WEDDING LITURGIES V

OPENING WORDS:
We are here today to witness the marriage of (Groom) and
(Bride) and on their behalf I welcome you. I know it means a
great deal to them that you can be here to share in their
happiness on this special occasion.

Marriage is a desire by two people to share themselves and their

experiences with each other, and a willingness to accept each
other for who they are.

Marriage means making a commitment to developing co-

operation, friendship and mutual respect. It calls for honesty,
patience and of course, humours.

Marriage is where each partner cares for the other and supports
them in all that they do.

It demands Courage – the courage to be open, the courage to

grow and change, and the courage to sort out together the tasks
of everyday living.
 Marriage requires closeness and distance – closeness of a
couple growing together, and enough distance to allow each
partner to be individual. A good partner in such a marriage will be
loving, caring and above all, a best friend.

We are also 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 will unite (Groom) and
(Bride) in marriage

So what do we mean by love? When we love, we see things

other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the
qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see
with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty. And to be loved is to
be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who
loves us gives us a unique gift, a piece of ourselves, but a piece
that only they could give us.

(Groom) and (Bride), I would ask that you both remember to treat
yourself and each other with respect and remind yourself often of
what brought you together today.

Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and

kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and
difficulty assail your marriage – as they do to every relationship
at one time or another – focus on what still seems right between
you, not only the part that seems wrong.

This way when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and
you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun
is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the
quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and
delight.

We now have a reading by friend/ family member

THE READING:
(some couples will replace the below “Why Marriage by Mari
Nichols” with their own selected poems or read by friend/ family
member)

WHY MARRIAGE?
Because in the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me...
 Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...
Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love and friendship...
Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...
Because marriages do not fail,
people fail when they enter into marriage
expecting another to make them whole...
Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...
Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.

THE VOWS:
(You may write your own vows)
Will you please join your hands as an expression that your hearts
are joined together in love
 (Groom), do you take (Bride) to be your wedded wife, to live
together in marriage. Do you promise to love her, comfort her,
honour and keep her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in
sickness and health; and forsaking all others, be faithful only to
her so long as you both shall live?

(Groom): “I do”

(Bride), do you take (Groom) to be your wedded husband to live

together in marriage. Do you promise to love him, comfort him,
honour and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in
sickness and health; and forsaking all others, be faithful only to
him so long as you both shall live?

(Bride): “I do”

THE RINGS CEREMONY:

I understand you have brought rings as a token of your sincerity?

(Bestman) collects rings from (Ring bearer) and places in the

hand of the celebrant. While Celebrant says:

The ring is a symbol of the unbroken unity of truth now to be

symbolised in your married life.
 (Groom), please place this ring on (Bride)’s finger and repeat
after me:
(Groom): “With this ring, I take you, (Bride) as my wife, for as
long as we both shall live.”

(Bride), please place this ring on (Groom)’s finger and repeat

after me:
(Bride): “With this ring, I take you, (Groom) as my husband, for
as long as we both shall live.”

Just as two threads woven in opposite directions will form a most

beautiful tapestry, so too can your two lives merged together
make a beautiful marriage
To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of
your marriage and why you are here today.
It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want the
best for each other.
It will take dedication, to stay open to one another – and to learn
and grow together
It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing exactly
what the future brings.
And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both
pledges today to share together.
 APACHE BLESSING:
And so as (Groom) and (Bride)’s family and friends, we are here
to share with them this joy and hope and to see them off on the
path they will walk together. May it be a path of blessedness,
bright with flowers of prosperity and spiritual awakening; a path
of ever deepening, ever broadening love that will travel, arm in
arm, throughout eternity.

PRONOUNCEMENT:
(Groom) and (Bride), in as much as the two of you have agreed
to and the giving of these rings, I now declare you to be Husband
and Wife.

Congratulations, you may kiss your bride.

SIGNING OF CERTIFICATE

RECESSIONAL:
(An appointed MC/ family member will make any
announcements of reception, party or announcements that you
wish at the conclusion of the ceremony.)