On September 5th, Jonathan Khalil and I co-officiated Savannah and Ethan's wedding ceremony on their farm in Lenoir City, Tennessee. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

When I think about Savannah and Ethan, one lesson stands out above all the others: a great marriage begins when two people discover not only that they love each other, but that they are walking toward the same destination.

Think about their first conversation.

They had just met in a crowded Nashville bar. Ethan introduced himself... and promptly spilled Savannah's drink. Most people would have remembered that as an awkward beginning. Instead, they found themselves talking about something neither of them has forgotten to this day: one day building an animal sanctuary. Years later, that dream is still there. They even have a name for it, Red Sky Sanctuary, named after their first horses. How many couples can say that the dream
they shared on the very first day is still one of the foundations of the life they are building together?

Relationships are strengthened when two people are not simply looking at each other, but looking together toward the same horizon. Ethan describes Savannah as someone who is "extremely open-minded, curious and had no ego." He says she wasn't boxed in by what other people expected of her, and that freedom immediately captured his heart. Savannah, in turn, says what drew her to Ethan wasn't simply his kindness, but his character. She says he is "the type of person who leaves everything better than he found it."

One admires the other's freedom. The other admires the other's character. And when freedom and character come together, something very special begins to happen.

For Savannah and Ethan, marriage is about building a life of peace and fulfillment alongside someone who shares their values and their purpose. For both of them, it’s about devoting their lives to someone they believe will be the best spouse and parent they could pray for. Neither of them talks about marriage as the end of a journey. They see it as the beginning of the next adventure they have been preparing for all along.

The strongest marriages are not built only on romance. They are built on shared purpose. On common values. On the quiet confidence that whatever life brings, we're building it together.

Savannah and Ethan, thank you for reminding all of us that when two people share not only their hearts but also their dreams, the future becomes something they don't fear. It becomes something they eagerly create together. May your home always be filled with the kindness you already show one another, the peace you bring into each other's lives, and the joy of watching the dreams you first spoke about on your very first day continue to come true.

On July 24th, I officiated Arie and Blake's wedding ceremony at The Mayo in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

When I think about Arie and Blake, one lesson rises above everything else. Love is not something you simply stumble into. Love is something you intentionally build.

Both of them grew up with Judaism as an important part of their identity, but what strikes me is that neither of them inherited their Jewish lives passively. Arie's family made extraordinary sacrifices to ensure she would be raised Jewish. Blake discovered, especially through Jewish camp, that being Jewish was "more than a simple fact." It became part of who he was. Both of them came to understand that faith is not just about rituals. It is about community, family, identity, and the values we choose to carry into our lives.

And then life did something remarkable.

They met through a dating app, but in truth, their story had begun years before either of them realized it. Blake had attended Arie's Bat Mitzvah. They had grown up in the same Jewish community, crossing paths without ever imagining that one day they would stand beneath a chuppah together. Sometimes life reminds us that what feels like coincidence is simply timing catching up with destiny.

But that's not what I admire most about them.

What I admire most is their honesty.

They don't pretend that great relationships happen effortlessly. They know better. There was a season when they stepped away from one another because they were simply in different places in life. Many couples never recover from moments like that. They did, because instead of trying to change each other, each of them chose to grow. When they found one another again, they weren't simply picking up where they had left off. They were building something stronger than before.

That takes courage.

One of the principles that now defines their relationship is something they call "radical honesty." They discovered that even little white lies, the kind we sometimes tell to avoid conflict or spare someone's feelings, slowly create distance. Honest conversations, even the uncomfortable ones, create trust. That is a lesson worth remembering, not only in marriage, but in every meaningful relationship we have.

I also love the way they describe everyday life together.

For them, love isn't measured by grand romantic gestures. It's found in ordinary moments. It's spending time with their dogs. It's sharing routines. It's facing career changes, health challenges, and life's unexpected turns as partners instead of opponents. Arie says she has never doubted she could get through difficult times because she knew Blake would be beside her. Blake says that Arie is the person who makes life make sense, and he cannot imagine a life that doesn't include her.

I think there is tremendous wisdom in that.

We often spend so much time looking for fireworks that we overlook something even more valuable: peace. The person who makes life feel steadier. The person who makes ordinary Tuesday afternoons feel just as meaningful as extraordinary celebrations. The person who becomes your safest place in the world.

Perhaps my favorite thought from their story is this: they both acknowledge that no relationship is perfect. They simply know they have found the right partner, someone willing to grow, to communicate, to laugh, to forgive, and to keep choosing the relationship every single day.

And maybe that's what all of us can learn from Arie and Blake.

A successful marriage isn't built because two perfect people find each other. It's built because two imperfect people decide that what they have together is worth the effort. They choose honesty over assumptions, growth over comfort, and partnership over pride.

Arie and Blake, thank you for reminding all of us that the strongest marriages are not the ones that never face challenges. They are the ones where two people continue, day after day, to build something beautiful together. May that spirit of honesty, friendship, and intentional love continue to guide you for all the years ahead.

On May 24th, I officiated Eliza and Orion's wedding ceremony at the Laurelhurst Club, in Portland, Oregon. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

From Eliza and Orion, I think we learn something about time.

Because most love stories move in a straight line. You meet, you date, you fall in love.

This one does not.

This one begins in high school, with AOL Instant Messenger, late-night conversations, and, perhaps most impressively, Orion mailing Eliza… a crepe.

Not metaphorically. An actual crepe. Through the mail.

Which, I think, tells you everything you need to know about Orion.

And everything you need to know about Eliza is that she didn’t eat it, but she understood exactly what it meant.

They had crushes on each other. The timing never quite worked. Life took them in different directions, different cities, different relationships, different versions of themselves. And yet, through all of that, something remained.

Orion says it simply: “she always was and still is my favorite person to talk to.”

That is not a small thing.

Because what they teach us is that sometimes love is not about immediacy. Sometimes it is about recognition that takes time to catch up with itself.

Eliza’s life moves through art and reinvention. From photography and music to film work, to coding, to earning a master’s degree in computer science. A path that is not linear, but deeply intentional. A life built on curiosity, creativity, and the willingness to begin again when something no longer fits.

Orion’s path, in its own way, mirrors that. A childhood of building things, literally turning refrigerator boxes into entire worlds. A fascination with science, art, and making people laugh. A life guided not by rigid answers, but by a simple principle he carries from his grandfather: “the only thing you take to your grave is your integrity.”

And somewhere in the middle of those two lives, after years of almost, they find each other again.

Not as teenagers, but as people who have lived enough life to recognize what matters.

And then something remarkable happens. They do not rush. They do not force a story that was not ready before. They simply begin again, this time at the right moment.

Their first real date, years later, is during Portland Burger Week, followed by a comedy show where, as it turns out, the comedian has to point out what is already obvious to everyone else, that this is not just friendship.

And then they take a trip together.

Now, if you want to understand a relationship, you do not watch how people behave at dinner. You watch what happens when things go wrong.

They miss a bus. They get on the wrong one. They end up at the wrong airport, with no clear way to get to the right one, watching their plans fall apart in real time.

And in that moment, Eliza says it best: “it felt ripe for one of us to explode… but he looked at me, held my hand, and we both started laughing.”

And she says, “I think that moment was when I knew.”

That is what they teach us.

That love is not measured by how perfectly a trip goes, but by what you do when it doesn’t.

That the right person is the one you can miss a plane with and still feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

Orion describes their partnership as “a perfect team… we take on tasks as a team and respect each other's independence and quirks without judgment.”

And Eliza, in her own way, says the same thing. She speaks about how he shows up, how he cares for her in quiet, practical ways, how he makes her feel seen, supported, and loved not just in words, but in actions.

And maybe my favorite line of all, she says simply: “he is the best partner I have ever had.”

Not the most dramatic. Not the most complicated.

The best.

So what can we learn from Eliza and Orion?

We can learn that timing matters, but it is not everything. The right person can arrive early in your life and still become the right person later.

We can learn that shared curiosity, shared humor, and shared values create something deeper than chemistry alone.

We can learn that the strongest relationships are the ones where two people can be completely themselves, where conversation never runs out, where even silence feels full.

And we can learn that sometimes, the clearest sign you have found your person is very simple: when everything falls apart, you look at each other… and you laugh.

Eliza and Orion, you have taught us that love can wait, that it can grow quietly over years, and that when it finally finds its moment, it feels not like something new, but like something that was always meant to be.

May your life together be filled with that same sense of ease, that same curiosity, that same laughter, and may you always remain what you have always been to each other: your favorite person to talk to.