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Opening Reading (choose an option)
OPTION 1
We are here today to celebrate the marriage of __________ and __________. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and life long support for their decision to become husband, wife and family. Without family and friends beside them in joy as well as sorrow, this new family will miss the greatest joys of life outside their own home. And that is to give and to receive love. To help and to be helped. To teach as well as to learn. They are delighted that you have chosen to witness this special time in their lives. ___________ and _____________ not only want their relation ship with each to continue as individuals but take on an even more important dimension as a family as well.
OPTION 2
Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people whose friendship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today ___________ and__________ proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together. The joy we feel now is a solemn joy, because the act of marriage has many consequences, both social and personal. Marriage requires "love," a word we often use with vagueness and sentimentality. We may assume that love is some rare and mystical event, when in fact it is our natural state of being.
So what do we mean by love? When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty. And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who loves us, gives us a unique gift: a piece of ourselves, but a piece that only they could give us.
We who love, can look at each other’s life and say, "I touched his life," or, "I touched her life," just as an artist might say, "I touched this canvas." "Those brushstrokes in the comer of this magnificent mural, those are mine. I was a part of this life, and it is a part of me." Marriage is to belong to each other through a unique and diverse collaboration, like two threads crossing in different directions, yet weaving one tapestry together.
The secret of love and marriage is similar to that of religion itself. It is the emergence of the larger self. It is the finding of one’s life by losing it. Such is the privilege of husband and wife - to be each himself, herself and yet another; to face the world strong, with the courage of two.
To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so.
And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both. While love is our natural state of being, these other qualities are not as easy to come by. They are not a destination, but a journey.
The true art of married life is in this an inner spiritual journey. It is a mutual enrichment, a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments, which diminishes neither, but enhances both.
OPTION 3
We are gathered here today not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather
what already is,
we do not create this marriage, because we cannot, we can and do however celebrate with
__________and __________ and their families this wondrous and joyful occurrences that has
already taken place in their lives together.
Today __________ and __________ proclaim their love and commitment to the world and we
gather here today with them, in the new life they now undertake together.
__________ & __________ this wedding ceremony is designed to be able to handle the difficulties of life as well as to be the source of companionship and joy. May this be true for you as you purpose in your hearts to honor each other and to exercise patience and sacrifice for the good of one another.
Consent (Choose an Option)
Hold hands and looks into each other's eyes.
Groom goes first.
OPTION 1
(Groom/Bride Name), do you take (Groom/Bride Name) to be your wedded (wife/husband)? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, in times of good and bad?
If so, please answer I do.
OPTION 2
(Groom/Bride Name), do you take (Groom/Bride Name) to be your wedded (wife/husband), to live together in bonds of marriage? Will you love (him/her), comfort (her/him), honor and keep her/him, so long as you both shall live?
If so, please answer I do.
OPTION 3
(Groom/Bride Name), are you willing to take (Groom/Bride Name), to be your loving (wife/husband), do you promise to love, honor and cherish (her/him) and to comfort (her/him) in sickness and in sorrow and to be faithful to her/him forevermore?
If so, please answer I do.
Exchange of Vows (choose an option)
OPTION 1
(Place ring on bride finger)
Please repeat after me.
I, [Groom's name], take you [Bride's name], to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully Through the best and the worst, Through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold., So I give you my life to keep. So help me God (optional).
(Place ring on groom finger)
Please repeat after me.
I, [Bride's name], take you [Groom's name], to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever I will trust you and honor you I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully Through the best and the worst, Through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, So I give you my life to keep.So help me God (optional).
By the power vested in me, and as witnessed by friends and family, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[Groom's name], You may kiss your bride!
OPTION 2
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love. It is a seal of the vows [Groom’s name] and [Bride’s name] have made to one another. Bless these rings, that [Bride’s name] and [Groom’s name], who give them, and who wear them, may ever abide in thy peace. Living together in unity, love and happiness for the rest of their lives.
(Place ring on bride finger)
Please repeat after me.
[Bride's name], I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. With this ring, I thee wed.
(Place ring on groom finger)
Please repeat after me.
[Groom's name], I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. With this ring, I thee wed.
In as much as you have each pledged to the other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[Groom's name], You may kiss your bride!
OPTION 3
(Place ring on bride/groom finger)
Please repeat after me.
I, (Bride/Groom), take you (Groom/Bride), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.
By the power vested in me, and as witnessed by friends and family, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[Groom's name], You may kiss your bride!
OPTION 4
(Place ring on Groom finger)
Bride to Groom
Please repeat after me.
I, (Bride’s Name), take you, (Groom’s Name), to be my [opt: lawfully wedded] husband, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love.
On this special day, I give to you in the presence of God and all those in attendance my promise to stay by your side as your wife in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
(Place ring on bride finger)
Groom to Bride
Please repeat after me.
I, (Groom’s Name), take you, (Bride’s Name), to be my [opt: lawfully wedded] wife, knowing in my heart that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. On this special day, I give to you in the presence of God and all those in attendance my promise to stay by your side as your husband in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, honor and respect you, provide for your needs as best I can, protect you from harm, comfort you in times of distress, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
By the power vested in me, and as witnessed by friends and family, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[Groom's name], You may kiss your bride!
OPTION 5
(Place ring on Bride Finger)
Repeat after me.
I, (Groom Name), choose you, (Bride Name), to be my wife.
I promise freely from this day forward
To be worthy of your trust and deserving of your confidence;
To be generous with my time, my energy and my love;
To be patient with you and with myself,
To return love, tolerance, and generosity to your family.
To trust you;
To be devoted to you and our life together.
These things I pledge before you, myself, our friends, and our family.
(Place ring on Groom Finger)
Repeat after me.
I, (Bride Name), choose you, (Groom Name), to be my husband.
I promise freely from this day forward
To be worthy of your trust and deserving of your confidence;
To be generous with my time, my energy and my love;
To be patient with you and with myself,
To return love, tolerance, and generosity to your family.
To trust you;
To be devoted to you and our life together.
These things I pledge before you, myself, our friends, and our family.
By the power vested in me, and as witnessed by friends and family, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[Groom's name], You may kiss your bride!
Closing Reading (Section is Optional)
You may also wish to customize this section with a prayer, poem, saying or custom of your choice.
OPTION 1
Blessing of the Apaches
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.
OPTION 2
Love Is by Susan Polis Schutz
OPTION 3
Dove Poem
Ladies and gentleman its my honor and privilege to
Introduce to you Mr. & Mrs. ________________________
The End.