Sample Contemporary Ceremony

Who gives their blessings on this union between (groom) and (bride)?

~ We do ~

~ Convocation ~

Love is a miraculous gift, and a wedding is a celebration of that gift. We are gathered here today to celebrate the gift of love that (Bride/Groom) have found in one another, and to share with them the magic of this occasion. Marriage is a very special place, the sheltered environment in which we can endlessly explore ourselves in the presence of another and in which we can offer the possibility of the true reflection of another. We are so happy that (Bride/Groom) are choosing on this day of most special days to become for all time the accurate and beautiful reflection of each other’s essence.

~ Reading ~

The Art of Marriage A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once each day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right partner… It is being the right partner.

~ Expression of Intent ~

(Bride/Groom), do you now choose (Bride/Groom) to be your life companion, to share your life openly with her/him, to speak truthfully and lovingly to her/him, to accept her/him fully as she/he is and delight in who she/he is becoming; to respect her/his uniqueness and compassionately encourage and support her/him through all the changes of your years together?

~ Consecration ~

Having expressed your intentions, May the light of love, respect and understanding shine eternally for you both. May the promises you make to one another Be lived out to the end of your lives in an atmosphere of most profound joy.

~ Vows ~

From this day forward, I choose you, (bride/groom), to be my (wife/husband); to live and laugh with you; to stand by your side and sleep in your arms; to be joy to your heart and food to your soul; to bring out the best in you always; and, for you, to be the most I can. To laugh with you in good times; to comfort you when you are downhearted; to wipe your tears with my hands; to comfort you with my body; to mirror you with my soul; to share with you all my riches and honors; all the days of our lives.

~ Ring Blessing ~

Wholeness is the state in which nothing is missing and everything is possible, in which what has been is completed by what is, and in which there is no lack. These rings represent wholeness, a coming around of the cycle; from sickness to health, from want to plenty, from despair to joy, from failure to possibility, from loneliness to love. Let these rings also be a sign that love has substance as well as soul, a present as well as a past, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle of happiness, wonder and delight.

~ Ring Exchange ~

(Bride/Groom), I give you this ring as a token of my abiding love, as a sign that I have chosen you above all others. All that I am and all that I have, I offer to you in joy, in thanksgiving and in sacred union.

~Love Letter & Wine Box Ceremony~

(Bride/Groom) have chosen to conclude their ceremony with a very unique and romantic twist. They have each written a letter to the other and sealed the envelope, writing their partner’s name on the outside. They will place those sealed letters into a special box that holds a bottle of wine and two glasses, and lock the box – giving them their very own romantic time capsule – and open it on their anniversary. (Bride/Groom) place items in the box and lock it. I hope you keep this box in a place of honor in your home as a constant reminder of your commitment to one another. And when you choose to open it, and read the letters and share the wine, I hope you will begin a new tradition in your marriage of writing a new letter every year to be locked away and shared on your next anniversary.

~ Pronouncement ~

Because you, (Bride/Groom), have come together with your hearts and minds and souls, and pledged one another the future in holy matrimony, by the power vested in me by the State of Maryland, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

~ Benediction ~

“Apache Song”

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you shall be a shelter to the other.

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no loneliness for you, for each of you will be a companion to the other.

Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you.

Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into your days together.

And may your days be good and long on the earth.

Mr. and Mrs. _____, you may now kiss!

Sample Contemporary Wedding Ceremony

with Hand-fasting 

Do you, who have nurtured these two people, bestow your blessings on their union?

~ We do ~

~ Opening Words ~

You have come here today from your varied life experiences
to make public the commitment you have made, each to the other
You come to combine your two separate lives into one.
Although you will be sharing one life, never forget, you are two separate people.
Cherish and affirm your differences. Love each other and keep your commitment primary.
Together you will laugh and cry, be sick and well, be happy and angry, share and grow.
You will grow, sometimes together, sometimes separately.
But never remain stagnant. Love and life are always changing, always new.
If you will ensure a healthy lasting marriage, always value each other.
Although you will disagree, remember to respect each other’s feelings, needs and wants.
And above all, never lose your sense of humor.

~ Convocation ~

It is indeed wonderful that these two best friends, (Bride/Groom) have come together this day,
before their friends and family, to declare their love and friendship
and sanctify their relationship with marriage.
Marriage is the union of two divinities.
It is the union of two souls, attracted to each other by a strong love
and a need to abolish the illusion that they are separate.
It is the higher unity, that which is eternally whole and complete,
which fuses the separate energies within two spirits
It is the golden ring in a chain whose beginning is a simple glance and whose ending is eternity.

~ Reading ~

On Marriage from The Prophet

Love one another, but make not a bond of love
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, But let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone Though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

~ Expression of Intent ~

Do you _____ choose____to be your honored and cherished (husband, wife, partner)
to live with him/her and to love him/her for the rest of your days?

~ I do ~

~ Consecration ~

Having expressed your intentions,
May the light of love, respect and understanding Shine eternally for you both.
May the promises you make to one another.
Be lived out to the end of your lives In an atmosphere of most profound joy.

~ Traditional Celtic Hand-fasting Ceremony ~

(Bride/Groom) have chosen this day to engage in a traditional hand-fasting ceremony
To commemorate their entering, together, into the union of marriage.
In Europe, until the mid 1700’s, few unions were sanctified in a church or synagogue.
Rather, they were celebrated by a simple hand-fasting ceremony
in which the two partners joined hands in the fields, or in the groves of trees.
The couple would link hands to form an infinite circle, and then,
their hands or wrists would be bound together,
symbolizing the binding together of their two lives into one.
It is from this practice that the expression "tying the knot" comes.

Hand-fasting cord is taken from the altar

(Bride and Groom), this cord is a symbol of the lives you have chosen to lead together.
Up until this moment, you have been separate in thought, word and action.
As your hands are bound together by this cord, so too, shall your lives be bound as one.
Please face each other and join your right hands.

The bride and groom's hands and wrists are bound with the hand-fasting cord

Just as your hands are now bound together, so too, are your lives.
May you be forever one, sharing in all things, in love and loyalty for all time to come.

wrists remain bound as you take your vows

I,______ take you, ______ to be my husband/wife.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.
I will love and honor you all the days of my life.
As it is, you cannot always be physically joined cord removed
And so, we use the wedding ring to symbolize that connection.
It is a constant reminder of the sacred bond shared between a husband and wife.

~ Ring Blessing ~

The ring is a circle, the symbol of the Universe, the All, infinity.
It is also the symbol of completeness, peace, unbroken harmony and endless friendship.
These two rings are the symbols of unity in which
Your two lives have been joined and blessed in one unbroken circle.

~ Ring Exchange ~

I give you this ring, as a sign of my love for you.
With this ring, I thee wed.
May your rings always represent the unbroken circle of love,
given and received freely and unconditionally.

~ Pronouncement ~

In giving thanks we acknowledge and welcome this happy moment.
The circle is complete, as we have offered our thanks back to the One from whom all blessings flow. Therefore, by the power vested in me by the State of Maryland, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
May all that is noble and beautiful be with you both always.

~ Benediction ~

Irish Wedding Blessing
May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace.
May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
May your hands be forever held in friendship and your hearts joined forever in love.
Your lives are very special; God has touched you in many ways.
May his blessings rest upon you and fill all your coming days.

~ Wedding Kiss and Presentation of the Newlyweds ~

You may now kiss.
Friends and family, I present to you, ______&______ as husband and wife!

Sample Traditional Wedding Ceremony

Who presents the bride in marriage?
~ Her mother and I do ~

~ Opening Words ~

Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless
the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony.
The union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy;
for the help and comfort given one another in poverty and adversity; and, when it is God’s will,
for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord.
Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, deliberately,
and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God.
It is into this holy union that (names) now come to be joined, each respecting the free will of the other.

~ Convocation~

This marriage and dedication of love has already taken place in the hearts and minds of (names).
We are here but to listen to their vows for our own sake.
And to help them celebrate their commitment to each other.
It is fitting that those of you who have played important roles in the lives of these two people
should be present now to share in this occasion.
May this moment help all of us recall and renew the joys in our own lives.

~ In Memoriam ~

A wedding is a very special event in ones life, and it is only natural that we would want to share this occasion with everyone who is dear to us.
But this is not always possible.
So as they come before us to be married, (names) would like to take this time
to remember those who could not be with us today.
The love they gave lives on in the love that (names) now bring to their marriage

~ Invocation ~

Let Us Pray
Dear God, we give thanks for the love that unites (names),
the visible reward of their healing and the consecration of their individual lives.
We ask that this day be a true celebration, not only for them, but also for us.
Allow us to be inspired by the example of their healing, enlarged by their joy,
and delighted by the happiness they have brought into our midst.
We give thanks for this beautiful day, for this marvelous occasion
and for the love which is the bond that binds them each to one another and to all of us

~ Expression of Intent ~

(Bride/Groom), do you take this (man/woman) to be your lawfully wedded (husband/wife)?
Do you promise to love (him/her, comfort (him/her), honor and keep (him/her), in sickness and in health;
and, forsaking all others, be faithful to (him/her) as long as you both shall live?

~ Consecration ~

In the eyes of God, the present is infinity forever.
Let this moment be the present truth that forever eclipses any sorrows of your past.
As your lives have opened to the joy of being most wholly and happily yourselves,
may you be given the sweetness of heart and the steadfastness of spirit
to live in the joy of loving one another always.

~ Vows ~

I, (name), take thee, (name) to be my wedded (husband/wife),
to have and to hold from this day forward;
for better or worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health,
to love and cherish, till death do us part.
This is my solemn vow.

~ Ring Blessing ~

As God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere,
so let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love.

~ Ring Exchange ~

With this ring, I thee wed.

~ Unity Candle ~

Each of your parents has lit a candle for each of you.
I now invite you to take those candles and use them to light a candle that symbolizes your new unity,
as one in the flesh, and as one in the spirit.
May the brightness of the candle you light together shine throughout your lives,
giving you courage and reassurance in the darkness.
May its warmth give you shelter from the cold.
And may its energy fill your spirits with strength and joy.

~ Pronouncement ~

For as much as (groom) and (bride) have consented together in holy wedlock,
and have witnessed the same before God and in this company,
by the power vested in me by the State of Maryland,
I now pronounce them husband and wife.

~ Benediction ~

May the blessings of God rest upon you
May his peace abide within you
May his presence illuminate your hearts now and forever.

~ Wedding Kiss and Presentation of the Newlyweds ~

You may now kiss the bride!
Friends and family I present to you (First names followed by groom’s last name).