Nuptial Mass

NUPTIAL MASS INTRODUCTORY RITES PROCESSIONAL GREETINGS Neil Nolan :

With marriage, Christ did something wonderful, He elevated it to the high dignity of a sacrament, through which God’s grace is given to us. The Sacrament of Matrimony is sacrament of the “living” received by a person who is spiritually alive. Today, Neil and Megan has come to unite themselves in real Christian marriage. This union exalts and makes divine the human Love. Through this sacrament, their Love for each other will be transfigured and will participate in God’s own Love. Let us all join Neil and Megan as they pray for their faithfulness in their covenant. May their union strengthen and may their love deepen, and that the Lord will bless their shared moments, all the days of their loves. Let us be ready to give them the support and encouragement that they will be needing as they come to live out their love creatively.

Neil Nolan :

Please stand for the Eucharistic Celebration.

Priest

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INTRODUCTORY RITES In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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Amen.

Priest

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

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And also with you.

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Priest

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God is love and has in some mysterious ways, drawn you Neil and Megan together in love. But He leaves you free to make that love grow. The lord will help you to forge a future for your love if you do your share when you stand for the commitment to love and honor one another in good times, in poverty and in plenty, in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, in that covenant which you are about to seal PENITENTIAL RITE

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As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s love and ask for His Father’s blessing, let us acknowledge our failures and ask the Lord for pardon and strength.

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I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sister, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, I ask the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, all the angels and saints, and to you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord our God.

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May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.

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Amen.

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Lord have mercy. (to be sung)

Gloria Glory to God In the highest and peace to his people on earth . . . . Opening Prayer Priest

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Father, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery, a symbol of Christ’s love for his Church. Hear our prayers for Neil and Megan.

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With faith in you and in each other pledge their love today. May their lives always bear withness to the reality of that love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. All

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Neil Nolan :

Amen Please be seated and listed to the word of God. LITUGY OF THE WORD

First Reading Julius : The first reading is taken from the book of Genesis (2:18-24) Then the Lord God said, “It is good for man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him” So He took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the bird. Then he brought them to man to see what he would name them; and this is how they all got their names. So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was suitable companion to help him. Then the lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleep, and while he was sleeping. He took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. Then the man said, “At last, here is one of my own kind, bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. “Woman” is her name be cause she was taken out of man”. The word of the Lord. All

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Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Carmelita : For the responsorial psalm, let our response be:

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TILL THE END OF MY DAYS, O LORD, I WILL BLESS YOUR NAME. SING YOUR PRAISE, GIVE YOU THANKS, ALL MY DAYS! 1. You have made me, little less than a God, and have lavished my heart with your love. With dignity and honor you’ve clothed me, Given me rule over all. (RESPONSE….)

2. You have blessed me with good things and plenty and surrounded my table with friends, their love and their laughter enrich me, together we sing your praise. (RESPONSE….)

3. How great is your love, O Father, That You send

us your Savior Son. His death and His rising will heal us, and draw all unto you. (RESPONSE….)

Second Reading Grace Marie: Taken from the first letter of Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:21-33) Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence to Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husband’s as to the Lord. For a husband has the authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has the authority over the Church, His Body. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands, in the same way that the Church submits itself to Christ. Husbands, love your wives in the same way that Christ love the Church and gave His lifefor it. He did it to dedicatethe Church to God, by His word, after making it clean by washing in water. In order to present the Church to Himself, in all beauty, pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle, or any imperfection. Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. As the scripture says: BECAUSE OF THIS, MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER TO BE UNITED WITH HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH, this is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church. As

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for you, let each one love his wife as himself, and every wife respect her husband. The Word of the Lord. All

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Thanks be to God.

Lighting of the Candles Neil Nolan : May we now request the candle sponsors to light the couple’s candles. Let us all stand to honor the Holy Gospel Alleluia Gospel Priest : The Lord with you. All

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And Also with you.

Priest

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A reading from the Gospel according to John (John 15:12-16)

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Glory to you, O Lord.

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Jesus said to his disciples: This is my commandment: love one an other as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my father. It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit. Your fruit must endure, so that all you ask the Father in my name He will give you. The gospel of the Lord.

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Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily Rites of Marriage Neil Nolan : Let us remain seated for the rite of marriage. We invite the parents and principal sponsors to stand to witness the exchange of consent.

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Priest

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Neil and Megan, you come together today before God and His community, to make an irrevocable promise to live for each other, and to share your love in oneness, in mutual dedication and responsibility. Christ, abundantly blesses His love. He has already consecrated you in baptism and now He enriches you by a special sacrament so that you may assume the joys and duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity. And so in the presence of the church, I ask you to state your intentions. Megan, did you come here of your own freewill to bind yourself forever in the love and service of your husband?

Megan

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Yes, Father.

Priest

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Neil, did you come here of your own free will to bind yourself forever in love and service of your wife?

Neil

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Yes, Father.

Priest

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Are you both ready to raise, as good Catholic Christians, the children whom God will give you?

Neil & Megan:

Priest

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Yes, Father.

Exchange of Consent Since it is your intentions to enter into Holy Matrimony, join your right hand and declare your intentions before God and His Church. Megan, do you take Neil, here present as your lawful husband according to the rite of our Holy Mother, the Church?

Megan

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Do you give yourself to him as his wife?

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Megan

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Do you accept him as your lawful husband?

Megan

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Neil, do you take Megan, here present, as your lawful wife according to the rite of Our Holy Mother, the Church?

Neil

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Do you give yourself to her as her husband?

Neil

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Do you accept her as your lawful wife?

Neil

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Yes, I do.

Priest

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Now, please say together commitment to each other.

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Neil & Megan: Grant us, O Lord, to be one heart and one soul from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. Priest

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And I, by the authority of the Church, calling on all those present here as witnesses, confirm and bless the bond of marriage which you have contracted. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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Amen.

Priest

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Neil & Megan are now husband and wife. Let us give the newly wedded couple a big hand.

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Blessing of Rings and Arrhae Neil & Megan, we shall now bless your rings and arrhae. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

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All Priest

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Who made heaven and earth. Bless O Lord, these rings so that your children, Neil & Megan, who wear them may ever live In mutual love and unbroken loyalty. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

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Amen.

Priest

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All

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Amen.

Priest

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Now, give these rings to one another.

Neil

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Megan, wear this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Megan

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Neil, wear this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Priest

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Now, Neil give the arrhae to Megan.

Neil

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Megan, I give you these arrhae as a pledge of my dedication and constant concern for your welfare and that of the children God may, in his loving goodness, give us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Megan

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And I accept them with the promise to share in the joys and pains, the challenges and the responsibilities of building our Christian home. Neil, I pledge my concern and dedication to you and the children God may give us.

Neil Nolan :

Blessing of the Arrhae Let us pray, bless O Lord your children Neil & Megan with sufficiency of material possession which these arrhae symbolize so that they may use them to attain eternal life. Through Christ Our Lord.

Please rise for the Prayer of the Faithful.

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Priest

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Mary Grace:

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Mary Grace: All

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Mary Grace:

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Prayer of the Faithful It is from God that we come when we enter this life, and it is Him we go when we leave it. This means that through we may be traveling along separated paths, we are in fact all going in the same direction. Let us pray to God for grace to be truly helpful to one another. Let our response be: Lord of love, hear us. For the Holy Church spread all over the world and for Her Leaders, that she may continue to be a sacrament of God’s love and fidelity to all the people of the earth Let us pray to the Lord. Lord of love, hear us. For the leaders of our nation that they will live the love as a means of attaining genuine peace and justice. Let us pray to the Lord. Love of love, hear us. For the married couples that they will live in love and faithfulness, for better or worse, in joy and in sorrow, all the days of theirlives. Let us pray to the Lord. Lord of love, hear us.

Mary Grace : For Neil & Megan that they may keep their hearts united forever, may no selfishness, pride or weakness separate them. Let us pray to the Lord. All : Lord of love, hear us. Mary Grace : For their parents, who reared them and showered them with love and a happy life, may God reward them with unending peace and prosperity. Let pray to the Lord. All : Lord of love, hear us. Mary Grace : For this godparents, may God give them His gifts of wisdom, to guide the newly married couple in the path of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord. All : Lord of love, hear us.

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Mary Grace: All

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For all of us gathered here, may God continue to protect us and guide us and our loved ones in our daily lives. Let us pray to the Lord. Lord of love, hear us. Almighty, eternal God, look down with favor upon Neil and Megan, grant them to remain faithful to You and to one another. At the end of a long and well-spent life, reward them with happiness with their children and with all those who love them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Neil Nolan :

Please be seated.

Neil Nolan :

Laying of the Veil We now request the Veil Sponsors to lay the veil on the couple.

Neil Nolan:

Placing of the Cord We now request the Cord Sponsors to place the cord on the couple. Offertory Procession The gifts may now be offered to the altar.

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Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation, through Your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life. Blessed be God forever. Lord God, we ask You to receive us and to be pleased with the sacrifice we offer you humble and contrite hearts. Lord wash away in inequity, cleanse me from my sins. Pray, my dear brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.

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All

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Neil Nolan :

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and the glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Church. Please rise.

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Prayer of the Gifts Priest : Lord, accept our offering for this newly-married couple, Neil & Megan. By your love and providence you have brought them together, now bless them all the days of their married life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. : Amen.

Priest All Priest All Priest All Priest

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Neil Nolan :

Eucharistic Prayer The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift us your hearts. We lift them us to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. It is right to Him thanks and praise. Father, all powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give You thanks. You created love to share Your divine life. We see His high destiny in the love of husband and wife, which bear the imprint of Your own divine love. Love is man’s origin, love is his constant calling, love is his fulfillment in heaven. The love of man and woman is made holy in the Sacrament of Marriage, and becomes the mirror of Your everlasting love. Through Christ the choirs of angels and all the saint praise and worship your glory. May our voices blend with theirs as we join in their unending hymn. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of Your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Please kneel. Consecration

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Priest All

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Lord you are Holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness. Let your spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Before He was given up to death, a death He freely accepted, He took bread and gave You thanks. He broke he bread, gave it to His disciples and said: Take this all of you, and eat it: This is my body which will be given up for you. When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again, He gave You thanks and praise, gave the cup to His disciples and said: Take this all of you, and drink from it: This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me. Let us proclaim the mystery of the faith. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. In the memory of His death and resurrection, we offer You Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank You for counting us worthy to stand in Your present and serve You. May all of us share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. Lord, remember You Church throughout the world; make us grow in love, together with Benedict XVI, our Pope, Christian Vicente Noel, our bishop, and all the clergy. Remember our brother and sisters who have gone to their rest the hope of rising again; bring them and all the departed into the light of you presence. Have mercy on us all, make us worthy to share eternal life with Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ our God, with all the apostles, and with all the saints who have done Your will throughout the ages. May we praise You in union with them and give you Glory through your Son Jesus Christ. Through Him, with him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is, Yours, Almighty Father forever and ever.

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All : Neil Nolan Priest

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Amen. : Please stand. The Lord’s Prayer Let us pray to God, the Father, in the words our Savior gave us. Our Father… Nuptial Blessing My dear friends, let us turn to the Lord and pray that He bless with His grace Neil & Megan, now married in Christ and that through the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, He will unit them in love. (pause) Holy Father, creator of the universe, maker of man and woman in your own likeness, source of the blessing for married life, you created Neil & Megan for each other. May they share with each other gift of love and become one in heart and mind. Lord, with love on Your daughter, Megan, now joined to her husband in marriage, she asks your blessings. Give her grace of peace of and strength, patience and love. May she always follow the example of Mary, our Mother. May her husband, Neil, put his trust her and recognize that she is his equal and heir with him to the life of grace. May he always honor her and love her as Christ loves His bride, the Church. Give your blessings to your son, Neil, so that he may be a faithful husband and a good father. Father, keep them always true to your commandments. Bless them with children and help them to be a good parents. Keep them faithful in marriage and let them be living examples of Christ life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer of Peace Lord Jesus Christ, You said to Your apostles, I leave you peace, My peace I give you.” Look not

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on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of Your Kingdom, where You live forever and ever. Amen. May the peace of the Lord be with you always. And also with you. Let us give each other the sign of peace. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. (TO BE SUNG) Please kneel. Invitation to Communion This is Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His supper. Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed. The veil and cord may now be removed. Prayer after Communion Lord, is your love you given us this Eucharist to unite us with one another and with you. As you have made Neil & Megan one in this sacrament of marriage (and in the sharing of one bread and the one cup), so now make them one in love for each other. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Final Blessing Neil & Megan, now that you have received the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony, I admonish you to remain faithful to each other. Megan, love your husband and be caring wife to him. Be by his side at all times to comfort and encourage him. Persevere in faith, in love and in holiness. Neil, love your wife as Christ loves His Church. Be with her lasting fidelity. Be a good husband, providing her with strength and support she will need from you.

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The Lord be with you. And also with you. May the Lord bless you by the Word of His mouth. Amen. May He unite your hearts in an enduring bond of pure love. Amen. May you be blessed with children, and may your generous love for them be returned to you a hundredfold. Amen. May the peace of Christ dwell always in your hearts and in your home; may you have true friends to stand by you both in joy and sorrow. Amen May you be ready with help and consolation for all those who come to you in need; and may the blessing promised to the compassionate descend in abundance on your home. Amen May you be blessed in your work and enjoy its fruits; may earthly possession not lead you astray, but may your heart’s concern be always for the treasures laid up for you in the life of heaven. Amen May the Lord grant you fullness of years so that you may reap the harvest of good life. And after you have served Him with loyalty in his Kingdom on earth, may He welcome you to His eternal dominion in heaven. Amen May the Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen The mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God Recessional Singing of Marriage Contract

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PICTURE TAKING ARRANGEMENT Neil and Megan Couple with Priest Couple with Principal Sponsors Couple with Bride’s Parents Couple with Bride’s Immediate Family Couple with Groom’s Parents Couple with Groom’s Immediate Family Couple with Entourage Couple with Secondary Sponsors Couple with Bride’s Relatives Couple with Groom’s Relatives Couple with Bride’s Friends Couple with Groom’s Friends

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