When my Michael and I first met,
I knew that he was different.
He went on a family vacation after three weeks of dating,
and he told his mom that he met someone.
And his mom said, "I need to tell you a story."
♪ Days of a brand new start ♪
♪ Came in perfect time and measure ♪
♪ Grace and a golden heart ♪
♪ How we've thrown our arms around you ♪
In 2000 I began praying for my daughters
that God would bring them a godly man.
Susan's done the same thing,
and I know Mike and Connie been praying
for a godly spouse for Michael.
♪ Glory we bask in the sun ♪
I just think about, since the beginning of time
before time began, God knew that all
of you would be here celebrating what God has done
to bring these two together.
Now God has prepared you specifically for this day.
♪ Oh failure what a glorious plan ♪
I never thought that people from Los Angeles,
and New York, and Nashville, and Louisiana
would all be finding a way to Brenham, Texas.
♪ Reaching palms to the sun ♪
As one of my bridesmaid said,
who knew in the middle of nowhere Texas is such a vibe.
♪ I've been waiting my whole life for this ♪
I don't know, I feel like heaven meets earth today.
It's like so crazy like, this is awesome.
We're here to celebrate what God
has in your life to bring you two
to this point and we're having a great
time doing that.
On behalf of Michael, Lindsey, and our families.
Thank you so very much for being here this afternoon.
Who gives this bride to be married to this man?
What am I gonna say?
Her mother and I.
Susan and I, sister.
We are grateful that all of y'all have shared
this evening with us and we know that tomorrow
is a really, really big day.
Oh god.
I love you, oh my god I literally talked earlier
about how I'm not gonna cry during this.
I love you so much and I'm so excited for tomorrow.
It's gonna be such a blast and I hope that we can just
remember everything, it's gonna be a blur
but we're gonna look back on November ninth
every year and just think, wow that was an awesome day.
Lindsey Ruth, I love you.
I remember the day after I asked you to be my girlfriend.
I had no idea what to do next, or what the next
steps would be.
But we vowed to take it one day at a time,
and to see where God would lead us.
How amazing that God has led us here.
Nailed it!
Today is the day that we've been talking
about since we were little kids.
And Michael you are such an answered prayer.
What a blessing it is to know that your best friend
is loved and cherished and will be taken care
of every day for the rest of her life.
When I was a kid they used to talk in church
about the type of man you should look for.
I went home and jotted down a few things
on a note card and stuck them in my desk.
In 2005, you started writing lists
of what you wanted in a godly mate.
In 2011, there's another list.
In 2016, there's another list.
She wanted somebody who was godly, a family man,
somebody who played sports in college
and somebody who loved his mom.
Michael, you are everything on these lists,
but exceedingly more.
Many people told me I had too high of standards,
but as I look over the cards and stand before
you today I just know that you are my person.
You are my man, and God has brought us together
in his perfect timing.
These are so cute!
Michael, I don't know what you're list is
but knowing and loving my sister, by marrying her
you're gonna have somebody whose gonna believe
you can do anything you put your mind to.
And you're gonna be marrying somebody who will
always have your back and be your biggest cheerleader.
We spent lots of Sundays sitting next to each other
with clutched hands on a Circle Maker book
and his journal, lots of tears were shed
over hoping for the best and knowing that it was out there.
But it's very old.
It's 100 years old. I'm the fourth onto
100 years old.
That's so cool.
His mom had been reading a book called,
Circle Maker, which coincidentally is
one of my favorite books.
And so my mom loves plants
and she loves caladium bulbs, and she had decided
reading Circle Maker and praying intentionally,
she was gonna plant these bulbs in one portion
of the flowerbed.
But she was gonna pray on an area that was not planted.
She prayed over this area and she just said
if these bulbs bloom in the area where I didn't plant them,
then I'm gonna know that God has planned
and provided a girl for my Michael.
One year passed, and they did not bloom.
And then the next year, they did not bloom again.
The third year, they bloomed right around the time
that we had met.
Right when I had met Lindsey I said,
you know I met this girl and she's just awesome.
And that's when she told me that spring,
she knew that Lindsey, she didn't know her name,
was coming because the bulbs had bloomed that spring.
That's why we incorporated caladium bulbs
in my bouquet, and throughout the ceremony
because it's kind of like a God wink
that he's always got us.
The first time I saw you, I noticed your smile.
You professed to love Jesus, football and adventure.
Thank you, Mom.
Which sounded amazing on paper,
but I can tell by your smile that you had a joy
that can only come from a true understanding
and love of our Savior.
You're welcome.
I remember the day we met Lindsey
and gosh, I had my expectations set really high,
but you far exceeded them.
If I could pick any person for Michael,
it would be you.
Michael, the instant I met you, I was just
so thankful that God brought you to Lindsey.
You do not stifle any of her Lindseyness,
but you are grounded and you help keep her centered.
I love this guy like he's my little brother.
And when I first met Lindsey, I mean she
was infectious man, she was the most fun person
I've ever been with.
Michael!
You look beautiful, my god!
You are bold, and you have this love for life
that is just never ending and you push
everyone around you to enjoy it and just make the most
of what they've been blessed with.
Lindsey, since you were born, you've been
a bright, bright light everywhere you go.
You've never met a stranger.
Wow! Hi, Dad!
To my clone of a granddaughter!
God knew what he was doing when he made her.
And she got the perfect man and we're so happy
to have you belong to our family.
This is a special group and when you get a chance
to unite, two really strong families.
That's a really, really neat thing.
You're apart of our family, and you're family
is our family.
Don't ever walk away from that,
because know we're there.
If you need us, call us.
Because that's what this family is all about
and will always will be about.
You got the best.
♪ Look at us now ♪
♪ Look at you shine ♪
♪ We're not coming down ♪
♪ Don't wanna close my eyes ♪
♪ Look at us now ♪
God has just done so much just in your life
and your heart when he brought Michael in your life.
My life changed when I met Michael
in the best way possible.
And he makes me better in every way.
He's gonna make my car cleaner.
Couple months ago, my brother and I
are talking about something, he's just real stressed out.
He goes, "I finally figured it out, I'm marrying you."
"She looses everything, she doesn't know where
things are, she's late to things."
And I was like, "You're welcome?"
I know that God has been teaching me,
and preparing me for this day my entire life.
Particularly when I think back to times I got
inpatient and upset with my brother
for not keeping his shoes clean, his hair combed
or for coloring outside the lines.
Look what God did.
♪ Look at us now ♪
One of the first things I noticed about you,
is that you don't give up.
Michael, I promise to never give up on you.
I promise to never give up on us.
No matter what happens, no matter how crazy
life's challenges may feel, I will always,
always be on your team.
I know that God has brought us together,
and I know that God has called me to love you
like he loved the church.
I promise to lead to you, to protect you,
to be faithful to you, and to love you
for the rest of my life.
♪ Our dreams before us ♪
♪ Nothing to hold us back ♪
You are by far my favorite answered prayer.
I vow to always be next to you no matter
how bumpy the road gets.
And to always pack snacks because you never
know where the adventure will take us.
I vow to pray for you daily, I vow to take care
of you when you are sick.
Until the last day on Earth, I will be right
next to your side.
♪ Look at us now ♪
♪ Look at you shine ♪
♪ We're not coming down ♪
♪ Don't wanna close my eyes ♪
♪ Look at us now ♪
We knew from the start, like this is it guys!
Let's celebrate, I'm ready to get on the dance floor!
We love you two so much!
♪ Look at us now ♪
What a life this is going to be.
Full of adventure, love and grace.
Michael, thank you for showing me a love
like this exists.
I love you, yes I do.