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# 1

Blessed with you, (name), I give thanks to God for our togetherness through all these years which has enriched our lives beyond measure, and promise again with all my heart to love you and to cherish you all the days of our lives. (Vow renewal) (Steven Neel)

# 2

(Number of years) years ago, I pledged my loyalty to you, (name), as your wedded husband/wife, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony. I promised to love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, in sickness and in health. I further promised that, forsaking all others, I would keep myself only unto you, so long as we both shall live. During these (number of years) years, I have been faithful to that pledge. Now, again, at the beginning of the (number of year) year of our life together, in the presence of God, in the presence of our family, and in the presence of friends who have gathered for this happy occasion, I renew these vows, pledging myself to continue my devotion to you as long as we both shall live. (Vow renewal) (Steven Neel)

# 3

Bride: How little we knew of love, my love.

Groom: How little we knew of love.

Bride: We knew of movie love and book love and other peoples' kinds of love.

Groom: But we really didn't know anything at all.

Bride: We have learned, you and I. We have learned how to love.

Groom: The learning has been a splendid process.

Bride: I have learned that a choice, once made, is not necessarily completed. I have chosen you many times since our wedding day. I choose you still.

Groom: I have learned that a love, once formed, is never wholly finished. My love for you grows daily.

Bride: How little we knew of love, my love. How much more we know of love now.

Groom: Do you suppose, some years from now, we'll look back on this day and say "How little we knew of love?" (Peg Kehret)

# 4

Groom: How young we were 10 years ago.

Bride: How much we've learned since then.

Groom: We've learned that not all dreams are attainable.

Bride: We've learned that people grow and change.

Groom: We've learned that nothing is quite the way we thought it would be. The hurts have been deeper than we expected -- and the joys have been greater.

Bride: The pleasures have far outweighed the disappointments.

Groom: It I could go back and do it over again, I would still marry you.

Bride: And I would still marry you.

Groom: Ten years ago, I thought I loved you. Now, I know I do.

Bride: Ten years ago, I thought I loved you.Now, I know I do. (Peg Kehret)

# 5

You have changed since then. I have changed, oo, and the world around us has changed most of all. But one thing has not changed. Twenty-five years ago, I promised to love you, to give of my best to you, to cherish and keep you no matter what else happened. I have not always lived up to my best intentions but I have always loved you. I still love you. I love you more now than I did then because I know you better now. And I've matured: the sharp edges of youth have mellowed, increasing my capacity for, an my pleasure in love. We've watched our babies grow up and become independent. We've moved, we've had successes and setbacks we've weathered a good many storms. Some of the things we worried about turned out not to matter at all. What really mattered was our love. The one constant in our lives has grown stronger and I thank you now for the joy you've given me during these 25 years together. It is with a glad heart that I renew my original wedding vows. I still promise to love you, honor you, cherish and keep you. I continue to want you, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. Whatever the future may hold for us, we will always have our love. It is enough. (Peg Kehret)

# 6

Groom: We promised to love for richer and for poorer-and it has come to pass. We've known plentiful times and lean times; we have loved through both.

Bride: We promised to love in sickness and in health -- and it has come to pass. We've been strong and we've been weak. We've each had our turn to take care of the other. We have given and received comfort.

Groom: We promised to love for better and for worse and that, too, has come to pass.

Bride: Our love has made the good times better and the bad times bearable.

Groom: Fifty years ago, we promised to spend our lifetimes together. We were filled with hopes and dreams and

youthful anticipation. Today I thank you for making those hopes and dreams come true.

Bride: Thank you for the years of joy for the laughter and the hugs and the unfailing, supportive love.

Groom: We promised to love, and it has come to pass. (Peg Kehret)

# 7

Bride: We are here for a celebration.

Groom: We are here to celebrate love.

Bride: We are here to celebrate marriage -- ourown, specific marriage which has endured for fifty years.

Groom: Today we celebrate those fifty years. We rejoice that fifty years ago we had the good sense to marry each other.

Bride: We have dried each other's tears. We have applauded each other's successes. For fifty years, we have lived and loved.

Groom:: Today we celebrate the memory of all those years. We celebrate, as well, the hopes we cherish for the years ahead. Most of all, we celebrate now, today, this special once-in-a-lifetime occasion which our love has earned for us.

Bride:: It is a day of days, a time of times, a dream come true. Like all the other days of our lives, we celebrate it together. (Peg Kehret)

# 8

On our wedding day, I made a choice. It was the most important and significant choice of my life and I made it only after a great deal of consideration. On that day, I chose you to be my husband/wife. I thought then that such a decision, once made, as final and irrevocable. Now I know that the selection of a life partner is not a one time decision but an on-going process. Many times in the years since then, I have chosen you again. Faced with changes and alternatives, I have become keenly aware that a marriage lasts only so long as both partners desire each other above all others. As our lives have been affected by the ebb and flow of other lives and events, there have been many times when I could have chosen to go in a different direction. I did not. The reason is simple: no other person has ever aroused in me the feelings of tenderness, joy and caring which you elicit. I elect to stay with you not because I feel obligated to meet your needs but because you continue to meet mine. I live with you not because a legal document says that I am your wife/husband but because, in my heart of hearts, I still want to be by your side more than I want to be anywhere else. (Peg Kehret)