WORDS OF GREETING
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 into romance.
Today Bride and Groom proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here today to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together.
GIVING AWAY OF THE BRIDE
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
Father: Her mother and I do
WORDS TO BRIDE AND GROOM
Love is Friendhip that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weekness.
Love is content with the present, it hopes for the future and it doesn't brood over the past. It's the day in and day out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small dissapointments, big victories and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that are missing.
Love never gives up, love never fails.
A strong marriage requires love.
When we truley love someone, 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 truley loves us, gives us a unique gift: a piece of themselves, a piece that only they can give us.
A successful marriage, 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 in each other, faith to go forward together without knowing what the future holds.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day, it is remembering to never make promises you cannot keep, and it is remembering to always communicate with each other. When times get tough, talk to each other. When times are good, talk to each other.
As humans, we need to feel a special connection to one special person. That's why we get married, to have that special connection and if the doors of communication to that one person which we have promised to commit our life to is closed, that connection is lost.
It is more difficult to reopen that door than it is to have never let it close.
Always remember, it is not only marrying the right partner, it is also being the right partner.
Bride and Groom, you now know what is important for a strong successful marriage, Love, Trust, Dedication and Communication, please face each other and hold each others hands.
VOWS
Minister: Please face each other and take each others hands.
Minister: Groom, do you take you Bride, to be your wife; do you promise to stand beside her and with her always; in times of celebration and times of sadness; in times of pleasure and times of anger; in times of pain and times of health; will you live with her, love her and give yourself only to her, for as long you both shall live?
Groom: "I do"
Minister: Bride, do you take you Groom, to be your husband; do you promise to stand beside him and with him always; in times of celebration and times of sadness; in times of pleasure and times of anger; in times of pain and times of health; will you live with him, love him and give yourself only to him, for as long you both shall live?
Bride: "I do"
RING CEREMONY:
Minister asks for rings:
These rings are symbols of the commitment which will bind the two of you together. As these rings are an unending circle, let them be a constant reminder of your unending love for each other and as they are made of purest metal, may they remind you to keep your love for each other pure. May your rings be a constant reminder of the love and warmth that has brought you both here today.
Groom, take the ring that you wish to give to Bride.As you place it on her finger, Repeat after me: Bride, wear this ring as a sign of my love and the giving that will last the rest of my life.
Bride, take the ring that you wish to give to Groom. As you place it on his finger, Repeat after me: Groom, Wear this ring as a sign of my love and the giving that will last the rest of my life.
ADDITIONAL
This is where a Unity Candle or Sand Ceremony can be added.
PRONOUNCEMENT
Marriage is a commitment. It's success doesn't depend on feelings, circumstances, or moods but on two people who are loyal to each other and the vows they take on their wedding day.
Marriage is patience and forgiveness. It's being open and honest, thoughtful and kind. Marriage means talking things out, making necessary changes, and forgiving each other. It's unconditional love that supports, comforts, and is determined to triumph over every challenge and adversity.
Marriage is also a partnership of two unique people who bring out the very best in each other and who know that even though they are wonderful as individuals, they are even better together.
Remember to treat both yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
Remember to focus on what is right between you, not on the part that seems wrong. If each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your lives together, your life together will be marked by abundance and delight.
In as much as you have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have sealed your vows, gave each other rings, all in the presense of family and friends, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce you Husband and Wife, you may now kiss.
