
Bring sunlight to the paths you walk
And magic to your dreams.

Inasmuch as Van and Shana have consented together in marriage, declaring their love for one another, and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce them husband and wife, Cheri, Brandon and Stephanie - a family.

You may kiss

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Van Nute