You may feel free to provide a ceremony of your own or use the following as a suggestion.
If you would like additional ideas, I offer several reading and ceremony options.
Welcome to family and friends:
We have come here today to celebrate love.
We see it in the faces of [Groom] and [Bride] who stand before us, and we experience
it in our own hearts as well. It is a love which is spoken of in all religions, and is
our true home, our true meeting place. It kindles our souls with hope. We are grateful
to them for inviting us to witness and share in this precious moment. To this day they
bring their love as a treasure to share with one another.
If anyone present can show just and legal cause why they may not be joined,
let them speak now or forever hold their peace.
Opening
Marriage is dedication. You give yourself, your life and love, into the hands of the one
you love. You do so trustingly and generously. By the same token, each of you receives a
gift -- the life and love of the other. You receive this gift not only from the one you
love, but also from the parents who brought you into the world and reared you and from
the personal world of friends and family who are joined in friendship and faith in your
marriage.
Mark Twain once said that "a marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to
two questioning natures a reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine,
and a new fragrance to the flowers, and new beauty to the earth, a new mystery to life."
OR
What greater joy is there for two souls than to join together to strengthen each other in
all their endeavors, to support each other through all sorrow, and to share with each other
in all gladness? We hope, too, that the meaning of the vows that [Groom] and [Bride] are
about to share with one another will deepen as they discover the possibilities of their life
together. This is a love which is not to be tarnished by common events, but which will
flower both in deepest adversity and greatest joy. Everything in your marriage can manifest
your love for one another as you let it grow with you. We ask that the radiant power which
first brought you together be with you always. Love is stronger than your conflicts,
bigger than life's changes, always inviting you to learn, to bloom, to expand, and grow.
Vows:
Do you [name] take [name] to be your lawful wedded wife/husband? I do.
Will you love, respect and honor her/him throughout your years together? I Will.
Do you promise to love and cherish her/him, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer,
for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her/him, for so long
as you both shall live? I do.
(Repeated to each other in unison after me by phrases)
With all my heart I take you to be my spouse. I will love you through the good and the bad,
through the joy and the sorrow. I will try to be understanding, and to trust in you
completely. I will make you a part of me and in turn, become a part of you. Together we
will face all of life's experiences and share one anothers dreams and goals. We will be
equal partners in an open, honest relationship throughout the years.
Rings
Officiant to Groom -- [Groom] , have you a token of your love for [Bride] ?
Officiant to Bride -- [Bride] , have you a token of your love for [Groom] ?
Traditionally, the marking of the passage to the status of husband and wife is marked by
the exchange of rings. These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love
freely given has no beginning and no end. Love freely given has no giver and no
receiver - for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings remind you
always of the vows you have taken here today.
[Groom], place this ring on [Bride's] finger and repeat after me:
This ring, a gift for you, symbolizes my desire that you be my wife from this day forward.
[Bride], place this ring on [Groom's] finger and repeat after me:
This ring, a gift for you, symbolizes my desire that you be my husband from this day forward.
Let these rings serve not as locks binding you together, but as keys, unlocking the secrets
of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever.
Closing
Now you will feel no rain, for each will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each will be warmth for the other.
Now there is no more loneliness.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place to enter the days of your life together,
And may your days be good and long upon this earth.
Pronouncement:
[Groom] and [Bride], having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here,
and by the authority vested in me by the State of Ohio, I announce with great joy that from
this time on, you are husband and wife.
Kiss:
You may now seal your vows with a kiss.
Presentation:
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. [Groom's full name].
OR
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you [Groom] and [Bride], husband and wife.
