The Wedding
September 19, 1998
8:00 PM

 Pre Ceremony Music by Ann Roos, our harpist
"Some Enchanted Evening" from "South Pacific"
"Music of the Night" from "The Phantom of the Opera"
"Through the Years" by Steve Dorff and Marty Panzer

 Processional
"Trumpet Voluntary" by J. Clarke

My Entrance with Father
"Bridal Chorus" by R. Wagner

Marching Order Down the Aisle, the Filipino Way
Kasalan (Filipino Wedding)

Officiant:
Reverend Ronald Z. Sayed

Best "Woman":
Lynne Perillo

Mother of the Groom & Groom:
Christine Perillo & Edward Perillo

Mother of the Bride:
Aquilina Tolentino

Female and Male Sponsors:
Mary Perillo & Ronald Tolentino

Ringbearer:
Harlan Perillo

Flower Girl:
Anissa Reyes

Bridesmaid and Groomsman:
Emily Blackwell  & Dominic Tolentino

Maid of Honor:
Antoinette Tolentino

Bride and Father of the Bride:
Leilani Tolentino & Domingo Tolentino

Opening Words
We are gathered here tonight, in the presence of family and friends, to unite Edward Michael Perillo and Leilani Mary Paragas Tolentino in marriage.

As you know, no minister nor public official can marry you—only you can marry yourselves. By a mutual commitment to love each other, to work toward creating an atmosphere of care, consideration and respect, by a willingness to face the tensions and anxieties of life, you can make your lives, and especially your wedded life, come alive. 

From this day onward, you must come closer together than ever before. You must love one another in sickness and health, for better and for worse, but at the same time your love should give you the strength to stand apart, to seek out your unique destinies, to make your special contribution to the world which is part of us.

Piano Piece by Antoinette Tolentino
Ed and Leilani, in honor of you both, a special gift will now be presented to you.
(Cue Antoinette, Maid of Honor to play on keyboard, "Forever in Love" by Kenny G)

The Three Ceremonies (Candle, Veil and Cord)
Cue background music to be played lightly during Candle, Veil and Cord Ceremonies
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the "Lion King"

The Candle Ceremony
(Will supply Classic Unity Candle with gold cross and double rings on it)

Tonight, Edward and Leilani make a loving commitment to follow the greatest Commandment of all: "Love one another, as I have loved you." They do this in hopes that their union will become a symbol of the greatest promise to merge two lives into one.

The two distinct flames represent your lives to this moment; individual and unique. As you light the center candle together, the entwined rings symbolize your two lives joined in dependence and growth. Your plans will be mutual, your joys and sorrows will be shared alike.

With the center candle lit, the cross is a call for enlightenment, a reminder of God’s presence in the ceremony. (pause)

Extinguish the two outside candles, and you are forever united in God’s love.

The Veil Ceremony
(Cue Mothers to place veil around groom’s shoulders and bride’s head)
Please kneel before me.

As you join yourselves in marriage, there is a vast and unknown future stretching out before you. The possibilities and potentials of your married life are great and now falls upon your shoulders the task of choosing values and making real the dreams that other men and women have strived for over the years. Again, in this way, you will create the meaning of your lives, and your wedded life together as one.

In reality, however, marriage is much more broad. As we give thanks for the love that bring you together, so too, we celebrate marriage as the merging of families and recognize the additional love and responsibility family and friends bring to this relationship. (pause)

With this veil, symbolizes unity of the two families into one; it is also a prayer for health and protection during your married lives.

The Cord Ceremony
(Cue Ronald and Mary to place cord entwined loosely around our necks in the form of a figure eight).

We are here to share your joy and hope and to speed you along the path, which henceforth, you are to tread together. May it be the path of blessedness, bright with the fragrant flowers of prosperity and spiritual conquest; a path of deepening and widening love that you will travel arm and arm throughout eternity. (pause)

With this cord, symbolizes the infinity of the bond of marriage, a union that lasts a lifetime.

 Conclusion of The Three Ceremonies
 Cue "Circle of Life" from the "Lion King" to be played lightly in the background.
 (Reading of the "Marriage Joins Two People" poem by officiant) 

Marriage is a commitment to life—
to the best that two people can find
and brings out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other human relationship can equal,
a joining that is promised for a lifetime. 

Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all
of life's most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other's best friend,
confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.
There may come times
when one partner is heartbroken or ailing,
and the love of the other
may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. 

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher;
commitment is stronger;
even anger is felt more strongly,
and passes away more quickly. 

Marriage understands
to love and care for each other in marriage,
they create a spirit unique to themselves,
which binds them closer than
any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise, a potential,
made in the hearts of two people who love,
which takes a lifetime to fulfill. 

-Edmund O'Neill

Removal of Veil and Cord
Same sponsors to remove veil and cord
Edward and Leilani, please rise and stand before me.

Ring Ceremony and Consent
A circle is the symbol of the sun and the earth, and of the universe. It is a symbol of wholeness, and perfection, and of peace. The rings you give and receive tonight, then are symbols of the Circle of Life into which you enter together as husband and wife.

Edward Michael Perillo, do you take this woman whose hand you now hold, choosing her alone to be your wedded wife?

I Will

Will you love and respect her, stand with her in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow for all the days of your lives?

I Will

Then, Edward, please place this ring on Leilani’s finger, and repeat after me...

Our love is part of this Circle of Life/ for we will laugh and cry/ support and be supported/ grow and then move forward into a greater world/ and through our love/ bring more love onto others/

I give you this ring/ in solemn token and pledge/ of my constant faith and abiding love/ whom I will cherish/ above all others, forevermore.

Leilani Mary Paragas Tolentino, do you take this man whose hand you now hold, choosing him alone to be your wedded husband?

I Will

Will you love and respect him, stand with him in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow for all the days of your lives?

I Will

Then, Leilani, please place this ring on Edward’s finger, and repeat after me...

By placing these rings on our third finger/ The Circle of Life touches our heart/ and reminds us/ that our love is constant yet ever changing.

I give you this ring/ in solemn token and pledge/ of my constant faith and abiding love/ whom I will cherish/ above all others, forevermore.

Your two lives are joined now in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, may you always return to one another in your togetherness. May you find in each other the growing love for which all men and women yearn. May you grow in understanding, compassion and devotion to each other. May the home which you establish be such a place that you will find a friend there. May these rings on your fingers symbolize the touch of the spirit of love in your hearts.

Love is patient and kind. It is not jealous, conceited or proud. Love is not ill-mannered, selfish or irritable. Love does not keep a record of wrongs. Love is not happy with evil, but it is happy with the truth. Love never gives up. Its faith, hope and patience never fail…for love is eternal.

In as much as you, Edward and Leilani have consented together in marriage before friends and loved ones, and have pledged your faith and declared your unity by giving and receiving a ring, I in accordance with the laws of the State of Nevada and the authority vested in me, do now pronounce you husband and wife.

Closing Words
In closing, I offer you the marriage ceremony words of the early inhabitants who were native to this beautiful land and lake now called Tahoe:

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 more loneliness for you.
You are still two bodies, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place, and enter into the days of your togetherness,
And may your days be long and good upon this earth.

You may now kiss the bride.

 It gives me pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Edward and Leilani Perillo!

Recessional
"Wedding March" from a "Midsummer Night's Dream", Felix Mendelssohn

Post Ceremony Music
"A Whole New World" from "Aladdin"