| Blessed Day Ministries A Wedding and Pastoral Care Ministry Serving MN and ND |
Wedding Services
Traditional Christian Wedding Service
Opening Words
We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and the presence of friends and loved ones,
to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of
love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite
_____________and________________ in holy matrimony.
Marriage is a most honorable estate, created and Instituted by God, signifying unto us the
mystical union, which also exists between Christ and the Church; so too may this marriage
be adorned by true and abiding love.
Declaration of Intention
____________ and ____________ I ask you now, in the presence of God and these people,
to declare your intention to enter into union with one another through the grace of Jesus
Christ, who calls you into union with himself as acknowledged in your baptism.
____________, do you take ________ for your lawful wedded wife, to live together after
God's ordinance, in the holy marriage? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from
this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?
I do
____________, do you take ________ for your lawful wedded husband, to live together after
God's ordinance, in the holy marriage? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from
this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall
live?
I do
Scripture Reading
(does not have to be read by me) you may choose other readings)
The marriage ceremony represents one of life’s greatest commitments, but also is a
declaration of love. I wish to read to you what Paul wrote of love in a letter to the
Corinthians. I believe it to be a true model of love, and is one you should both pursue in your
marriage:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I
gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or
rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues,
they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our
prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became
a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Special Music (Optional)
Wedding Message
Exchange of Vows
You may write your own or choose from list
Blessing and exchange of rings
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond, which
unites two loyal hearts in love. It symbolizes the family as a circle of strength where every
union makes the circle grow, every joy shared adds more love and every crisis faced
together makes the circle stronger. It is a seal of the vows _______and ______ have made to
one another.
Let us pray,
Bless O God, these rings, that _______and _______, who give and wear them, may ever
abide in thy peace and continue in thy favor, unto their life’s end; living together in unity,
love and happiness, fulfilling your will and purpose, for the rest of their lives. Through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
______, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and will be, and
all that I have, I honor you and our love. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. With this ring I thee wed.
______, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and will be, and
all that I have, I honor you and our love. In the name of the Father, and of the son, and of
the Holy Spirit. With this ring I thee wed.
Declaration of Marriage
______________________ and ___________________ as the two of you come into this
marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for
one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and
unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be
able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as
from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage
strengthened by your love and respect.
Unity Candle (Optional)
Today, ____ and _____ make a loving commitment to follow the greatest Commandment of
all: "Love one another, as I have loved you." They do this in hopes that their union will
become a symbol of God's promise to merge two lives into one.
"___________________ and ________________ the two lighted candies symbolize your
separate lives, your separate families and your separate sets of friends. I ask that you each
take one candle and that together you light the center candle.
The individual candles represent your individual lives before today. Lighting the center candle
represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and represents the joining together
of your two families and sets of friends to one."
Special Music (Optional)
Prayers
This is a sample prayer. There are several to choose from.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with great happiness on ______and
_______wedding day, as they come before you pledging their hearts and lives to one another.
Grant that they may be ever true and loving, living together in such a way as to never bring
shame or heartbreak into their marriage. Temper their hearts with kindness and
understanding, rid them of all pretense. Guide them to be each other’s sweetheart, helpmate,
friend and guide, so that together they may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely.
Help them also to notice and share the joys and gifts, which you bestow. And with the
passage of time, may the home they are creating today truly be a place of love, harmony and
peace, where your spirit is ever present and your counsel sought. Bless the union of these
two people, we pray, and walk beside them throughout all of their lives together. Father, we
pray for all married persons, that they may continue to give, be able to forgive, and
experience more and more of the joy of the Lord with each passing day. And especially for
____________ and _____________, now beginning their married life together, that they may
have divine assistance, the constant support of friends, and a long life with good health. May
your fullest blessing come upon ____________ and her husband _______________, from
this day forward, forever and ever we ask these things in Jesus name who taught us to pray:
All pray aloud “Our Father” (Optional)
Pronouncement as Husband & Wife
____________________ and ___________________in so much as the two of you have
agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows,
the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and
wife. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
Almighty, God, Father, Son, †and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now
and forever, Amen
Congratulations, you may kiss your bride.
I present to you Mr. and Mrs. _________________________.
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standard Service
Greeting
We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to
the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite
_______________________ and ______________________ in marriage.
Declaration of Intention
____________________ and _______________________ , life is given to each of us as
individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is not given to us by our family or
by our friends. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of
the greatest challenges of life - and is the shared goal of a married life.
___________________, do you take ________________ to he your Wife? Do you promise
to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?
I do
_____________________, do you take ________________ to be your Husband? Do you
promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto
him?
I do
Scripture Reading (does not have to be read by me)you may choose your own)
A marriage ceremony represents one of life's greatest commitments, but also is a declaration
of love. I wish to read to you what Paul wrote of love in a letter to the Corinthians. I believe
this is a true model of love, and it is a model of love I would hope you both would pursue in
your marriage:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I
gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or
rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues,
they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our
prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became
a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Special Music (Optional)
Wedding Message
Exchange of Vows
You may write your own or choose from list
Exchange of Rings
Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace, signifying to all
the uniting of this man and this woman in marriage.
(Bride and Groom will repeat these vows as they place the ring on the other’s finger:)
“__________ with this ring I thee wed.”
Declaration of Marriage
______________________ and ___________________ as the two of you come into this
marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for
one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and
unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be
able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as
from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage
strengthened by your love and respect.
Unity Candle (Optional)
Today, ____ and _____ make a loving commitment to follow the greatest Commandment of
all: "Love one another, as I have loved you." They do this in hopes that their union will
become a symbol of God's promise to merge two lives into one.
___________________ and ________________ the two lighted candies symbolize your
separate lives, your separate families and your separate sets of friends. I ask that you each
take one candle and that together you light the center candle.
The individual candles represent your individual lives before today. Lighting the center candle
represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and represents the joining together
of your two families and sets of friends to one.
Special Music (Optional)
Prayers This is a sample prayer. There are several to choose from.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with great happiness on ___________and
__________wedding day, as they come before you pledging their hearts and lives to one
another. Grant that they may be ever true and loving, living together in such a way as to
never bring shame or heartbreak into their marriage. Temper their hearts with kindness and
understanding, rid them of all pretense. Guide them to be each other’s sweetheart, helpmate,
friend and guide, so that together they may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely.
Help them also to notice and share the joys and gifts, which you bestow. And with the
passage of time, may the home they are creating today truly be a place of love, harmony and
peace, where your spirit is ever present and your counsel sought. Bless the union of these
two people, we pray, and walk beside them throughout all of their lives together. we ask
these things in Jesus name who taught us to pray: All pray aloud “Our Father” (Optional)
Pronouncement as Husband & Wife
____________________ and ___________________in so much as the two of you have
agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows,
the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and
wife. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
Almighty, God, Father, Son, †and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now
and forever. Amen
Congratulations, you may kiss your bride.
I present to you Mr. and Mrs. _________________________.
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
Contemporary Ceremony
Opening Words
Good afternoon (morning/evening)! We are gathered here today, not to witness the beginning
of what will be, but rather what already is! We do not create this marriage, because we
cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with __________________ and ___________
and their friends and families the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken
place in their lives.
The Commitment
_______________ and _______________ this celebration is the outward token of your
sacred and inward union of hearts, which the church and temple may bless, and the state
make legal, but which neither state nor church can create nor annul. It is a union created by
your loving purpose and kept by your abiding will. It is in this spirit and for this purpose that
you have come here to be joined together.
Wedding Message
Vows
(You may pick other vows or write your own)
______________ (Groom), will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live
together in marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, and honor her, in sickness and in
health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?
I Will!
_______________ (Bride) you take this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in
marriage? Will you love him, comfort him. and honor him, in sickness and in health, in
sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?
I Will!
Ceremony of the Rings
Traditionally, the marking- of the passage to tile 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, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the
receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.
(Each places the ring on the other’s finger and repeats this simple vow:)
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Blessing
________________ and _________________, 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. When frustration, difficulty or fear assail your relationship – as they threatened all
relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not
only the part that seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the times when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives –
remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your lives together, your life
together will be marked by abundance and delight.
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for each other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth for the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Pronouncement
Inasmuch as you have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have
sealed your vows in the presence of this company and by the giving of these rings, it gives
me great pleasure to pronounce that you are Husband and Wife.
Congratulations, you make kiss!
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
Opening Words
We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and the presence of friends and loved ones,
to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of
love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite
_____________and________________ in holy matrimony.
Marriage is a most honorable estate, created and Instituted by God, signifying unto us the
mystical union, which also exists between Christ and the Church; so too may this marriage
be adorned by true and abiding love.
Declaration of Intention
____________ and ____________ I ask you now, in the presence of God and these people,
to declare your intention to enter into union with one another through the grace of Jesus
Christ, who calls you into union with himself as acknowledged in your baptism.
____________, do you take ________ for your lawful wedded wife, to live together after
God's ordinance, in the holy marriage? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from
this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?
I do
____________, do you take ________ for your lawful wedded husband, to live together after
God's ordinance, in the holy marriage? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from
this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall
live?
I do
Scripture Reading
(does not have to be read by me) you may choose other readings)
The marriage ceremony represents one of life’s greatest commitments, but also is a
declaration of love. I wish to read to you what Paul wrote of love in a letter to the
Corinthians. I believe it to be a true model of love, and is one you should both pursue in your
marriage:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I
gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or
rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues,
they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our
prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became
a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Special Music (Optional)
Wedding Message
Exchange of Vows
You may write your own or choose from list
Blessing and exchange of rings
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond, which
unites two loyal hearts in love. It symbolizes the family as a circle of strength where every
union makes the circle grow, every joy shared adds more love and every crisis faced
together makes the circle stronger. It is a seal of the vows _______and ______ have made to
one another.
Let us pray,
Bless O God, these rings, that _______and _______, who give and wear them, may ever
abide in thy peace and continue in thy favor, unto their life’s end; living together in unity,
love and happiness, fulfilling your will and purpose, for the rest of their lives. Through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
______, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and will be, and
all that I have, I honor you and our love. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. With this ring I thee wed.
______, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and will be, and
all that I have, I honor you and our love. In the name of the Father, and of the son, and of
the Holy Spirit. With this ring I thee wed.
Declaration of Marriage
______________________ and ___________________ as the two of you come into this
marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for
one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and
unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be
able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as
from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage
strengthened by your love and respect.
Unity Candle (Optional)
Today, ____ and _____ make a loving commitment to follow the greatest Commandment of
all: "Love one another, as I have loved you." They do this in hopes that their union will
become a symbol of God's promise to merge two lives into one.
"___________________ and ________________ the two lighted candies symbolize your
separate lives, your separate families and your separate sets of friends. I ask that you each
take one candle and that together you light the center candle.
The individual candles represent your individual lives before today. Lighting the center candle
represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and represents the joining together
of your two families and sets of friends to one."
Special Music (Optional)
Prayers
This is a sample prayer. There are several to choose from.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with great happiness on ______and
_______wedding day, as they come before you pledging their hearts and lives to one another.
Grant that they may be ever true and loving, living together in such a way as to never bring
shame or heartbreak into their marriage. Temper their hearts with kindness and
understanding, rid them of all pretense. Guide them to be each other’s sweetheart, helpmate,
friend and guide, so that together they may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely.
Help them also to notice and share the joys and gifts, which you bestow. And with the
passage of time, may the home they are creating today truly be a place of love, harmony and
peace, where your spirit is ever present and your counsel sought. Bless the union of these
two people, we pray, and walk beside them throughout all of their lives together. Father, we
pray for all married persons, that they may continue to give, be able to forgive, and
experience more and more of the joy of the Lord with each passing day. And especially for
____________ and _____________, now beginning their married life together, that they may
have divine assistance, the constant support of friends, and a long life with good health. May
your fullest blessing come upon ____________ and her husband _______________, from
this day forward, forever and ever we ask these things in Jesus name who taught us to pray:
All pray aloud “Our Father” (Optional)
Pronouncement as Husband & Wife
____________________ and ___________________in so much as the two of you have
agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows,
the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and
wife. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
Almighty, God, Father, Son, †and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now
and forever, Amen
Congratulations, you may kiss your bride.
I present to you Mr. and Mrs. _________________________.
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standard Service
Greeting
We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to
the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite
_______________________ and ______________________ in marriage.
Declaration of Intention
____________________ and _______________________ , life is given to each of us as
individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is not given to us by our family or
by our friends. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of
the greatest challenges of life - and is the shared goal of a married life.
___________________, do you take ________________ to he your Wife? Do you promise
to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?
I do
_____________________, do you take ________________ to be your Husband? Do you
promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto
him?
I do
Scripture Reading (does not have to be read by me)you may choose your own)
A marriage ceremony represents one of life's greatest commitments, but also is a declaration
of love. I wish to read to you what Paul wrote of love in a letter to the Corinthians. I believe
this is a true model of love, and it is a model of love I would hope you both would pursue in
your marriage:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I
gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or
rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues,
they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our
prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became
a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Special Music (Optional)
Wedding Message
Exchange of Vows
You may write your own or choose from list
Exchange of Rings
Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace, signifying to all
the uniting of this man and this woman in marriage.
(Bride and Groom will repeat these vows as they place the ring on the other’s finger:)
“__________ with this ring I thee wed.”
Declaration of Marriage
______________________ and ___________________ as the two of you come into this
marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for
one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and
unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be
able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as
from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage
strengthened by your love and respect.
Unity Candle (Optional)
Today, ____ and _____ make a loving commitment to follow the greatest Commandment of
all: "Love one another, as I have loved you." They do this in hopes that their union will
become a symbol of God's promise to merge two lives into one.
___________________ and ________________ the two lighted candies symbolize your
separate lives, your separate families and your separate sets of friends. I ask that you each
take one candle and that together you light the center candle.
The individual candles represent your individual lives before today. Lighting the center candle
represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and represents the joining together
of your two families and sets of friends to one.
Special Music (Optional)
Prayers This is a sample prayer. There are several to choose from.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with great happiness on ___________and
__________wedding day, as they come before you pledging their hearts and lives to one
another. Grant that they may be ever true and loving, living together in such a way as to
never bring shame or heartbreak into their marriage. Temper their hearts with kindness and
understanding, rid them of all pretense. Guide them to be each other’s sweetheart, helpmate,
friend and guide, so that together they may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely.
Help them also to notice and share the joys and gifts, which you bestow. And with the
passage of time, may the home they are creating today truly be a place of love, harmony and
peace, where your spirit is ever present and your counsel sought. Bless the union of these
two people, we pray, and walk beside them throughout all of their lives together. we ask
these things in Jesus name who taught us to pray: All pray aloud “Our Father” (Optional)
Pronouncement as Husband & Wife
____________________ and ___________________in so much as the two of you have
agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows,
the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and
wife. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
Almighty, God, Father, Son, †and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now
and forever. Amen
Congratulations, you may kiss your bride.
I present to you Mr. and Mrs. _________________________.
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
Contemporary Ceremony
Opening Words
Good afternoon (morning/evening)! We are gathered here today, not to witness the beginning
of what will be, but rather what already is! We do not create this marriage, because we
cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with __________________ and ___________
and their friends and families the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken
place in their lives.
The Commitment
_______________ and _______________ this celebration is the outward token of your
sacred and inward union of hearts, which the church and temple may bless, and the state
make legal, but which neither state nor church can create nor annul. It is a union created by
your loving purpose and kept by your abiding will. It is in this spirit and for this purpose that
you have come here to be joined together.
Wedding Message
Vows
(You may pick other vows or write your own)
______________ (Groom), will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live
together in marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, and honor her, in sickness and in
health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?
I Will!
_______________ (Bride) you take this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in
marriage? Will you love him, comfort him. and honor him, in sickness and in health, in
sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?
I Will!
Ceremony of the Rings
Traditionally, the marking- of the passage to tile 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, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the
receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.
(Each places the ring on the other’s finger and repeats this simple vow:)
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Blessing
________________ and _________________, 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. When frustration, difficulty or fear assail your relationship – as they threatened all
relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not
only the part that seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the times when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives –
remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your lives together, your life
together will be marked by abundance and delight.
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for each other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth for the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Pronouncement
Inasmuch as you have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have
sealed your vows in the presence of this company and by the giving of these rings, it gives
me great pleasure to pronounce that you are Husband and Wife.
Congratulations, you make kiss!
© Blessed Day Ministries and Spiritual Care 2005
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