STANDARD WEDDING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT (to congregation): Welcome, everyone. Friends and family who have traveled to be with _________ and_________ today: we thank you for being here to share this special day. You may be seated.

 

INVOCATION

OFFICIANT (to congregation): _________and_________, love is the force that brings us all here today.

In fact, love is the force behind much of what we do every day. Whether making a meal for our family, taking time to teach our children, or lending a listening ear to a friend—even in the mundane, commonplace routines, love is always the reason.

We are all here to support _________and _________ on their first day as husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner. As you go into married life, remember the reason: the reason you get up each morning, get ready, do your best in the world, and look forward to coming home.

Remember the reason you sacrifice, the reason you give, and the reason you laugh.

The reason you are legally becoming a family. _________, let _________ represent love.

And_________, let_________ represent love.

This mutual love stays strong as long as you both invest in and cherish it.

This love is alive: it is active, dynamic, and powerful. Cling to it during good times and bad.

All marriages have ups and downs—if you will make a habit of returning to your “reason,” you will find the strength to choose each other in every moment, in every place, and at all times.

A strong and lasting marriage is built on love, trust, and respect.

OFFICIANT (to couple): To truly love, you must both enter your life together with vulnerability.

To truly trust, you must, in good faith, allow for freedom and autonomy.

 To truly respect, you must consciously treat your partner with reverence.

 _________ and _________, cherish one another.

Never stop doing the small things that convey respect and trust.

Hold doors, write notes, listen and strive to understand.

Let kindness and tenderness be the rule, not the exception.

Remember that you’re both on the same team.

Together you will fight demons, defeat enemies, build a life, and forge a bond that is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT: (to _________): Now, _________, do you, of your own free will, take _________, as your lawful, wedded husband/wife/partner, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?

 _________: I do.

OFFICIANT (to _________): Now, _________, do you, of your own free will, take _________ as your lawful, wedded husband/wife/partner, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?

_________: I do.

 

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT (to _________): Do you _________, vow to place _________ above all others, before all others, and stand true and unmovable in your support for him/her/them through good times and bad? _________: I will.

OFFICIANT (to _________): Do you, _________, vow to place _________ above all others, before all others, and stand true and unmovable in support for him/her/them through good times and bad?  _________: I will.

 

OFFICIANT (to couple): You may now exchange rings.

 

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to couple): With these public promises and vows, and the symbolic exchange of wedding bands, I now pronounce you, by the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church and the state of Washington, husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner.

 

CLOSING STATEMENT OFFICIANT (to congregation): The audience will please stand and congratulate Mr./Mrs./Mx. and Mr./Mrs./Mx. _________

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SIMPLE WEDDING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT (to congregation): Welcome and please be seated.

Thank you all for making the commitment to be here today as _________ and _________ pledge their love for one another and make a truly wonderful commitment of their own.

Life is made up of a series of commitments: work, friends, family, community, even to ourselves.

But making this marriage commitment to the one you love can be the most fulfilling of one’s entire life.

Yes, it is a commitment of time, resources and emotion to another, but marriage is the commitment you also make to yourself.

You commit to bettering yourself each and every day working to be the best possible partner you can be for your beloved.

And It’s not just a commitment to give love, but also to allow yourself to be open enough to receive it back.

Many of us have experienced the seemingly counterintuitive feeling that giving feels a lot more rewarding than receiving. Your whole body, your mind, your heart is filled with content and joy when you give and see how positively it affects those who are receiving. A healthy, happy marriage consists of two partners who are whole heartedly ready and willing to give and receive just as _________ and _________ so obviously are.

And so now is the time for _________ and _________ to officially make the marriage commitment.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT (to _________):Do you, _________ take _________ to be your husband/wife/partner? To not only give love, support and understanding, but also to fully accept these things as well?     _________: I do.

OFFICIANT (to _________): And do you, _________ take _________ to be your husband/wife/partner? To not only give love, support and understanding, but also to fully accept these things as well?  _________: I do.

 

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT (to congregation):Wedding rings are our emotions brought into the physical world. They are a symbol of everlasting love, as well as a symbol to show the world that you have been fortunate enough to enter into this marriage commitment.

Each time you slip your ring on or off remember this day and how you feel now and let each and every day of your marriage be full of the same love and adoration for each other you experience now.

And now the future couple will present each other with their rings as they repeat after me.

OFFICIANT (to _________):    _________:   Please accept this ring as a symbol of my love for you above all others. It’s my promise that wherever our journey takes us, I will be there for you whole heartedly. With this ring I thee wed.

OFFICIANT (to _________):   _________:  Please accept this ring as a symbol of my love for you above all others. It’s my promise that wherever our journey takes us, I will be there for you whole heartedly. With this ring I thee wed.

 

CLOSING STATEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation): Marriage is that wonderful commitment that allows you to give of yourself fully and freely each and every day. For each new day is a new opportunity to make your partner feel loved and appreciated which in turn fills you with that special feeling of joy. When both partners commit to each other fully, marriage becomes a never-ending circle of love and support.

 

THE PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):  And so marriage is one of the most selfless and at the same time wonderfully selfish commitments one can make and I am overjoyed to now officially introduce Mr./Mrs./Mx. and Mr./Mrs./Mx. _______. You may now enjoy your first official married kiss.

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HUMOROUS WEDDING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT: (to congregation) There are 7.7 billion people in the world and most of them are not here at this wedding. How special does that make you? Out of the billions of people living on the planet earth _________ and _________ have asked you to join them as they enter into the amazing institution of marriage. So, the least you can do is put your phone on silent, ok?

Finding “the one” out of all the people in the entire world should be impossible! But __________ and __________ found each other! What are the chances? I don’t know – I’m not great at math – but it’s seems pretty unlikely. Yet, here they are, in front of their friends and family making the impossible seem not only possible, but inevitable.

Was it destiny? Happenstance? Total dumb luck? Who cares? The important thing is it’s happening! _________ and _________ are getting married. Today! Right now! No, really. Right now!

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT (to _________):  Do you _________, take _________ to be “the one”? The one you not only give love, respect and compassion to, but also allow yourself to receive the same from?

_________: I do

OFFICIANT (to _________):And do you, _________, take _________ to be “the one”? The one you not only give love, respect and compassion to, but also allow yourself to receive the same from?              _________: I do

 

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT (to congregation):May I please have the two rings?

This is a ring, and this is a ring. 1 + 1 = 2, right? But these two individual rings are a grand symbol of the final numbers we’re considering on this very special day. 2 separate rings create the very special bond of husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner, a married couple. So, in this case 1 + 1 = an even greater 1….Like I said I’m not that great at math.

(Couple may now exchange written vows)

 

THE PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to couple): Looking at the two of you, I can see it clearly; my impossible math works! 1 + 1 truly does equal an even greater one; that of an officially married couple. And so, I am extremely honored to officially pronounce _________ and _________ legally wed.

That’s it, you did it, you’re married! You may now, for all the world to see, kiss your first l kiss as newlyweds!

 

CLOSING STATEMENT

OFFICIANT (to couple): There will be good days and there will be bad. I wish you so many more good than bad. But on days both good and bad I want you to remember how lucky you both are to have beaten the odds and found one another. Let that make the bad days less bad and the good days that much sweeter.

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ROMANTIC WEDDING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT (to congregation):Welcome and please be seated.

When it comes to finding that special person in your life, sometimes you just know. And as we witness _________ and _________ gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, it is obvious to everyone here that they know and have known for quite some time.

Now, storybooks and romance novels talk of love at first sight and that’s all right, I suppose, but I much prefer the notion of “Love at each sighting”. Each time you see one another, you feel the love that has been growing inside you from the very first time you lock eyes to the next and to the next and all the way up to right now.

And each new time you see one another that love grows stronger. It remembers the past, imagines the wonderful future that will be and fills your heart with joy at each new encounter.

And from each day to the next you know that this is the one, you know this is the person that you belong with forever. You just know.

Reading from Shakespeare’s As You Like It – Act V, Scene ii)

I’d like to share a selection from Shakespeare’s As You Like It that sums up the steps _________ and _________ have taken to lead them here today:

No sooner met but they looked, no sooner looked but they loved, no sooner loved but they sighed, no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason, no sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy; and in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation): And so, _________ and _________ have ascended those stairs and have arrived here, at this moment, ready to declare their love and commitment to each other and in front of the world.

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________, do you take _________, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?    _________: I do

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________, do you take _________, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?  _________: I do

 

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT (to congregation): May I please have the wedding rings?

These rings have been around for all of time. They are made of the same atoms that existed at the very start of everything, just as the atoms that made you were. They are infinite and eternal, they are forever. Just as your love is, just as you both are.

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________, please repeat after me: _________, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________, please repeat after me:   _________, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

CLOSING STATEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):Many people say that love is the backbone of a marriage—and they are right, but they might not fully understand all of what “love” entails.

OFFICIANT (to couple):

You see, love is not static. Like everything else in life, it is subject to change. The love you feel today is very likely different than the love you felt when you first met. The love you feel today will be different than the love you feel when you celebrate your 1-year anniversary and then your 10th, then 50th – and beyond.

Love is more than the feeling you get when someone makes your heart happy, love is your heart remembering the history you share with one another during times that are tough. And somehow getting through those tough times makes the good times all the more lovely.

Love each other each and every day and live every day with full hearts and your bond will grow ever stronger with time.

 

THE PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):  They knew it – they knew they were meant to be together. Now I want you all to know this: By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church I hereby pronounce you husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner.

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CHRISTIAN WEDDING CEREMONY

INTRODUCTION

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

We are gathered here today before friends, family, and above all else, God, to witness the holy matrimony of _________ and _________.

 

We thank the Lord for all the blessings that brought us here today and those that brought _________ and _________ together to make this day possible.

 

And we are thankful for the blessings of another day with our loved ones and especially grateful for this day when we can be around friends and family.

 

Love and marriage are truly one of God’s greatest gifts and accomplishments.

Yes, the heavens and the Earth are pretty impressive, but the Lord has filled all of us with love and allows us to grow that love exponentially by sharing it with someone else. And so, by giving selflessly to another, we make ourselves stronger and our lives that much richer. It’s truly one of the greatest miracles we’ve been given.

 

PRAYERS AND READINGS

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

Thank you, Lord, for bestowing upon us your blessings and for giving us, not just another day together, but this most very special day, where _________ and _________ will be joined in holy matrimony.

 

I’d now like to read a section of Corinthians 13 that offers a beautiful reminder of what it means to love.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

 

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT (to couple):

And now I ask the _________ and _________ to stand facing one another with their hands intertwined.

 

OFFICIANT (to _________):_________, do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect _________ above all others, from this day forward until your very last day on earth?   _________: I do

OFFICIANT (to _________):

_________, do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect _________ above all others, from this day forward until your very last day on earth?  _________: I do

 

VOW/RING EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT): May I have the rings please?

OFFICIANT (to couple):

These rings represent love, pure and simple. The love God has for all creatures great and small and the love you, _________ and _________, have for one another.

When you place that ring on your partner’s finger, know that you are giving not just the gift of a ring, but also the gift of the love your creator has filled you with.

 

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________ please repeat after me: _________, please accept this ring as a token of my true, pure love for you. With this I give you my heart and my soul. They are yours forever more.

 

OFFICIANT (to _________): _________, please repeat after me: _________, please accept this ring as a token of my true, pure love for you. With this I give you my heart and my soul. They are yours forever more.

 

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT (to couple):

We thank God for bringing _________ and _________ together and for blessing them now and always.

I feel personally blessed to have shared this day with you, _________ and _________.

Now, by the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church and the State of _____________, I pronounce you married.

You may now kiss!

 

CLOSING STATEMENT

OFFICIANT (to congregation):

Beginnings are important. So important it’s the 1st noun in the Bible, which starts with “In the beginning.” What follows are the heavens and the earth; water and life; humanity.

And now here we are at the beginning of _________ and _________’s married life.

You’ve got a great beginning here _________ and _________ – now it’s up to you to keep in your hearts that love and warmth given to you by God.

Begin and end each and every day together with love, and you will enjoy an amazing marital life filled with joy and bliss.