WELCOME
We gather as family and friends of GROOM and BRIDE, to share in their joy today at becoming husband and wife.
For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other and fell in love. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more and it is their desire to love each other for life and that is what we are celebrating here today.
A good marriage must be created. In 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 a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is standing together and facing the world.
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 a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner
ROSE CEREMONY
And while marriage is a coming together of two lives and a celebration of the love of two people, it is also so much more. The love that GROOM and BRIDE feel for one another is the flowering of a seed that their parents planted in their hearts years ago.
Today, as they embrace one another in their love, so do they embrace the families which have come together to celebrate with BRIDE and GROOM on this happy occasion.
As a sign of their love for their families, BRIDE and GROOM would like to offer these roses as symbols of their eternal love to their mothers and grandmothers
Mother of Bride,
Grandmother of bride
Mother of groom
Grandmother of the Groom
BRIDE and GROOM would like you to know that your love and support is very much appreciated. They thank you for everything you have instilled in them. These roses are a promise that no matter how far away you are that you are not forgotten, and a reminder that you are always in their hearts.
REFLECTING ON MARRIAGE
So, how do two people come to this point in their lives? What crossroads do they reach when living without each other is not something that either wish to contemplate. But even more than that. When two people, as GROOM and BRIDE do, want to formalize that union. To make a statement to all that, we are a couple… husband and wife…United…committed…together.
It is a fascination to me how and when that transition occurs. We meet many people in the course of our lives. School. Work. Friends of friends. Even random conversations at the grocery or on the internet. Some of our relationships will be long and sustaining. Other people will come into our lives for a relatively short period of time.
But there will be a few people in our lives, sometimes only one or two, with whom that relationship will be quite unique….deeply intimate….profoundly rich…in the sharing of each other’s life. How does this moment occur? When does this moment occur? What switch is activated so that one day, sometimes much to our complete surprise, we realize…
“Yes…he is the one”…. or …
“I just cannot imagine my life without her.”
I think this is the point where a relationship truly begins to unfold. For at this point, a couple begin to have confidence in what exists between them, as GROOM and BRIDE do.
It is a time when a deepening of trust emerges and a belief in a future….together.
A future which promises many things.
A future that will at times both challenge them…and nourish them…
as individuals and as a couple….
but more importantly,
there is a faith that the central core of what exists between them….
that love, commitment and dedication…
each to the other
will be what sees them through.
So how did the story of GROOM and BRIDE’s love begin…
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Your personal story here
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VOWS
BRIDE and GROOM in presenting yourselves here today to be joined in marriage, you perform an act of faith. This faith can grow and develop and last, but only if you both decide to make it so. A lasting and growing love is not guaranteed by any ritual.
If you would have the foundation of your marriage be the devotion you have for one another, not just at this moment, but for all the days to come, then treasure the hopes and dreams that you bring here today. Establish that your love will never be blotted out by the common nor obscured by the ordinary in life. Faults will surface where now you find comfort, and admiration can be shattered by the routine of daily life.
Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today. Only with this spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all the days of your lives.
GROOM, with this understanding, I ask you to repeat these vows to BRIDE
I GROOM affirm my love to you BRIDE as I invite you to share my life.
I promise always to respect your needs.
I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness and trust
to achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to.
To this end I call upon all present to witness
that I take you BRIDE to be my lawful wife,
to have and to hold,
from this day forward, for better or for worse,
for richer or for poorer,
in sickness and in health
while we both shall live.
BRIDE, please repeat after me, these vows to GROOM
I BRIDE affirm my love to you GROOM as I invite you to share my life.
I promise always to respect your needs.
I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness and trust
to achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to.
To this end I call upon all present to witness
that I take you GROOM to be my lawful husband,
to have and to hold,
from this day forward, for better or for worse,
for richer or for poorer,
in sickness and in health
while we both shall live.
Ring Vows
May I have the rings please?
GROOM, please take the ring you have selected for BRIDE, place it upon her finger and repeat these words;
BRIDE with this ring, I thee wed.
Take it and wear it as a symbol of all we will share.
BRIDE, please take the ring you have selected for GROOM, place it upon his finger and repeat these words;
GROOM, with this ring I thee wed.
Take it and wear it as a symbol of all we shall share.
SAND CEREMONY WITHOUT CHILDREN
Now we will celebrate Groom and Bride’s union as it is symbolized through the pouring of two individual containers of sand. One represents Groom (he pours a portion of her sand in vase) and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be.
The other represents Bride (she pours a portion of her sand on top Groom’s sand) and all that you were and all that you are, and all that you will ever be.
As the two vials of sand are poured into the third keepsake vase, (both Groom & Bride together pour their remaining sand in the central vase) the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, as they are now joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual vases, so will the love and bond between the two of you render you inseparable.
OR
SAND CEREMONY WITH CHILDREN
BRIDE and GROOM, today you are making a life-long commitment to share the rest of your lives with each other. Often marriage is viewed as the union of two persons. In reality, this marriage is the completion of a family. This union will provide balance and stability to CHILDREN. Will the family please join each other around the table?
The separate containers of sand represent your lives to this moment; individual and unique. As you combine your sand together, your lives also join together as one family. The gathering of this new family will have a deep influence upon each of you. You will realize that in order for the home to be a happy one, it is essential that there be love and understanding between the children and the adults being married.
You may now blend the sand together symbolizing the uniting of the children and BRIDE and GROOM into one family. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage and your family be.
READING
Some advice from a Generous Heart
Give yourself to one another completely
Be generous in your giving….and make no conditions for these gifts
Love one another constantly and fully
Be humble in your acceptance of your partner’s love
Be honest with each other
Be thankful for each other’s love and strive to develop it’s richness day by day
Respect each other in every way
Be patient with each other’s weaknesses and accept each other for what you are…not what you wish another to be
Communicate constantly with each other
Be calm…patient…tolerant and reasonable in your communication
Be capable of good listening
Share with one another….misfortune and fortune alike
Be compassionate…and express your love for one another constantly
Know your limitations and be as honest with yourself as you are with one another
Fuse your souls into one another and happy for the love you have been so fortunate to find in one another.
PRONOUNCEMENT
With this statement made of love and trust, which we have just heard, I now wish you to greet BRIDE and GROOM as husband and wife.
BLESSING
May this day shine eternally in your lives. May it add brilliance to every achievement and cast a divine light over any misfortune. May you care for each other in all sadness. May you give cheer to each other. May you give vitality to each other in all undertakings. May all that is virtuous, beautiful and honest, remain with you always.
You may seal your vows with a kiss.
INTRODUCTION
It is my distinct honor to introduce to you for the very first time as husband and wife Mr. & Mrs. GROOM and BRIDE Name
