CEREMONY 2

 

~~~INTRODUCTION~~~

Welcome!

 GROOM/bride and BRIDE/Groom have brought us together here for an occasion of great joy and a cause for great celebration.  They have found each other. They have built the kind of relationship that will serve them well as the foundation for their marriage. They have chosen each one of you to be here with them to witness their wedding vows today as they join their hearts as husband and wife.

 

I ask now…Who gives this beautiful woman, BRIDE/Groom, to be married to this handsome man, GROOM/bride?

Person(s) answer, ……” I/We/Her Mother and I/ do.”

Please be seated.

 

Marriage is a bold step into an unknown future. It is risking who we are for the sake of who we can be. In marriage, two lives are intimately shared; two hearts become hearts beating in unity and the blending of the two must not diminish the other. Rather, it should enhance the individuality of each partner.

 

So, I ask anyone here and now, if you can show or have just cause why these two should not be united in marriage, please speak now or do not plague their relationship with your unkind words ever!

 

Each of us knows that a marriage is not created by a law or a ceremony; rather it occurs in the hearts of two human beings. It grows out of loving, caring, and sharing ourselves with another. This ceremony is not magic, it will not create a relationship that does not already exist and that has not already been celebrated in all the commitments that BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride have made together, the bigger ones and the smaller ones, in the days since they first met and have recognized their connection to each other.

 

So, in witnessing this ceremony today, we all are observing the signs that already exist between GROOM/bride and BRIDE/Groom.  This ceremony is a symbol of how far they have come mutually, a symbol of the promise that they will make to each other, to continue to live their lives together and to love each other solely and above all others.

 

Each and every person here today will witness the words that BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride will speak to each other and the vows that they will make. You should take good care to remember these words; for a marriage needs the help of a community, of friends, and of family who will be there to celebrate with them in the good times, and guide them during the hard times, no matter what, standing by BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride.  You can offer them support, and in the future, help to lead the new family they create today.  May you always do everything within your power to support this couple and to nurture the bond that exists between BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride, of whom you all love.

 

~~~DECLARATION OF INTENT~~~

A successful marriage is not something that just happens. It takes work, it takes patience, it takes understanding, it takes giving, and it takes time.  It takes a commitment from both of you; a commitment to do whatever it takes to make your relationship thrive and not just survive.

 

GROOM/bride, I ask you to turn to BRIDE/Groom and receive her hands into your own.

 

GROOM/bride, will you take BRIDE/Groom to be your lawfully wedded wife and travel the rest of life’s road with her?  Will you love her, laugh with her, comfort her, honor and protect her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?        Groom will answer: “I do.”

 

BRIDE/Groom, will you take GROOM/bride to be your lawfully wedded husband and travel the rest of life’s road with him?  Will you love him, laugh with him, comfort him, honor and protect him, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?   Bride will answer: “I do.”

 

~~~EXCHANGE OF VOWS~~~

BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride, the symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to each other, “You know all those things we have promised, have hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it all; every word.”  Before this moment you have been many things to each other: an acquaintance, a friend, a companion, a lover, and even a teacher.  You have learned much from being together. You will remember these words and know that you are one…

 

In your eyes, I have found my home.

In your heart, I have found my love.

In your soul, I have found my mate.

With you, I am whole, full, and alive.

You make me laugh. You let me cry.

You are my breath and my every heartbeat,

I believe these things to be true,

And will be forever and ever.

 

Now you shall say a few words and things will never quite be the same between you.  After these vows, you shall say to the world, this – is my husband, this – is my wife.

 

GROOM/bride, please look into BRIDE/Groom’s eyes and speak to her heart the vows you will keep to her all your life. Please, repeat after me….

 

I, GROOM/bride, choose you, BRIDE/Groom  / in the presence of our friends and families / to be my wife and partner for life. / From this day forward, I promise to love you, /  to be a comfort and a safe haven in your life, / to hold you close, / to listen with an open mind when you speak, / to hold you up with my strength, / to let you know deeply within my heart  /  the words I speak, and the things I do, / will not be to harm you, /  but will be to strengthen us. /   I will not take you for granted, / and will always be thankful / for your presence in my life.

 

BRIDE/Groom, please look into GROOM/bride’s eyes and speak to his heart the vows you will keep to him all your life. Please, repeat after me….

 

I, BRIDE/Groom, choose you, GROOM/bride, / in the presence of our friends and families / to be my husband and partner for life. / From this day forward, I promise to love you, /  to be a comfort and a safe haven in your life, / to hold you close, / to listen with an open mind when you speak, / to hold you up with my strength, / to let you know deeply within my heart  /  the words I speak, and the things I do, / will not be to harm you, /  but will be to strengthen us. /   I will not take you for granted, / and will always be thankful  / for your presence in my life.

 

                 …INSERT UNITY CEREMONY RITUAL HERE…

 

~~~RING EXCHANGE~~~

Who has the rings? 

 

This is the point in the ceremony when people talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, having no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metals are liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees. The hot metal is forged, cooled, and then painstakingly polished. Something beautiful made from raw elements.

 

Love is like that. It comes from a humble beginning, made by imperfect beings. It is the process of making something beautiful where once there was nothing at all.

The promises which you have spoken to each other today, let them be inscribed forever in your minds and in your hearts. Words are momentary, so let these rings serve as a reminder of the feelings you have within your hearts at this very moment. 

 

Now GROOM/bride, repeat after me while placing BRIDE/Groom’s ring on her heart finger:

BRIDE/Groom, with this ring, / I promise that I will always love you, / cherish you, and honor you, / comfort you and walk beside you. /   I promise that I will love you  / and keep my heart open to you  / all the days of my life.   

 

Now BRIDE/Groom, repeat after me while placing GROOM/bride’s ring on his heart finger:

GROOM/bride, with this ring, / I promise that I will always love you, / cherish you, and honor you, / comfort you and walk beside you. /   I promise that I will love you  / and keep my heart open to you  / all the days of my life.   

 

~~~DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE~~~

BRIDE/Groom and GROOM/bride, no one but you can declare yourselves married. You have begun marriage here today in speaking your vows before your family and friends and you will do it again in the days and years to come, standing by each other, sharing all that is sweet and bitter in life.  Each tender act, heartfelt moment, and each loving word will be the declaration of what was made here and now.

 

Therefore, by the powers of the State of Florida, it is my great pleasure and joyful responsibility to officially acknowledge your marriage as “Husband and Wife”.

 

You may now seal your marriage with a kiss.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great privilege to present to you for the very first time as husband and wife, Couple’s Names.