SARAH & ROB'S AUTUMN WEDDING // LONDON, ONTARIO

Instead of trying to express in my own words what an incredible wedding day this was, I wanted to share with you Rob and Sarah’s vows to each other. I hope that these words paired with these images, will give you a sense of how Christ-centred and intimate this union was. I am so incredibly happy to have connected with these two and to have been given the honour of documenting their love.

xo Emma-lee

Rob,

my love, my very best friend & forever adventure partner,

today i stand here in front of the people we hold dearest to us, committing myself to you. today is the day that i choose you to be the one that i spend the rest of my life with. the words that i am about to speak are promises that i am declaring over our marriage. they are the words that will be the life and breath of our covenant in the years to come. 

i vow to cherish you as the gift that you are & never become bored of you, choosing to explore the deepest mysteries of your heart. i promise to be your best friend, confidant and number one encourager. when your vision becomes cloudy & all you hear is lies, i vow to be the one who confidently speaks back the words of the father over you - calling you into your true identity as a son of the king.

i vow to pursue the heart of our heavenly father before anything else. i vow to build our relationship on a solid foundation of trust, choosing to step into intimacy and vulnerability, even when it feels uncomfortable or intimidating. when fear, disappointment or anxiety come, i vow to choose freedom & forgiveness.  i vow to laugh with you in the good times & cry with with you through any heartache and pain that will come our way.  I vow to live a life full of thankfulness, and instead of seeing lack, i will choose to thank the Lord for the abundance of what he has provided us with.

i can’t promise that i will always make you happy, but i will strive to prefer your needs above my own & love you with a sacrificial love.  i vow to support you as you lead in our marriage, our home & our family. i promise that i will seek not to live a comfortable life, but a brave and wholehearted one.  i vow to be your partner in seeking to further the kingdom of God.

i promise that i will not seek to live a life of safety and comfort, but a free, brave & wholehearted life with Jesus as our foundation. i promise to help build a home that will be a safe place of refuge for our family & our community. i vow to cultivate in you a spirit of passion and creativity, so we can serve those around us well.  i promise to create along side with you & i vow to never stop dreaming with you & having fun with you.

rob, i love you & i like you. thank you for holding my heart carefully & showing me that vulnerability is worth the risk. i am beyond excited to enter covenant with you & explore the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord together for the rest of our lives. i can’t imagine my life without you & i am so excited to be able to call myself your wife.

Sarah,

When I met you, I remember you to be a gentle, honest & light-hearted young women, this is who i still know you to be today.

Sarah, you’re not just the love of my life but you and I have become such good friends over the past few years.  Our friendship has been, is, and always will be something important to me. I love how we can share our interests and passions together in simple fun ways. 

I love how you are a person of conviction; you stay steady in your beliefs in such a true way.  I love how you care for others and pursue meaningful friendships.  I love & so admire your peace-ability, you teach me so much when it comes to how you love through peace.  I love how you have vision for building community.  You care for people will and show that in how committed, faithful & involved you are in the lives of the people and community you care for. 

Sarah, loving you has brought such a sobering gravity into my life.  You’ve exposed a need to me to be vulnerable, stepping past my fears and understanding, yet, all the while awaking in me a realization that I was called to, need, and desire you and all that you are.

Now is an opportunity to publicly, yet personally speak of my promise of love and commitment to you.  Of course I’ll protect you and us.  Despite circumstances, I will stay anchored with you.  I’m not going anywhere. 

It is my pleasure to give of myself to you like Christ gave himself for the Body - His beautiful people, to lead you selflessly and to love you fervently.  

Sarah, I am excited to pursue your beautiful heart forever. 

Big thanks to Erin Caitlin Photography for second shooting <3