Today I am sharing pictures of the flowers that we used during our wedding that took place in a small chapel on Saturday, March 12th. We chose sunflowers. We chose to use sunflowers because they have always been my favorite flower. However, we also used sunflowers because there are many facts about the sunflower that we can apply to our own lives.

The following is another one of the readings that I wrote for the ceremony. This reading explains why we used sunflowers and what we can learn from them. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the writing.

The Sunflower

You may be wondering why Dan and Jeff chose to use sunflowers today. Aside from the fact that sunflowers are very beautiful, there are many things about the sunflower that we can apply to our lives. The sunflower is the only flower on the planet that tracks the movement of the sun. If one were to drive by a field of sunflowers at varying times of the day, it would be very noticeable that the position of the sunflowers changes as the sun moves across the sky. You see, the side of the sunflower that is not exposed to direct sunlight grows faster than the side exposed to the sun, and this growth causes the sunflower to bend toward the sun. Another interesting fact is that the sunflower is actually comprised of thousands of individual florets that all grow separately but are joined by a common base which allows the individual flowers to create a flower that is far more beautiful than when they stand alone. Also, the sunflower removes toxins from the soil and helps to purify the ground. This is why many sunflower fields are planted in areas where chemical disasters have taken place.

You may be wondering, “How can the sunflower apply to my life?” As you continue to listen you will understand. Like the florets of the sunflower, we are all individuals. We each possess gifts and talents that can make the world a better place. However, when we stand together with a common goal to make the world a better place, we can do more good than when we stand alone. When we stand together with the common goals of love, hope and peace we are very much like the florets of the sunflower because our strength and beauty is magnified when we are united in purpose.

We all try to look at the positive side of life more than the negative side, and we believe that light always conquers darkness and that we all should be a light to the world. We try our best to avoid the dark times that we all inevitably face in life; however, it is in those dark times that we grow the most. The growth that occurs during the dark times in our lives causes us to bend toward the light just as the sunflower does as it continues to grow.

When we spread the message of goodwill, love, hope and peace we remove the toxins out of this life, and we serve as a cleansing agent to our lives and the lives of others. So you see, we can all be like the sunflower. We can all live our lives in such a way that we do make the world a better place. We can bring light to the world and we eradicate the darkness by sharing the light that God has shone on us. From this day forward every time you see a sunflower think of Dan and Jeff. Think of the words you heard today and think about how light always overcomes darkness. When you see a sunflower, remember that we can all make the world a better place and we can all bring peace to our lives and the lives of everyone we meet and PEACE MATTERS!

~Dan~