Welcome! Family, and friends who might as well be family… We are so happy you were able to make it here today. Welcome to the marriage of ___ & ___ You have been asked to gather here to witness and share in the joy of this union.
We give thanks for —- & —-, for their beautiful hearts and willing spirits, and for the example of love that they embody. May we all be inspired by the blessings shared here today.
Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience and adventure in the most intimate of human relationships.
___ & ___ first met … years ago. Now they have decided to spend the rest of their lives together as friends, lovers, companions, protectors, and all things that embody this institution of Matrimony. And we who gather here rejoice with them and for them in the new life they now undertake together. We are here to participate and witness the special ceremony of marriage, which is a means to establishing and continuing a home.
Silent Blessing (optional)
We now close our eyes and bring to mind any loved ones who could not be here today. We also visualize our ancestors and those who have passed. Though they are absent physically, we invoke, through our thought and prayers, their loving presence. Now, from our hearts, we ourselves visualize and sanctify all the blessings we would bestow on ___ & ____ in their lives as a couple and as a family. It is our intention to multiply beyond measure the blessings from these loved ones & ancestors to this loving couple, and any children who might one day be a part of this union.
And in our sincere desire to bless, we in turn, are blessed also.
Do you both come to this union on your own free will & with the intention to be faithful to each other in marriage?
We do.
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part that seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives – remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Now, ___ & ___, please turn towards each other and unite your hands to reflect the joining together of your lives into a family.
Reading by a family member (Optional)
VOWS:
In a moment ______ & ______ will exchange their wedding vows. No other human ties are more intimate, tender and loving; and no other vows are more sacred or important than the weddings vows they are about to exchange.
The commitment you are making is a promise to continue to live by the wonderful principles that brought you here today. You both promise to continue to be faithful partners, to be true, to encourage and inspire one another and to comfort one another in times of sorrow or struggle. You promise to love, honor, and respect each other when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when your love is simple and when it’s an effort. These things you commit to today, now and forever.
Now please recite your promise of love to each other.
I, ____, take you, ____, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.
Or We could ask the Questions:
Do you _________, knowing this man’s love for you and returning it, realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses and helping him to overcome them, take ________ to be your lawfully wedded husband?
I DO.
The Rings:
A circle is the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe. It is a symbol of holiness and of perfection and of peace. In these rings it is the symbol of unity, in which your lives are now joined in one unbroken circle, in which, wherever you go, you will always return to one another and to your togetherness. The joining of these two lives will be symbolized in the exchange of rings.
____, as you place this ring on her finger, please repeat after me: I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love & fidelity.
____, as you place this ring on ____, please repeat after me: I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity.
Pronouncement
In the presence of your family & friends, you have spoken the words and performed the rites that unite your lives. It is my legal right as a minister and my greatest joy and privilege to declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.