Online Wedding Ceremonies

Funny Wedding Vows

2011-08-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

If you're getting married and you want to share your humorous side, you might consider using some funny wedding vows. For example, perhaps you could use the traditional vows, but include a line such as "I promise to always make your "favorite banana milkshake," or "I vow to split the difference on the thermostat," as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston did when they married. Or, if you really want to make your guests laugh, consider writing a complete set of funny wedding vows, such as these inspired by Dr. Seuss.

Marty Blase, the author of these vows, writes: "My fiancee and I agreed a long time ago that we wanted to write our own wedding vows, and as a spur-of-the-moment idea, I suggested the following. To my disappointment, she didn't quite go for it..."

Pastor: Will you answer me right now
These questions, as your wedding vow?

Groom: Yes, I will answer right now
Your questions as my wedding vow.

Pastor: Will you take her as your wife?
Will you love her all your life?

Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife,
Yes, I'll love her all my life.

Pastor: Will you have, and also hold
Just as you have at this time told?

Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold,
Just as I have at this time told,
Yes, I will love her all my life
As I now take her as my wife.

Pastor: Will you love through good and bad?
Whether you're happy or sad?

Groom: Yes, I'll love through good and bad,
Whether we're happy or sad,
Yes, I will have and I will hold
Just as I have already told,
Yes, I will love her all my life,
Yes, I will take her as my wife!

Pastor: Will you love her if you're rich?
Or if you're poor, and in a ditch?

Groom: Yes, I'll love her if we're rich,
And I will love her in a ditch,
I'll love her through good times and bad,
Whether we are happy or sad,
Yes, I will have, and I will hold
(I could have sworn this has been told!)
I promise to love all my life
This woman, as my lawful wife!

Pastor: Will you love her when you're fit,
And also when you're feeling sick?

Groom: Yes, I'll love her when we're fit,
And when we're hurt, and when we're sick,
And I will love her when we're rich
And I will love her in a ditch
And I will love through good and bad,
And I will love when glad or sad,
And I will have, and I will hold
Ten years from now a thousandfold,
Yes, I will love for my whole life
This lovely woman as my wife!

Pastor: Will you love with all your heart?
Will you love till death you part?

Groom: Yes, I'll love with all my heart
From now until death do us part,
And I will love her when we're rich,
And when we're broke and in a ditch,
And when we're fit, and when we're sick,
(Oh, CAN'T we get this finished quick?)
And I will love through good and bad,
And I will love when glad or sad,
And I will have, and I will hold,
And if I might now be so bold,
I'll love her my entire life,
Yes, I WILL take her as my wife!

Pastor: Then if you'll take her as your wife,
And if you'll love her all your life,
And if you'll have, and if you'll hold,
From now until the stars grow cold,
And if you'll love through good and bad,
And whether you're happy or sad,
And love in sickness, and in health,
And when you're poor, and when in wealth,
And if you'll love with all your heart,
From now until death do you part,
Yes, if you'll love her through and through,
Please answer with these words:

Pastor and Groom: I DO!

Pastor: You're married now! So kiss the bride,
But please, do keep it dignified.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials. I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Seven Blessings Wedding Ceremony

2011-03-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Seven Blessings

We would like to credit and thank the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco for this collection of readings. It is a beautiful place to be married, and welcomes all faith traditions.

Person One: May the power of your love bring you health and well-being throughout your lives. (Amen)

Person Two: May you have wisdom in the ordering of your common life that you may each be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, and a companion in joy. (Amen)

Person Three: May you have the grace, when you hurt each other, to recognize your faults, and to seek each other's forgiveness. (Amen)

Person Four: May your life together be a vessel of divine love and a symbol of peace to our struggling world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guild, and joy conquer despair. (Amen)

Person Five: May you be ever thoughtful and gentle, patient and forbearing, regardful of each other's feelings and opinions, and lenient to each other's infirmities. (Amen)

Person Six: Despite whatever challenges and struggles lie upon your relationship's path, may you always find life good and worth celebrating. (Amen)

Person Seven: May you discover such deep fulfillment of your mutual affection that you may always be inspired to reach out in love and concern for others. (Amen)

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Commitment Ceremony

2011-03-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome and Call to the Celebration

Welcome, you have all come today to witness and celebrate the drawing together of two separate lives. This may be the first ceremony of this type you have participated in or witnessed, or it may not, but its purpose and its heart is quite simple even as it is profound. We have come to that ________ and ________ may celebrate and consecrate their spiritual union. It is by their love and that of their Higher Power that they will be united here today. And they wish to celebrate this passage in the presence of your love and support and to share their joy in each other with you, their family and their friends.

The Vision

Love is perhaps the most profound experience that we can have. The sensual part of love is one of life's greatest joys, and when this is combined with real friendship, both are infinitely enhanced. The day-to-day companionship, the pleasure in doing things together, or in doing separate things but delighting to exchange experiences, is a continuous and central joy that those in love share together.

Deep knowledge of another is not something that can be achieved in a short time, and real understanding of the other's feelings can develop fully only with years of intimacy. This wonderful knowledge of another person grows out of truly caring for the other so much that one wants to understand as completely as possible what the other is feeling. Thus it is possible to share not only joys and successes, but also the burden of sorrows and failures. To be known in this way is a priceless thing, because such understanding and acceptance makes it easier to live with profound intimacy, it can and must also enhance the individual strength of each of the partners. We must give ourselves in love, but we must not give ourselves away.

_____________________ and ___________________, your union offers you the highest and most intimate experience of love that we know. A growing bond of affection, trust and mutual concern can bring you into a fuller life than either of you could achieve alone. As you share with each other your individual differences, your life together can become richer, more complete, and more spiritually satisfying. A union in such a sense will entail a uniting on all the levels of your being: body and mind, heart and spirit. Then, the longer that your are together, the more you grow and develop together, the deeper will be your lives together in union.
Even now, love is calling for the best qualities deep within each of you, seeking to break down barriers of fear, selfishness, or anything that would keep you apart. This love opens a way of understanding and sensitivity and courage, enabling you to be more responsive to the desires and the needs of one another.

Remember always that love, loyalty, and trust are the foundations of a lasting and happy union. As you strive to fulfill the commitment that you declare to one another here, you life together can be increasingly full of joy, satisfaction, and peace. I pray that you will hold fast to the vision and the promise of this special day.

Declaration of Intention

Minister to the couple individually:_______, do you take _____ as your partner in life, promising to tenderly care for him/her, to respect his/her individuality, to cherish him/her as he/she is, to love him/her with fidelity? (I do)

Commitment Vows

(Each repeating) I, ______, take you, ______, to be my beloved partner in life, to stand behind, beside and with you always, in times of celebration and in times of sorrow, in times of joy and in times of pain, in times of sickness and in times of health. I will live with you, love and cherish you as long as we both shall live.

Exchange of Rings

(Each repeating) In giving you this ring, I join my life with yours, and pledge my everlasting love.

Lighting of the Unity Candle

______ and ________, these two candles now lit before you symbolize each of you in your individual uniqueness. The larger candle, still unlit, is to symbolize the power and the vision of your union together. Each of you has brought to this moment a wealth of personality, of background, of experience and of strengths and weaknesses. And you each bring all of these to your union. You will be lighting a new light together, using the fire that each of you brings to this place and this decision. But do not extinguish your individual lights, lest there be less light and warmth. May these flames burn brightly and the warmth of your love for each other and for others be all the greater.

Prayer and the Seven Blessings

O God, may the miracle of your love bless ___________'s and _________'s union. Give them the willingness and patience to fulfill their commitments to one another and fill them with freedom and happiness. Grant them the serenity to accept the things that they cannot change, courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

All of you will be an important part of _____________'s and ____________'s life together and for that reason representative friends and family members have been asked to offer them a blessing. A blessing is created from the heart, comes with our love and support, and is given over to our Higher Power as a sacred gesture. The seven will now each offer a blessing, and our part will be to say Amen after each blessing:

Person One: May the power of your love bring you health and wellbeing throughout your lives. (Amen)

Person Two: May have wisdom in the ordering of your common life that you may each be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, and a companion in joy. (Amen)

Person Three: May you have the grace, when you hurt each other, to recognize your faults, and to seek each other's forgiveness. (Amen)

Person Four: May your life together be a vessel of divine love and a symbol of peace to our struggling world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guild, and joy conquer despair (Amen)

Person Five: May you be ever thoughtful and gentle, patient and forbearing, regardful of each other's feelings and opinions, and lenient to each other's infirmities. (Amen)

Person Six: Despite whatever challenges and struggles lie upon yourrelationship's path, may you always find life good and worth celebrating. (Amen)

Person Seven: May you discover such deep fulfillment of your mutual affection that you may always be inspired to reach out in love and concern for others. (Amen)

Presentation to Guests

_______ and ______ will turn to each of you for support, love and guidance in the years to come. Will each of you do all that is in your power to encourage _______ and ________ in their commitment and to support them in the promises that they make here today ---- if so, please indicate by saying, "We will." (We will)

Pronouncement

With the promises they have made to one another, and by the power of their love which comes through their Higher Power, ______ and _______ have been joined in a spiritual union. They are now partners sharing one life from this day forward.

Final Blessing

I will leave you now with a blessing from the Apache tribal tradition, which says:
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now you will feel no loneliness,
for each of you will be companionship to the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is one life between you.
So go now to your dwelling place
to enter into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth. Amen
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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

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Funny Wedding Vows

2011-03-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

"I promise to make your favorite fruit smoothies on Sundays."

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As Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston promised each other, "I vow to split the difference on the thermostat."

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Groom: I, (Name), choose you, (Name), to be my wife. In front of our friends and family gathered here I promise to love and cherish you throughout the good times and bad times. I promise to try to remember to put put my dirty clothes in the hamper and to replace the toilet paper roll when it's empty. I promise to remember this day with love and roses. I will love you always.
Bride: I, (Name), choose you, (Name), to by my husband. In front of our friends and family, I promise to love and cherish you through every obstacle that may come into our path. I promise to learn how to check the oil in my car and how to roll up a garden hose. I will comfort you when your team loses and drink beer with you when they win. I will love you always.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Universal LIfe Church - What's the real ULC?

2011-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

The Universal Life Church was founded during 1959, in Modesto, CA by Kirby Hensley. In order for the freedom of religion to stay protected, Kirby felt it must be asserted. Kirby promised to ordain all who asked, free of charge, no questions asked.

There have always been those of much more traditional Big Dog churches, who complained incessantly that to become a reverend, 1 must have years of training, be approved by a committee as well as comply with strict doctrinal standards. Naturally, those same people had no response after it was brought to their attention that Peter and Paul and the rest of the disciples received no seminary training. What is conveniently ignored by the same group are the increasing headlines regarding approved and trained priests who've been caught in acts of unbelievable abuse to children under their pastoral care. Due to such roadblocks, many good people have stayed away from their ministry.

Many other churches still bar women from preaching, even in the 21st century!

Becoming ordained ought to be a personal decision, between you and The Supreme Being (or just you and yourself), so Kirby established the Universal Life Church to make that happen. Fairly quickly, the Universal Life Church, as it was known worldwide, has evolved and expanded in popularity and size. The church has become well-known and established over the years, enough that many well-known proudly proclaim their membership, as well as having the ULC be used as part of the plot on numerous television shows. When people talk about the Universal Life Church, it is the original Modesto headquarters that people are talking about.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, that level of notoriety continues to attract multiple con artists who make use of the good name of the ULC to try and line their own pockets.

Like the scammers who sell fake Rolex watches calling them "Romex", these charlatans created spin-offs using similar- sounding names, some of them even utilizing the name from the original church, but attaching other words like "network" or "monastery". It never occurred to Kirby that people would do such dishonest things or how easily it could be done over the internet so he never trademarked the name Universal Life Church and even suggested the use of the name by new congregations, expecting them to use it honestly. If he'd have foreseen how vulnerable that would leave the ULC and how frequently the dishonesty would continue to happen on the internet, Im certain he wouldve taken steps to head this off.

Using UPS maildrops or operating out of trailer parks (which can be confirmed using google maps), these fakers not only are claiming they belong to the ULC, but that they ARE the original Universal Life Church. Using all types of tricks and word games to garner some Google-love, some have even managed to climb well up in the search engine listings, which have resulted in tons of ministers who assume they've been ordained by the Universal Life Church of Modesto, but who had been really dealing with 1 of these unscrupulous groups.

Making matters worse, the truth seems to have taken on a different meaning for these radical groups. They tell ministers that they must buy credentials in order to be legal. That, naturally, is only a partial truth. Only a small number of states require you to show a credential and thats ONLY should you want to perform a wedding. The majority of states require nothing. It's certainly not required for anything except for conducting a wedding. Authentic ULC sites know this and wouldnt dream of pressuring you to order anything. In fact, authentic ULC sites give a great deal of stuff away at no cost.

One much-complained-about scammer pushes people to purchase credentials and letters of good standing as requirements both for ordination through his Exclusive Christian-only site, and because he claims it is legally needed to conduct ceremonies in all states. The number of states that require the letter is very small and Modesto will send the letters free of cost. The only exceptions are for the few states that require a notarized letter there is then a fee for the notary.

Currently, the ULC has two official websites. Established during 1997, ulc.net is the oldest active authorized website for the church. It provides an online application for ordination, an active forum, a directory of ministers and congregations (listing with the directory is optional), a reading library, support desk, prayer request page and an online bookstore in which ministers are able to find ceremony books and additional items to help them with their ministry. There's even an online confessional. The other official site is that of the administrative headquarters office, which is still located in Modesto, California. It may be found at ulchq.com. The ULC Seminary is another respected site and also offers various items of interest to ULC ministers, and is affiliated with the true church in Modesto Its a well-established and respected site. With both the Bookstore and the Seminary, the advice is free and they are there to answer their phones and offer support.

Be cautious of any othe sites. There are some additional honest sites, created by ULC ministers, but any other site that claims to really BE the Universal Life Church is attempting to lead you astray. If it did happen that you inadvertently went to 1 of the other sites, be kind to yourself about it. Youre far from the first theyve deceived and they make it their business to do it.

You are able to easily verify the truth for yourself. Corporate records are available to the public so you can verify any which claim to BE the Universal Life Church. Find the state out of which they operate then look at the Secretary of States records. If you look at the records in CA, youll find the original Universal Life Church was incorporated during 1962 as being a non-profit. (While the ULC did begin operations in 1959, Kirby didnt incorporate until 1962.) Youll find that the spin-offs only started up a few years ago, if the others can be found at all. If anyone tells you that you must buy merchandise in order

The Universal Life Church has opened the way for many to become ordained and to follow their dreams and are pleased that so many others have taken up the torch to assure that same freedom. Hundreds of churches today began to model their ordination processes after the ULC, which has been great to see. Real ULC Churches support the ideal of doing that which is right, and will clearly and honestly state their intentions and mission as well as doing what they can to distinguish themselves. But there will remain people who find it easier to simply lift a well-known name, knowing that many individuals will never bother to check into it --At least not until it's too late, and they have been separated from their money!

Please do your homework. Seek ordination from a reputable source and find the site which make you feel good to visit it.

Kevin Andrews invites individuals to become a minister through his authorized ULC site. Amy Long also runs a legitimate Universal Life Church site, which is affiliated with ULC Headquarters in Modesto, CA.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

The Coin Ceremony

2010-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Coin Ceremony
The groom gives the bride 13 coins, or arrhae, blessed by the Minister, as a sign of his dedication to his wife's well being and the welfare of their future children. Either an attendant or an especially designated extra member of the wedding party carries the coins. After the ring exchange, the Groom is given the coins, which he then gives to the Bride. The Bride gives them in turn to her Maid of Honor. The symbolism, which may be explained by the wedding celebrant, is that the Groom recognizes his responsibility as a provider.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials. I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar.

Wedding Ceremony Poetry

2010-12-18T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Love, The Perfect Friend - Renee Duvall
Because you are my love... I know the joy that comes from feeling closer to someone than I've ever felt before. Because you are my love... I know the passion of wanting to share everything I have, everything I am with you and only you. Because you are my friend... I know that I can count on you to hold my hand through the rough times and to be there to share the good times too. Because you are my friend... I'll always have someone to make me smile just when I need it most, and to encourage me when I'm feeling confused or doubtful. I know that I must be one of the luckiest people in the world to have someone like you. The perfect love, the perfect friend.

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Buddhist Ceremony

2010-12-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

There are no hard and fast rules for conducting a Buddhist wedding. Some things, however, are often practiced, but Buddha wanted this to be a social event, with the happenings decided by those who were celebrating . For example, some in Japan it choose to have a Western-style wedding, complete with a minister regardless of what religion the young couple might practice.

Keep this in mind if you are helping plan a Buddhist wedding: the ceremony is decided by the preferences of couple and their families. Since Buddhism is so widely practiced throughout the world, there are many styles of Buddhist weddings, each with its own cultural significance and standards. The following are general guidelines and commonly practiced traditions, which may or may not be followed by the parties involved.

Wedding Dress

Since this is a non-religious affair, the bride and groom's attire is determined mostly by their region: silk gowns in China and much of south Asia, saris in India, and yukatas in Japan. The bride's gown is generally red, since it is considered by most Eastern cultures to be a lucky color. In Japan, couples often wear Western clothes for the ceremony, but have photos made of themselves in traditional yukatas for their wedding album.

The Wedding

When following tradition, a wedding is held at a temple, but today it may just as likely take place at a banquet hall. Not all Buddhist temples perform marriages, and the use of lamas in the ceremony is a relatively recent tradition.

A Buddhist marriage is less about joining of two people for a lifetime, but rather as a partnership between two people to help each other reach Nirvana.

The couple walks down the aisle holding a juju, strings of 21 beads representing Buddha, themselves, and their families. The couple bow in front of either a Buddha image or a lama, and recite prayers and chants they feel are significant, lighting incense and candles in front of the Buddha. The Buddha's sermon at Rajagaha, verses 19-22 is a popular choice, as it deals with marriage in relation to spiritual enlightenment.

Either the parents of the couple or the lama places a loop of strings on their heads to connect them, symbolizing a tying together of their lives and minds. The couple then make an offering, which can be anything from food to medicine. Sometimes offerings of flowers are made to the parents, and a donation of money is made to the temple.

If lamas are present, they also wear loops of string, and recite blessings for the bride and groom. Finally, red paste is applied to the foreheads of the couple.

After the Wedding

Like the ceremony, the reception is also a matter of personal choice. Indian practitioners will have a procession line, in which guests tie strings around the wrists of the couple and offer advice.

After the celebration, the newlyweds go to their new home rather than traveling for their honeymoon. If the ceremony didn't take place at a temple, the new couple may visit one afterward to make an offering of food.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Irish Blessing

2010-12-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

Irish Blessing (Traditional)
May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand. May green be the grass you walk on, May blue be the skies above you, May pure be the joys that surround you, May true be the hearts that love you May God be with you and bless you; May you see your children's children. May you be poor in misfortune, Rich in blessings, May you know nothing but happiness From this day forward.

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The Veil and the Cord/Lasso Ceremony

2010-12-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

The Veil and the Cord/Lasso Ceremony

The Veil and and the Cord/Lasso are both associated with a wedding prayer during the ceremony. Special additional members of the wedding party are in charge of draping a white veil over the bride's head and the groom's shoulders. Then the yugal (a decorative silk cord) in a figure-eight shape--to symbolize everlasting fidelity--is placed over the shoulders of the kneeling Bride and Groom. Thus symbolically tied together and clothed as one, the couple remains kneeling for the prayer. After the prayer and before either attempt to rise, the same people who put it on remove the the Cord/ Lasso and then the Veil

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Jumping the Broom

2010-11-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

Jumping The Broom
Most often jumping of the broom occurs during the recessional, as the couple turn to head back down the aisle. The couple jumps over a decorated broom laid on the ground before them, while holding hands. This symbolizes the cutting of ties with the old life before they were together and represents the old remnants being swept away. The straw end represents the brushing away of all their old cares and worries. The strong wooden handle represents the strength of your commitment to each other, and the straight, unconditionally committed path you will follow together in marriage. The leap that the couple takes over the broom is also symbolic. Starting a new life with another person does require a "leap of faith". But by taking the leap, the individuals make a gesture of dedication to working together through the tough times ahead and the willingness to care for and defend one another. Some say that whoever jumps the highest will be the boss of the house!

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Families and Friends ceremony

2010-11-28T10:32:00.001-08:00

Family and Friends Response (Placed after Couples Vows)
Marriage is the promise of hope between two people who love each other, who honor each other as individuals, and who wish to unite their lives and share the future together. In this ceremony, they dedicate themselves to the happiness and well-being of each other, in a union of mutual caring and responsibility. Therefore, it is all the more important that those of you here with _______ and ______ may stand as witnesses to the happiness which they have found together, and to the promises they have made to each other. As they join their lives in marriage, they also bring you together in a new relationship, creating new bonds of trust and ties of affection. Will all of you by God's grace, do everything in your power to preserve this marriage? Will all of you, who have supported these two in friendship and love, now bestow your blessing upon them? If so please show them your support by saying, "We will". [We will]

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wedding Vows

2010-11-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

Universal Life Church

I will now ask you to repeat the vows.

I ______, take this woman _______ to be my lawful joined partner, to love, honor and cherish her through sickness and in health through times of happiness and travail, until death do us part?

(Please the ring on her finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee join and forever pledge my devotion.

I __________, take this woman ___________ to be my lawful joined partner, to love, honor and cherish her through sickness and in health through times of happiness and travail, until death do us part?

Submitted by Jeffery Pressler

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Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free and lasts for life, so use the button.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wedding Opening Words

2010-11-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Universal Life Church

Hello everyone and welcome. I would like to thank you all for coming on this joyous day! Today we are here to celebrate and witness the Marriage of _________ and _________! I have to say I am honored to be standing up here with my close two friends!

On this day of your marriage, you stand somewhat apart form all other human beings. You stand within the charmed circle of your love; and this is as it should be. But love is not meant to be the possession of two people alone. Rather it would serve as a source of common energy, as a form in which you find the strength to live your lives with courage. From this day onward you must come closer together than ever before, you must love one another in sickness and in health, for better for worse, but at the same time your love should give you the strength to stand apart, to seek out your unique destinies, to make your special contributions to the world which is always part of us and more than us. Being assured that you are aware of the meaning of this ceremony.

submitted by Jeffery Pressler

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Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free and lasts for life, so use the button.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wedding Ceremonies

2010-10-19T17:06:00.001-07:00

ULC - Wedding Rings, Bells and Things : Carry me - Butterfly - Denise Dyson

Amy, this is an original song which a friend of my daughter's created and which she and my daughter posted on youtube. The message is so beautiful I thought you and followers might enjoy hearing.

Blog: Wedding Rings, Bells and Things
Post: Carry me - Butterfly - Denise Dyson
Link: http://weddingringsbellsandthings.blogspot.com/2010/09/carry-me-butterfly-denise-dyson.html

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Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free and lasts for life, so use the button.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Jewish Wedding Ceremony

2010-08-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Universal Life ChurchJewish Marriage Ceremony

(This is a full Jewish ceremony rich in the traditional spirituality of a Jewish marriage ceremony combined with consistent romantic language. The Benedictions or other spiritual language is in strict accordance with the guildelines of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. However, the wording of the ceremony does not imply officiation by a Rabbi or Jewish officiant. This ceremony should not be used to replace officiation by a Rabbi - but instead it is an emergency fill-in ceremony or when a Rabbi is impossible to obtain due to date and time.

There are subtle language choice changes allowing attendance by non-Jewish guests without hypocracy. The ceremony uncompromisingly declares the Bride and Groom ascribe to the faith of Israel and that the ceremony is fully in reverence to the Jewish faith. However, it does not declare all attending are of the Jewish faith to allow comfortable attendance and participation by all.

The language also is altered without change to spiritual substance to allow it to be more understandable to younger guests - such as lessening usage of "eth" endings to words.

Also added are popular rituals found in most weddings such as the giving away of the bride, presenting the bride and groom as "Mr." and "Mrs". and other popular marriage ceremony rites not contradicting to a formal and otherwise traditional Jewish marriage ceremony. Further down this page you can find the 'breaking of the bottle".

Note, in a Jewish ceremony, the bride stands on the man's Right side and rings are worn on the right hand traditionally.

Editing and comment by the Hon. Mark Ovard

THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY

(Officiant motions guests to stand as the bride enters if there is a processional)

We are gathered here today to celebrate on 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.

(If bride is escorted forward)

Who is it that brings this woman forward to this man?

("Her mother and I", "I do", "Her father". or "I do on behalf of the family".)

_______ and ________, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family and friends - we learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of the greatest challenges of life; and it is the shared goal of a married life.

But we also must remember that it is not mankind which created love, but God who created love.

Blessed art thou, O Lord God, creator of all things.

(Ist marriage vows)

(Groom) Do you ____________, take _______ to be your wife? ("I do"). Do you promise to love, cherish and protect her, whether in good fortune or in adversity, and to seek with her a life hallowed by the faith of Israel? ("I do")

(Bride) Do you ____________, take _______ to be your husband? ("I do"). Do you promise to love, cherish and protect him, whether in good fortune or in adversity, and to seek with him a life hallowed by the faith of Israel? ("I do")

(The Benediction)

May the bride and groom now recieve the benediction -

"Blessed art Thou O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of Man.

"Blessed art Thou O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, Who hast fashioned us in Thine own image and who established marriage for the fulfillment and perpetuation of life in accordance with Thy holy purpose. "Blessed art Thou O Lord God, Creator of man

"Blessed art Thou O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, Who art the source of all gladness and joy. Through Thy grace we attain affection, companionship, love and peace. Grant that the love which unites this man and woman my grow in abiding happiness. May their family be ennobled through their devotion to the faith of Israel. May there be peace in their home, quietness and confidence in their hearts. May they be sustained by Thy comforting presence in the midst of our people and Thy promise of salvation of all mankind.

"Blessed art Thou O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, Who dost unite this man and this woman in the holy joy of martrimony.
Amen"

JEWISH CEREMONY WINE RITUAL

(If wine is presented to the Bridegroom and his Bride..)

"As you have shared the wine from this cup, so may you, under God's guidance, draw contentment, confort and strength from the cup of life. May you find life's joys heightened, it's bitterness sweetened, and all things hallowed by true companionship and love."

(Exchange of rings)

(Groom) __________ , as you place this ring upon the finger of __________, speak to her these vows:
" With this ring/ be thou consecrated unto me/ as my wife/ according to the law of God / and the faith of Israel."

(Bride) __________ , as you place this ring upon the finger of __________, speak to her these vows:
" With this ring/ be thou consecrated unto me/ as my wife/ according to the law of God / and the faith of Israel."

Charge to the Couple

________ 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 for each other.

(If a mixed marriage using acceptable components from multiple ceremonies, this may be an appropriate charge to stress that strength of faith of both - not surrender of faith by both - is where true oneness and respect is found - for which this is an ALTERNATIVE CHARGE TO COUPLES:

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 pledge today to share together.

"Blessed out Thou O Lord God, who sanctifiest Thy people Israel by the covenant of marriage.

In the presence of this company as witness, you have spoken the words and preformed the rites which unit your loves. I therefore declare __________ and _________ married not in accordance with the laws of the State of ___________, but also married publicly and before this company according to the rich traditions of the Jewish faith.

Special Request for Bless

"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
O God, supremely blessed, supreme in might and glory, guide and bless this bridegroom and bride.

Unto thee, O God and Father, we lift our souls in praise.
All of creation declares Thy glory; through man, fashioned in Thine image, Thou hast revealed Thy majesty. Winthin the heart of all people, Thou hast implanted the ennobling influences of love and devotion. Thou Who art the Source of life and of joy, bless this marriage and covenant which ________ and ___________ have sealed in Thy name.

Be with them in this sacred hour, in all things of their marriage, and in all the days to come.

Amen"

Silent Prayer

I ask you and all your dear ones to bow your heads in reverence. Silently pray that God will bless the home of ______________ and _____________ and that they each, and together, may achieve their highest hopes.

(After short pause)

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance unto to you, and give you peace.
Amen")

Congratulations, you may kiss your bride!

(If the bottle is to be broken, it is done at this point - just before kissing the bride. The best man places the bottle (usually I light bulb well wrapped in a white cloth at the groom's feet. It is appropriate for guests to applaud upon the breaking of the bottle.)

It is my privilege to be the first to present Mr. ______ and Mrs. ______.

(After the bridal party has exited, I will thank all in attendance on behalf of the bride, groom and their families, make any reception announces you wish, and then release the guests).

TO READ BREAKING OF BOTTLE

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Ring Ceremony

2010-07-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

(Bride's Name) this ring I give you, my personal gift and my personal promise, of love and trust, and pride that you are my wife.

(Groom's Name) this ring I give you, my personal gift and my personal promise, of love and trust, and pride that you are my husband.

Universal Life Church

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Rose Ceremony

2010-07-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

Rose Ceremony:

______ and _______, you will remember this day for the rest of your lives. Those of us who are already married know that marriage, like life, brings with it many joys and also many challenges. We also know that love, while beautiful, does not always show its prettiest face.

There are days when we may find it hard to express the depth of our love for one another. It is my hope and prayer that the two of you will set aside a special place in your home for roses, ancient symbols of love.

When words fail you, or when the challenges of life or marriage begin to weigh on you, go out and get a rose, and put it in that special place in your home, so that the other will be reminded of this moment, and of the love you feel for one another. As a token of that love, I would like to ask you to make these roses your first gifts to one another as a married couple.

Universal Life Church
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Pagan Wedding Ceremony

2010-07-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

PAGAN MARRIAGE CEREMONY

The following wedding ceremony was written to provide for Pagans who must of necessity be wed in the presence of those who are not pagan and are perhaps unaware that the bride and groom are pagan.

[PRIEST] We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of ____bride______ and ____groom______. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls, has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this.

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, Groom and Bride have come here today to be joined as one in marriage. Others would ask, at this time, who gives the bride in marriage, but, as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if she comes of her own will and if she has her family's blessing.

Bride, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?

[BRIDE] Yes, it is true.

[PRIEST] With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you.

[FATHER] She comes with me, her father, and is accompanied by all of her family's blessings.

[PRIEST] Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am about to say. Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass, remember...

Like a stone should your love be firm like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly.

Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for God is with you always.

Groom, I have not the right to bind thee to Bride, only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.

[GROOM] It is my wish.

[PRIEST] Bride, if it be your wish for Groom to be bound to you, place the ring on his finger. (places ring on Groom's left ring finger) Bride I have not the right to bind thee to Groom only you have this right. If it be your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in his hand.

[BRIDE] It is my wish.

[PRIEST] Groom, if it be your wish for Bride to be bound to you, place the ring on her finger.(places ring on Bride's left ring finger) (to Groom) Repeat after me:

I, (grooms full name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (bride's full name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.

(to Bride)
I (bride's full name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, (Groom's full name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit to be my chosen one. To desire and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.

[PRIEST]

(hands chalice to the groom, saying:) May you drink your fill from the cup of love.

(Groom holds chalice to bride while she sips then bride takes chalice and holds it to groom while he sips. The chalice is then handed back to the Priest who sets it on the table. Next the Priest takes the plate of bread, giving it to the groom. Same procedure repeated with bread, groom feeding bride and bride feeding groom.)

By the power vested in me by God and the State, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light unto you.

Universal Life Church

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Wedding Ceremonies - Rings

2010-07-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Universal Life Church - Ring Ceremony

(Said by the Bride as she accepts the ring.)

(Groom's Name) I thank you for this beautiful ring, I accept it as a symbol that we are one with each other. This ring will remind me of you, I will wear it with love, all of my life.

(Said by the Groom as he accepts the ring.)

(Bride's Name) I thank you for this beautiful ring, I accept it as a symbol that we are one with each other. This ring will remind me of you, I will wear it with love, all of my life.

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Rose Ceremony

2010-07-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Universal Life Church

Rose Ceremony:

Marriage is a coming together of two lives, and a celebration of the love of two people. But it is more. The love that you feel for one another is the flowering of a seed your mothers planted in your hearts many years ago. When you were first born, you were a bundle of diapers and tears, and your mothers lost sleep caring for you. Their love for you has brought them great happiness and great challenges, and their love did not diminish as they met these challenges. That is the great lesson you can bring into your marriage. As you embrace one another in your love, so too do you embrace the families which have been brought together on this happy occasion. As a token of your gratitude for your families, I would like to ask you to offer these symbols of eternal love, these roses, to your mothers. (Both bride and groom can hand the roses to each mother together, offering the mothers kisses if they wish.)

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Unity Candle Ceremony

2010-07-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

Unity Candle Ceremony

If you decide to have a Unity Candle in your ceremony, you will need two standard tapers and one large candle in the middle. The two outer candles are lit just prior to the ceremony, either by the ushers, the mothers of the bride and groom, or other family members. If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, lighting a Unity Candle is not possible. However, it is possible to include the words below in the ceremony, with minor alterations, and then to light the candle indoors afterward.

The flame has traditionally been thought of as a symbol of the spirit. _______ and _______, you have learned much in your individual lives. [Optional, if the mothers have lit the candles just before the ceremony: Your mothers are both here to bless your marriage, and it is fitting that they have lit the two individual candles you see here. For it is they who brought you life, and taught you your first lessons about love.] Your [other] family members, and friends, many of whom are here with you today, have all been a part of your individual lives, and have shared with you your hopes, your dreams, your triumphs, your sufferings. But at some point the two of you met one another, and something started growing between you that was not just _______ and not just _________.

There's a special way you are together that's just not like the way you've ever been with anyone else. You have a way of sharing with each other, of laughing and joking together, that's unlike with anybody else. That special love you felt for one another continued to grow, bringing you to this moment, when you are committing your love to one another, and building a life together. Just as the flame you are about to light is not created solely by either candle, so too is your love not the sole possession or creation of either of you. As a symbol of the spirit of love that has grown between you, I would like to ask you to light the Unity Candle at this time.

Universal Life Church
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Wedding Ceremony

2010-07-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Pronouncement and Benediction

______ and _______, you have consented together to marriage before this company, pledged your faith and declared your unity by each giving and receiving a ring, and, as you are now joined together in mutual esteem and devotion, it is my privilege as an ordained minister to pronounce that you are married, and to offer you this Benediction of the Apaches: ``Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness for you, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days be good, and long upon, the earth.''

Congratulations, you may now kiss the bride!

Alternative: Congratulations, you may now kiss one another.

(Optional:) Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. (or first names of bride and groom) _______.

Alternative Declarations of Marriage & Benedictions

Declaration: Because _________ and _______ have exchanged these vows of love in our presence, we now recognize them as husband and wife.

Benediction: Give to one another new experiences of joy. Challenge one another so that you may grow. May the love you hold for each other, now sealed in marriage, continue to mature with the passing years. May you never take each other for granted, but always experience the wonder of your union. Be slow to anger, quick to forgive, leaving no tracks of resentment behind each day. May your love consist not only in gazing into each other's eyes, but in looking outward in the same direction. May your life together be a source of strength and inspiration to yourselves, your families, your friends, and to all whose lives you touch.

Declaration and Benediction From the Book of Common Worship:

For as much as _____ and _____ have consented together to holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and before this company, I pronounce that they are Husband and Wife, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder. Let us pray. May God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you; the Lord mercifully with His favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may so live together in this life, that in the world to come you may have life everlasting. Amen.

Alternative Benediction:

May the Lord bless you and keep you. And may the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. May God give you His peace in your going out and in your coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in your labor and in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears, until that day when you come to stand before Jesus in that day in which there is no sunset and no dawning. Amen.

Universal Life Church

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-07-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Universal Life Church

James: On behalf of Trystan and Thomas, I'd like to welcome you all and thank you for being here to share in this happy occasion.

A wedding ceremony is an outward form. To be true, it must be a symbol of something inner and real: a sacred personal union which nature might mirror, a church can solemnize, or a state may declare legal for some, but which only love can create and mutual loyalty fulfill.1

To last, a marriage should be a consecration of each person to the other, and of both to the wider community of which they are a part. Because Thomas and Trystan feel a great closeness and respect for all of you here, they chose each of you to witness their vows today. Marriage is an intensely personal act, but, in order for the couple's marriage to gain strength to last throughout the years, their union must be supported by their greater society of family and friends.

In this spirit, Trystan and Thomas ask all of you now: do you support their marriage and accept the new partner into your life as family and a friend of your own?

Guests: We do.

[Families need to start this, loudly and clearly.]

James: Thank you all.

Now, Thomas and Trystan, marriage is a serious and lifelong commitment. The vows you make today should not be made lightly or without forethought. Are you prepared to enter into this solemn covenant?

Trystan and Thomas: We are.

James: The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke2 wrote of marriage extensively in his letters. Trystan and Thomas feel that Rilke's words are an apt expression of their own views on marriage, and chose to include them now:

For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.

Marriage naturally combines the strengths and wills of two people so that, together they seem to reach farther into the future than they did before. Above all, marriage is a new task and a new seriousness -- a new demand on the strength and generosity of each partner.

The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries. On the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his or her solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.

Love is a high inducement for the individual to ripen, to become something in yourself, to become world, to become world in yourself for the sake of another person; it is a great, demanding claim on a person, something that chooses you and calls you to vast distances.

Rilke's words on marriage emphasize what the individual brings to the union. But there is a spiritual aspect as well. Thomas and Trystan believe their love transcends the everyday world, and there is a Chinese legend that suggests how their souls might be linked for eternity.3

According to this legend, at birth the gods tie an invisible silken red cord around the ankles of a man and a woman destined to be husband and wife. As the years pass, the cord grows shorter and shorter, until finally they are united. Nothing can break this cord -- not distance, not changing circumstances, not even death.

In homage to this legend and to Trystan's Chinese ancestry, the couple will now share wine from nuptial glasses tied together with a silken red cord.

[Trystan and Thomas each drink from a glass. Crossing arms, they exchange glasses and drink again.]

James: This is the essence of a Chinese wedding ritual called tuan yuan or "completing the circle." The red cord tying the couple's souls together now forms a circle around their hearts, uniting them forever in this life and the next. The sharing and mingling of wine is symbolic of a harmonious married life.

Trystan's friend Janet Canning would like to offer a reading about love's lessons at this time.

Janet: [reading]

"A Lesson in Love" by Trystan L. Bass4

Love fully and completely -- don't hold back

Don't be afraid to be a human like the rest of us

Let your heart feel all it can and could and should

Let others know the depth and breadth of your emotions

Love fully and completely -- express yourself in love

Be yourself, feel free to the wind and sky

Be whoever you are and let your lover know it

Love fully and completely -- live a passionate life

Take time with all your loved ones

To be tender and joyful and playful and noisy

Be erotic and sensuous and satisfying and silly

Love is not love without passionate intensity

Love fully and completely -- whoever you love

Love yourself, all of you, inside and out,

Love others, friends, family, and romantic entanglements alike

Love humankind for their greatness and forgive their pettiness

Above all, love your home earth, fully and completely,

For in the end, she'll open her dark arms for your final embrace

James: As they take their marriage vows, Trystan and Thomas would like to talk to each other about the love that has brought them here today.

Trystan: I have, for the first time, found what I can truly love -- I have found you. You are my sympathy -- my better self. I think you good, gifted, lovely. You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. I can't stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can't look into your eyes without feeling that longing you only read about in trashy romance novels. I can't talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are. I've never felt this way before. I like who I am because of it. There isn't another soul on this planet who has ever made me half the person I am when I'm with you. Please know that I am forever changed because of who you are and what you mean to me.5

[Trystan and Thomas hold hands]

I, Trystan,

take you, Thomas,

to be my husband

to love you and to cherish you

to help you and to honor you

to give you understanding and comfort

in whatever the future may bring

I look forward to the joy we will find

in each other's separate successes,

as well our shared ones,

and welcome the challenge of whatever obstacles we encounter.

By the exchange of these vows,

we not only join ourselves together as partners,

but also create a new family, of which we are the heart.

So in the name of all that we have created together and all we are yet to become, I offer you my love and loyalty, for always and for ever.6

Thomas: I come here today out of love for you. But not just for love of your dazzling, witty smile, your whimsical nature, or your passionate longings. I enter into this marriage today not only for who you are, but for who we are -- who we've become. Our journey ahead will be fruitful and divine, whether through material riches or from our wealth of passion for each other. We will share adventures unbound --- both challenges and triumphs -- but will always nurture each other's souls from now until the end of time. I too am changed forever by my love for you. Together in our metamorphosis, we have truly completed one another.

[Thomas and Trystan hold hands]

I, Thomas,

take you, Trystan,

to be my wife

to love you and to cherish you

to help you and to honor you

to give you understanding and comfort

in whatever the future may bring

I look forward to the joy we will find

in each other's separate successes,

as well our shared ones,

and welcome the challenge of whatever obstacles we encounter.

By the exchange of these vows,

we not only join ourselves together as partners,

but also create a new family, of which we are the heart.

So in the name of all that we have created together and all we are yet to become, I offer you my love and loyalty, for always and for ever.

James: Thomas and Trystan, in exchanging words and vows, you have declared your intent to live together in love for all your days. Now you may share a tangible, outward sign of your union and commitment.

Rings are an ancient symbol, blessed and simple. Round like the sun, like the eye, like arms that embrace. Circles, for love that is given comes back round again and again. Therefore, may these rings remind you that your love, like the sun, illuminates; that your love, like the eye, must see clearly; and that your love, like arms that embrace, is a grace upon this world.7

[Irina hands Trystan the ring.]

Trystan: [Places ring on Thomas' finger.]

With this ring, I take you to my heart as my one and only great love, my husband, and to you I will be true for always and ever.

[Mike hands Thomas the ring.]

Thomas: [Places ring on Trystan's finger.]

With this ring, I take you to my heart as my one and only great love, my wife, and to you I will be true for always and ever.

James: Thomas' mother, Mary Lord would like to offer a reading about remembering love at this time.

Mary: [reading]

"Remembering Love" by Thomas Dowrie8

Twas once long ago on a warm spring night

With my own two eyes I espied

Two shadowy figures, and as I grew nearer

They seemed to be entangled vines

The figures stood beneath a large oak tree

And gazed into each other's eyes

Aware of no more than the tree and themselves

These were two perfect lovers entwined

As I stopped and stood still, careful not to stir

I reminisced about moments like these

When the world outside blurs with each passing thought

And time ceases with the greatest of ease

When all that truly matters should the world come to pass

Is the warmth of your true love's hand

Caressing your spirit by some mystic means

Each touch a sensation so grand

And so as I stood in my place of reflection

I felt a tear well in my eye

No sadness did I feel for these two lovers

Or myself as I began to cry

My tears were of joy for the lovers of the world

As I watched these two move away

For I know that true love can exist for all and I

Still feel it for my love every day

Trystan, James, and Thomas during the handfasting.

James: There is an ancient Celtic tradition of binding a couple in marriage by hand-fasting -- literally, tying their hands together with cord or ribbon as a symbol that they are bound together not just for a lifetime, but for eternity.

Trystan and Thomas have decided to include a hand-fasting in their wedding ceremony in homage to Thomas' Scottish ancestry and to emphasize their eternal bond and reinforce the feeling that they never wish to be parted from one another.9

[Trystan and Thomas join hands, right to right, left to left. James wraps silver cord around their joined hands.]

Trystan: I give you my hand in marriage.

Thomas: And I give you mine.

Trystan: My Love for you is a bond made in perfect trust.

Thomas: My Trust in you is a bond made in perfect love.

James: May your wedding bring you many blessings.

May you be blessed with beauty and eloquence.

May you be blessed with love and passion.

May you be blessed with vision and wisdom.

May you be blessed with honesty and justice.

May you be blessed with empathy and understanding.

[Removes cord.]

Trystan: Love given in trust brings freedom; let us be free to love.

Thomas: Trust given with love brings freedom; let us be free to trust.

James: Thomas and Trystan have bound themselves to each other, both figuratively and literally. Their union will be the heart of a new family, joining and extending the Bass and Dowrie families.

The Chinese word for marriage, hun-yin, implies not just a joining of individuals, but a relationship between families. The ties are spiritual as well as physical, memories and emotion running as deep as blood.10

Behind us stand two candles, one lit by Trystan's parents, Florence and Robert, and the other lit by Thomas' parents, Mary and Robert. To celebrate this newly joined family, Trystan and Thomas will now join the single flames to form a united flame that will warm their hearts and home from now on.

[Trystan and Thomas each take a lit taper candle and together light the large pillar candle between them.]

James: While we bask in the candles' glow and reflect on what the future holds for Thomas and Trystan, a friend of the couple, Scott Yourmans, would like to read from Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss.

Scott: [reading]

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the couple who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "We don't choose to go there."

With your heads full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

you're too smart to go down, any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any

you'll want to go down.

In that case, of course,

you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there

in the wide open air,

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as brainy

and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,

don't worry. Don't stew.

Just go right along.

You'll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights!

You won't lag behind, because you'll have all the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang, and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly you'll be best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.

Because sometimes, you won't.

You'll get mixed up of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up

with so many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KIDS, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So, be your name Buxbaum or Dowrie or Bass

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So ... get on your way!

James: Trystan and Thomas, you have proclaimed your commitment to each other before your family and friends, you have symbolized the eternal strength and depth of your connection by sharing wine, exchanging rings, and by hand-fasting, and you have willingly entered into a legal contract confirmed by the State of California. So, as a representative of the Universal Life Church, I am happy to pronounce you married.

As the left hand to the right, may you be forever at one -- in caste and clan, in home and heritage, at fireside and in council, sharing all things at home and abroad, in love and in loyalty, now and for all time to come. May you be joined in heart as in law. In token, I bid you exchange a kiss.11

[Trystan and Thomas kiss. Afterwards, turn to face the guests.]

James: It is my pleasure to present Thomas and Trystan as partners in love and life.

Footnotes:

1. This introductory passage was modified from an example ceremony in Into the Garden: A Wedding Anthology edited by Robert Hass and Stephen Mitchell. This book is an excellent resource for ceremony planning and readings.

2. I found Rainer Maria Rilke's writings in Into the Garden as well.

3. This legend is described in Wild Geese and Tea: An Asian-American Wedding Planner by Shu Shu Costa. This book is very useful for anyone of Asian descent who's curious about traditional wedding arrangements and ways to incorporate them into a modern ceremony.

4. I wrote this for a graduate-level composition course many years ago and rediscovered it just in time for the wedding.

5. Since I'm a better editor than writer, I reconfigured bits of Rochester's final marriage proposal to Jane in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre with Holden's proclamation of love in Kevin Smith's cult movie Chasing Amy.

6. Thomas and I took bits and pieces of vows from a variety of sources, including Penny Dreadful's wedding ceremony.

7. More text modified from Into the Garden.

8. Thomas starting writing this late last year, expressly for the wedding ceremony.

9. After reading thru literally dozens of hand-fasting ceremonies, we settled on this one from Penny Dreadful's wedding.

10. Another explanation lifted from Wild Geese and Tea.

11. This blessing is from the Di Catenas marriage ceremony in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books. I'm not sure if Bradley wrote it herself, or if it's from one of the anthologies of Darkover stories written by other writers. But it's a beautiful bit that I've had on a scrap of paper in my filing cabinet for ages, and I've always wanted to include it in my own marriage ceremony.

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Candle Ceremony

2010-07-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Childrens' Unity Candle Ceremony

Invite children forward.

(Bride's and Groom's Names) light the candles which represent love for each other and for (Child's Name).

From the uniqueness of these separate flames, they kindle a larger and brighter flame which represents the union between (Groom's, Bride's and Child's Names).

The side candles remain burning to symbolize the continuing importance of the individual integrity within the marriage relationship. The greater height of the center candle depicts their belief that together they can become more than either could alone.

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Christian Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate the love of ________ and ______, as they make their pledges of marriage before God and before this company. Jesus Christ was once asked, ``What is the greatest Law that mankind must follow?'' And he answered them by saying that we must love God with all our hearts, and love our neighbors as our self.

I think that when he said these words, he touched upon something we all feel very deeply in our hearts, and that is that love is the greatest gift we can offer one another, and that is what makes marriage so very special, and such a cause of joy and celebration for all of us who have come here today to share in this event.

It is my personal prayer and hope that those of you who have already taken the vows of marriage will witness the love of these two people, and as you hear them share their vows, perhaps it will strengthen for you the memory of your happy day, and remind you of the meaning of the vows you yourselves once took. Perhaps it will even strengthen just a little bit the bonds of love that have been growing between you. If any of this should happen, it would certainly be the greatest gift that ______ and ______ could offer all of us on their wedding day.

Marriage is an act of faith and ever-deepening commitment, as well as a loving union between a man and a woman. It has been described as the best and the most important relationship that two people can share, the creation of a single growing energy of spiritual life. Marriage can be a lifelong unfolding of loving kindness, backed by the will to make it last. There is no limit to the knowing of another's soul, and when you learn to love one person, then you grow in love for all of humanity.

Note: If you wish, we can substitute the wedding ceremony which appears in the Traditional Book of Common Prayer. The entire ceremony can be found in the paperback book, You and Your Wedding by Winnifred Gray, and in the Book of Common Prayer itself.

Universal Life Church

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Wedding Ceremonies - Rose Vow

2010-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Rose vow

Universal Life Church Wedding Ceremonies
NOTE: The Groom will need to have a rose and the Bride will need a vase with water in it. Before the ceremony, the vase and rose should be placed in an easily accessible spot generally behind a lectern, for example. The best man, the Maid of Honor, or the Minister should get the rose and the vase just prior to this part of the service.

Minister: This is a day steeped in tradition, a time when we are surrounded by symbols: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Today, (Bride's Name) and (Groom's Name) begin a new tradition, a custom which now becomes uniquely their own.

Groom: (Bride Name) I give you this rose. Because it grew from a tiny seed, becoming stronger and larger until it burst into flower, it symbolizes the way my love for you has grown. (Groom gives Bride the rose.) Each year on our wedding anniversary, I will give you another rose. In so doing, I'll remember this day and renew the vows we've made.

Bride: (Groom's name), I give to you this vase of water. (Groom takes and holds it.) Because water is the one element without which we would perish, it symbolizes the importance of your love in my life. Each year on our anniversary, I will refill this vase, offering it to you as a symbol of my ever renewing love. (Bride puts the rose in the vase and they hold the vase together.)

Groom: Without water, the rose would die.

Bride: Without the rose, the vase of water would not be beautiful.

Groom: My gift is enhanced by yours, just as my life is enhanced by ours.

Bride: My gift is lovely because of yours, just as my life is better because of you. ( They hand the rose and vase to the Minister.)

Minister: On each anniversary, as you give and receive the rose and the water, remember with joy this day when you pledged your love and your lives to each other. May this be only the first of many cherished traditions in a home filled with happiness.

Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Don Riemer

Note: readings and vows to be provided by the couple being married.

Opening Words
The stream had flowed through the center of the forest for as long as anyone could remember.

It began as a cold, clear fountain in a fractured hillside, then tumbled down over mossy stones and last year?s autumn leaves. At the foot of the hill the stream took a course running southeast through tall stands of beeches, maples, and oaks, and by the time it left the forest five miles later it carried a river's ambitions.

But in the center of the forest it was a watery dream, about ten feet wide and ten inches deep. Fallen logs made bridges for chipmunks, foxes, and children looking for secrets. Occasional shafts of sunlight revealed freshwater muscles in the silt, crayfish picking over pebbles, water beetles dancing on the surface, and young trout darting among roots, branches, and softly bubbling falls.

The stream was full of life, and full of lessons for those who knew how to see them. And regarding it silently on the bank stood the master and the student.

The master and the student had arrived at the stream after walking the forest path for nearly two hours. Every step of the way, the student spoke anxiously of the impending choices that filled his mind with confusion. Should he travel? If so, where? Should he continue his studies? If so, in what field of knowledge? Should he learn a new trade, or perhaps join the family business? Should he save his money, or spend freely and enjoy life to its fullest? And on, and on, and on. And every step of the way the master only listened.

When they reached the stream the student fell silent. They stood side by side, watching the water. Then, pointing to a fallen twig, the master asked, "If you throw that stick into the stream, where will it go?" The student answered, ?It will go downstream, of course.? But the master shook his head. ?No,? he said, ?I want you to tell me exactly where it will go.?
The student crouched down on the bank and observed the water carefully. He noted the paths of leaves, the surge of bubbles, and the sway and drift of weeds growing on the bottom, until he was sure. "Well," he said, "If I throw the stick to land at that spot there, it will follow the current between those two rocks, rush over that fall, then swirl in that eddy for a moment, then pass under this branch, and then move off under that fallen log over there." The student smiled, supremely confident.

"All right," the master said. "Throw the stick."
And the student did. And it traveled on a course entirely different from the one he had predicted.
They watched the stick drift out of sight. The student shuffled his feet and looked at the ground, but finally met the master?s eyes. ?The important thing,? said the master,? is to throw the stick!?

We are here today because ________ and _______ have decided to throw the stick.

In a world of endless choices, unpredictable outcomes, and no guarantees, they are doing the finest thing two people can do: making a commitment before friends and family to devote their lives to each other.

We call this a wedding. It comes from an old Germanic word meaning "a pledge." And this is worth remembering as we consider what this day is all about. We make few pledges in our modern lives. But today we celebrate with ________ and ______ as they make theirs: a pledge to and for each other, not as individuals, but as two that are choosing to become one.

First reading: a poem or other literary excerpt that addresses the nature of love.

Segue 1
Most would agree that it is love that keeps people together when they?re confronted with that immense sky, with those infinite distances that separate even the closest of men and women. But what kind of love?

Poets, priests and philosophers, and no small number of cabbies, barbers and bartenders have debated this question. We speak of spiritual love, passionate love, love eternal... but the phrase that may capture the reality of this emotion best is ?stirring the oatmeal? love. When you?re willing to stand in your bathrobe on a cold kitchen floor at 5:00 AM, and stir the oatmeal so your spouse can have a little more sleep?and not even think twice about why you?re doing it?then you have a love that can last a lifetime. As Carl Jung once wrote, feeling is a matter of the small.

Such simple, pragmatic experiences are the best places for love to take root. In such ground, love blossoms over time, becoming deeper, more beautiful, and more profound.

Second reading: a poem or other literary excerpt that addresses the depth and power of the love between the two being married.

Segue 2
Love so deep, intimacy so profound, cannot help but suggest transcendence, a shifting of human experience into the realm of the spiritual. This is what makes marriage a unique milestone in any relationship. _________ and _________ have been together for eight years. They seem as close as any two people can be. Yet they felt the need for something more: a rite of passage.

We define marriage as a sacrament, something that is itself defined as 'a rite ordained as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.' An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. That is why we are here: to witness this visible sign. These words, these actions?they are the manifestation of that inward grace. In this way, a marriage is like a mirror. It lets us look into depths that cannot be seen directly, and reflects the spirit of the two being joined as one.

Third reading: a poem or other literary excerpt that addresses the struggle and challenge of marriage, which can lead to a more spiritual and joyful life.

Vows intro
________________ and ________________ are here to marry each other. No one else?s will can create such a union. It is their words, their intentions, their vision, that must define and shape this marriage. So I call upon them now to state their promise before this group: the pledges that will bind them together.

Vows and exchange of rings (vows to be provided by the couple being married.)

Segue 3
_______ and _____ have come a long way. From (insert reference to how the couple met), to declaring their devotion to each other today. Theirs is a continuing journey. It will not always be easy. They will face challenges, trials, and hardships, as we all do.

But their union is strong and vital. Their task now is to find joy in seeing each other constantly blossoming, to find exhilaration in change and purpose in the new roads traveled, no matter what direction is taken. They are explorers, these two. And the strength of their marriage is a strength that celebrates every minute of life, as well as the living mystery of their love.

Fourth reading: a poem or other literary excerpt that expresses the celebration of a new union, a merging of two into one.

Closing
This marriage is complete. Where there were two, there is now one.

Closing words are often the hardest. One never knows where one will find them. To begin, here?s a wedding toast from Africa...

?Through others, we are someone. Through this marriage, we broaden our family circle, we remember our heritage and recall those who gave us life. We call upon our ancestors, the foundations of our families, immortalized in our thoughts. We call upon our elders, whose wisdom we seek in all endeavors. Our friends whom we are blessed to have in our lives. Our parents who guided us along the road to adulthood. We call upon those who have passed over and could not be here today. And we call upon the bride and groom, that they may always find prosperity in love and devotion. We ask that children bless this couple, because children give glory to a home.

Therefore we cast a libation to the North, to the South, to the East and to the West. And we wish everyone to leave more blessed than when they came. Amen.

To finish, a simple toast from Italy. Evviva gli sposi, hurray for the newlyweds!

Universal Life Church

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Short Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Jon G. Kelvey

Hello and welcome! We have been invited here today to share in the joy of _______ and _______ as they unite in the sanctity of marriage. They are taking the first step into a new beginning, a new era: their life together. We are here to witness the subtle and enveloping currents of love and devotion that have brought them together here in this life. We are here for a ceremony, sacred, formal celebration and formulation of something beautiful and intangible. It is idea made manifest, it is experiential poetry in full bloom.

We live in a very mundane and profane society, one where the culture of convenience has pushed the ceremony and reverence out of everyday life. Where once simple acts like gathering water held a certain solemnity and at every step of life there was a right of passage, now find the bastions of the sacred pushed back into the corners of our lives. This, in a way, makes the ceremony that much more powerful to us today, as we only experience it a few times throughout our lives. These remaining scared spaces are the head cornerstones of our lives architecture; they uphold and mark the bridges over which we must pass on our walk of life.

Of these defining experiences, there is one that we find throughout all history and across all cultural boundaries. That is, the experience of marriage. Marriage must certainly stand as one of the biggest events in our lives, right up there with birth and death. Few of you were ?there? at your arrival, and even fewer of you will attend your own funeral. Of the three, marriage is the only event you will celebrate with a conscious awareness. Here it stands unique as the one island-like point of awareness and volition between two uncontrollable events in life. None of you, so far as we can tell, got to vote on when you came here to be with us, and so far as it seems, the way out is as uncontrollable as the way in.

Marriage stands unique as an act of conscious synthesis between birth and death, it links two individual?s lives with each other and the web of life itself. Its links the generations of the past through this covenant of the present and onto those of the future.
Marriage is the union of disparate elements, where yin and yang, proton and electron, male and female come together to make a ?one.? This isn?t just a human custom; this is the very dynamic process of which the universe is made. When you see two people united in marriage, you see the earthly continuation of the fire of the universe; it?s the continuing dance of creation that we share with all of life.

Vows

You are the air says the groom to his bride, and you are the earth. It is you that swells my breast with breath and sustains me in this life; that that carries my prayers in times of trouble. It is I that supports your feet and brings forth food to sustain you in this life; that supports your head in times of trouble. I will breathe, I will eat, I will live, and I will love because of you?(Casual Option: Are you guys cool with that? Then kiss.)

If there is anyone here who objects to this union, let them, or forever hold their peace?
I know pronounce you, husband and wife -- kiss.

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing, Mr. And Mrs.______.

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Michael Toombs

This wedding ceremonies has some original parts and some traditionally-worded parts. Enjoy.

OPENING STATEMENT
Dearly Beloved: We are gathered here together, in the presence of God and of this company, so that (Groom) and (Bride) may be united in holy matrimony. We are here to celebrate and share in the glorious act by which their love for one another is converted into the holy and sacred bonds of marriage.

DECLARATION OF INTENTION
In First Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4-8 the Bible describes love stating that ?Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails....?
This kind of love enriches each part of life, and marriage enriches love. Two lives, shared with this kind of love, can hold more fulfillment and happiness than either life alone.

MARRIAGE VOWS
Face each other and hold hands.

(Groom), do you take (Bride) to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love, honor and cherish her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, to be faithful only to her as long as you both shall live?

(Groom)
I do.

(Bride), do you take (Groom) to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love, honor and cherish him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, to be faithful only to him as long as you both shall live?

(Bride)
I do.

(Groom), please repeat after me:

I, (Groom), take thee, (Bride),
to be my wife and my one true love
I will cherish our friendship
and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully.
What may come, I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep.
I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.

(Bride), please repeat after me:

I, (Bride), take thee, (Groom),
to be my husband and my one true love
I will cherish our friendship
and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully.
What may come, I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep.
I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.

PRAYER & BLESSING
Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we present to You (Groom) and (Bride), who come this day to be married. May the promise of love they make be blessed with true love, devotion and commitment. When selfishness shows itself, grant generosity; when mistrust is a temptation, give them strength; when there is misunderstanding, give patience and gentleness; if suffering becomes a part of their lives, give them a strong faith and an abiding love. Give them Your grace and guidance that they may loyally fulfill the vows they have taken. May Your joy abide with them always, that they may be a blessing to each other, and to those around them. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

I would now like to read an Apache blessing for this marriage:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.

EXCHANGE OF RINGS
May I have the Rings?

It is customary to exchange rings as a symbol of love. The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love. It is a seal of the vows these two have made to one another. As the rings have no end so your love should have no end. As the rings are made of gold symbolizing purity, so should your marriage have purity. As often as either of you see them, you will be reminded of this moment and the endless love you promised.

(Groom), please place the ring on (Bride)?s hand and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows,
with all that I am
and all that I have,
I honor you.
With this ring I thee wed.

(Bride), please place the ring on (Groom)?s hand and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows,
with all that I am
and all that I have,
I honor you.
With this ring I thee wed.

DECLARATION OF THE MARRIAGE
As you have now both pledged to the other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.

(Groom), you may now kiss your bride.

PRESENTATION
I now present to you (Groom) and (Bride) (Last Name).

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

By Submitted by Rev. Sailor

Rev. Sailor -Northern California

In the Chippewa tradition I invite the Bride and Groom to wash their hands of the past and start their lives anew. (Offer small bowl of water and towel to each)

You have come before these witnesses assembled to acknowledge in public those promises you made to one another in private. Your marriage will not stand by the power of the state, or the oath in some book, or the words of the minister but will only survive by your love, faith and trust for each other.

Will each of you now consent to be married?

Will you each accept the other as your spouse: promising to love, honor and respect them, keeping yourself only to them all the days of your life?

2. Will you _________accept _____________as your spouse: promising to love, honor and respect her, keeping yourself only to her all the days of your life?

Will you _________accept _____________ as your spouse: promising to love, honor and respect him, keeping yourself only to him all the days of your life?

May we have the rings please?

The Blessing of the Rings;
The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond, which unites two loyal hearts in endless love. It is a seal of the vows that you have made to one another. Bless O God these rings that those who give them, and those who wear them, may ever abide in peace. Living together in unity, love and happiness for the rest of their lives.

Repeat after me:

I give you this ring as a symbol of our love, with it I wed you and give you my body, soul and heart.

Apache Wedding Prayer

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years, May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Declaration of Marriage:
In as much as you have each pledged to the other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion; by the authority of the state of California and most Merciful Almighty, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

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Wedding Ceremonies

2010-06-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Jim and his Wife

Circle will be erected before guests arrive and will be outlined with flowers.
On the altar there will be four quarter candles, Goddess and God candles, unity candles, incense, 3 chalices with wine and cakes, wand, pentagram.

Person 1 (will light incense and all candles EXCEPT the unity candle)

Person 1 (will sweep x 3 and place broom at the door.)

Person 2 (will ring bell x 3 and summon)
Come ye who are light of heart,
The celebration is about to start.
Come to the Northeast and wait,
For the Priestess to guide you
through the gate. Let your smiles
be merry, let your worries be still
And let none be here, but of their
own free will.?

(Cast and Admit)

(Cleanse circle with elements while singing:)
?Earth our body?
?Earth our body
Water our blood
Air our breath and
Fire our spirit?
Repeat until back at your quarter

(Four Quarters we will be invoked Each Quarter will offer milk cake and mead)

East: Person 3
South: Person 4
West: Person 5
North: Person 6

East: ?Playful Dryads we call to thee,
come frolic with us lighthearted Sidhe(she)
come sing to the tune of your homeland
as we join together this woman and man.?

South: ?Bright Geancanoch (Gan-chan-ock) we call to thee,
come play with us mischivious Sidhe (she),
come dance to the tune of your homeland
as we join together this woman and man.?

West: ?Brave Tuatha de Danann (Too-ah-day-Thay-nan) we call to thee
come rest with us trooping Sidhe(she),
come tap your toes to the tune of your homeland
as we join together this woman and man.?

North: ?Cheerful Cluricauns (kloo-ree- kahn) we call to thee,
come sing with us joyful Sidhe (she),
Come hum the tune of your homeland
as join together this woman and man.?

Person 7 (Will call Deities)

Person 1 and Person 7 will bless wine and cakes

Person 7 ? (will cut a door to let wedding party in.)

Bride and her father ? (will walk to the door)

Officiant ? ?Who brings Bridenifer here today?

Raise energy with ?we are a circle?:
ALL - ?We are a circle within a circle
With no beginning and never ending? x 3

Officiant - (will begin with a few heartfelt words)

Person 7 ? ?The joining together of man and woman in the Sacred Rite of Marriage brings together great forces from which may flow the seeds of future generations to be nurtured within the womb of time. Within every masculine nature lies the Feminine; within every feminine nature lies the masculine. The interplay of masculine and feminine forces, when flowing freely in a union based upon Love, finds many expressions and that union is truly Holy.?

Officiant ? ?Who walks the path of the moon to stand before the Gods and declare her Sacred vows? (Bride steps forward) Do you Bride, come to this place of your own free will??

Bride ? ?I do.?

Officiant ? ?Who walks the path of the sun to stand before the Gods and declare his Sacred vows? (Groom steps forward) Do you Groom, come to this place of your own free will??

Groom ? ?I do.?

Person 2 ? (Gives Officiant Binding Cloth)

Officiant ? (wraps the couple?s hands.)

Officiant ? ?Will you walk together the circle of time traveling through the Elements and Seasons??

Bride and Groom ? ?We will? (walk, hands, bound to each quarter)

South ? ?Will your love survive the harsh fires of change?

Bride and Groom ? ?It will.?

South ? ?Then accept this blessing of the element of fire in this the place of summer. May your home be filled with warmth.?

West ? ?Will your love survive the ebb and flow of feeling??

Bride and Groom ? ?It will?

West ? ?Then accept this blessing of water in this the place of autumn. May your life together be filled with love.?

North ? ?Will your love survive times of stillness and restriction??

Bride and Groom ? ?It will?

North ? ?Then accept the blessing of the element of earth in this the place of winter. May your union be strong and fruitful.?

East ? ?Will your love survive the clear light of day??

Bride and Groom ? ?It will?

East ? ?Then accept the blessing of the element of air in this the place of spring. May your marriage be blessed by the light of every new dawn.?

Person 7 ? ?All things are circlular- night becomes day, day becomes night and night becomes day again. The moon waxes and wanes and waxes again. There is spring, summer, autumn, winter and then spring returns. These things are part of the Great Mysteries. Bride and Groom do you bring your symbols of these Great Mysteries of life??
Bride and Groom ? ?We do.?

Person 8 ? (gives ring to Bride)

Officiant ? ?Then before all present repeat these words: (Bride faces Groom and places ring on his finger and repeats after Officiant) I pledge my love, strength, and my friendship. I bring thee joy now and until love lasts. I vow upon this holy Earth that through you I will honor all men. Will you accept in freedom this circle of gold as a token of my vows??

Groom ? ?I will?

Person 8 ? (gives ring to Groom)

Officiant ? ?Groom, place this ring on Bride?s finger and repeat after me?

(Groom faces Bride and places ring on her finger and repeats after Officiant)

?I pledge my love, strength and my friendship. I bring thee joy now and until love lasts. I vow upon this holy Earth that through you I will honor all women. Will you accept in freedom this circle of gold as a token of my vows??

Bride ? ?I will.?

Person 7 ? (gives Bride a lit tapered candle)

Bride ? ?In the name of Diana I bring you the warmth of my heart.?

Best Man ? (hands Groom lit tapered candle)

Groom ? ?In the name of Pan I bring you the light of my love.?

(Both light the unity candle.)

All ? ?May the light of your union be blessed?

Officiant ? ?By the law of three do you swear to keep sacred your vows??

Bride and Groom ? ?We swear.?

Person 2 and Person 1 ? (wrap Bride and Groom with wrap.)

Officiant ? ?Benificent Spirits and Souls of our Ancestors, accept the union of your children. Help them, protect and bless their home and children of their union. May their life together reflect the harmony of all life in its perfect union. May they work together in times of ease and times of hardship, knowing that they are truly blessed. From this time forth you walk together along life?s path. May your way be blessed.?

Bride ? (Takes chalice in hand and speaks oath) ?By seed and root, by bud and stem, by leaf and flower and fruit, by life and love, I ,Bride, take you, Groom, to my hand and heart at the rising of the sun and the setting of the stars.?

Groom ? (Takes chalice in hand and speaks oath) ?By seed and root, by bud and stem, by leaf and flower and fruit, by life and love, I, Groom, take you Bride, to my hand and heart at the rising of the sun and the setting of the stars.?

(Both pour the mead from their chalices into the union chalice and Groom serves Bride first. Then say as serving:) ?may you never thirst?.

(Pass around another chalice of mead for everyone to sip.)

(Bride and Groom taste wine and cakes and pass around)

Officiant ? ?Let Diana, Pan and the Spirits of the four directions be thanked for their blessings.?

Person 7 ? (Release God and Goddess)

(Release Quarters:)

North ? ?We thank thee cheerful Cluricauns (kloo-ree-kahn)
for lending us your protection
we thank thee, our faery friends, for joining us today
Go if thou must, stay if thou will
We bid thee hail and farewell?

West ? ?We thank thee brave Tuatha de Danann (Too-ah-day-Thay-nan)
for lending us your sense of adventure.
We thank thee, our faery friends, for joining us today
Go if thou must, stay if thou will
We bid thee hail and farewell ?

South ? ?We thank thee bright Geancanoch (Gan-chan-ock)
For lending us your passion
We thank thee our faery friends, for joining us today
Go if thou must, stay if thou will
We bid thee hail and farewell?

East ? ?We thank thee playful Dryads for lending us your lighthearted song,
We thank thee our Faery friends, for joining us today
Go if thou must, stay if thou will
We bid thee hail and farewell ?

Officiant ? ?This sacred rite of marriage ends in peace, as in peace it begins. Let us leave, holding peace and love in our hearts until we meet again. (Then pronounces Bride and Groom Husband and Wife)

Person 7 (cuts door in the air at circles edge)

(Broom is laid across doorway)

(Bride and Groom jump the broom on the way out of the circle)

(Bride and Groom lead everyone out and guests blow bubbles in celebration of the union. )

Person 7 (Unwinds the circle)

********************

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

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Non-Denominational Wedding

2010-06-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Kimberli Taylor (fka Kimberli McFerran)

We are here today to participate in a most joyous Occasion; to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, by acknowledging the wedding of (Groom) and (Bride). Into this state of Marriage, (Groom) and (Bride) come now to be united.

Opening Blessing

May this man and this woman be a blessing and comfort to each other, sharers of each other?s joys, consolers in each others sorrows, helpers to each other in all of life?s adventures. May they encourage each other in whatever they set out to achieve.

May they, trusting each other, trust life and be unafraid.

May they, loving each other, offer love and support to those around them.

Promises
(Groom) & (Bride), Will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love, now join your hands.

(Groom), do you take (Bride) to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and protect her? Share the good times and achievements as well as the hard times and disappointments? Keep her in sickness and in sorrow and to be faithful to her forevermore?

(Groom): I do

(Bride), do you take (Groom) to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and protect him? Share the good times and achievements as well as the hard times and disappointments? Keep him in sickness and in sorrow and to be faithful to him forevermore?

(Bride): I do

As you place the ring on her finger, please repeat after me:

Please repeat after me,

(Bride), with free and unconstrained soul,
I give you all I am and all I am to become.
Take this ring, and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love, for the rest of my life.

Pronouncement
Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive always to meet this commitment with the same spirit you now are now exhibiting. We all bear witness to this ceremony you have just performed and you may now call yourselves by those old and respected names, husband and wife.

You may kiss the bride.

Presentation of Mr.and Mrs. ____________.

********************

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

By ULC Wedding Ceremony

ULC Wedding Ceremony

The following ceremony has been described as the most beautiful ever witnessed. Feel free to use it in your wedding, and to edit it as you wish. It is non-denominational, but does not neglect the spiritual aspect of marriage, and is perfect for use in an interfaith marriage, or for any wedding solemnized by a Universal Life Church minister.

If it were possible to begin this ceremony by gathering together all the wishes of happiness for and from all present here . . . if we could gather together those precious wishes of affection and our very fondest hopes and turn them into music, we would be listening now to a most inspiring anthem, composed of the most harmonious notes possible to produce.

Even though this is not possible, just speaking of it should assure_________ and_________that our hearts are attuned to theirs in these moments so meaningful to all of us. For what greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness.

Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and physical union between the parties. It has been described as the best and most important relationship that can exist between two human beings; the construction of their love and trust into a single growing energy of spiritual life. It is a moral commitment that requires and deserves daily attention since no earthly happiness exceeds that of a reciprocal satisfaction in the conjugal state. Marriage should be a life-long consecration to the ideal of loving kindness, backed with the will to make it last.

True love gives nothing but itself and takes nothing but from itself.
Love does not possess, nor would it be possessed.
For love is sufficient unto love.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
To awake at dawn with a winged heart and
Give thanks for another day of loving.
To rest at noon and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude,
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
And a song of praise upon your lips.

_____________ will you take ____________ to be your wedded wife, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion? (Groom replies "I will")

And _____________will you take_______________ to be your wedded husband, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion? (Bride replies "I will")

Please hold hands and repeat after me: "__________, you are consecrated to me now as my wife from this day forward, to love, to cherish and to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to share together as long as we both shall love. Amen."

And,_____________, you are consecrated to me now as my husband, from this day forward, to love and cherish, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to care and share together as long as we both shall love. Amen"

What token of your devotion do you offer your beloved?

(bride and groom retrieve rings from best man and maid of honor, handing them to minister).

May these rings be blessed as the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go, may they always return to one another in their togetherness. May these two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home which they establish together be such a place of sanctuary that many will find there a friend. May these rings, on their fingers, symbolize the touch of the spirit of love in the heart.

(Minister hands ring to groom)

________, in placing this ring on _______'s finger, repeat after me: "I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity. Amen" (groom places ring on bride's finger)

(Minister hands other ring to bride)

________, in placing this ring on _______'s finger, repeat after me: "I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity. Amen" (bride places ring on groom's finger)

Inasmuch as _______ and ________ have consented together in marriage before this company; have pledged their faith and declared their unity by each giving and receiving a ring -- and are now joined in mutual esteem and devotion, I, as an ordained Minister of the Universal Life Church, pronounce that they are husband and wife together -- and offer them the Benediction of the Apaches:

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you.
Now there is no more loneliness.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

********************

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Marriage Ceremony

2010-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

Marriage of Alexandra "Alex" Lee Torrey and Charles "Charlie" Vickroy Balch

The following marriage ceremony occurred on Sunday, May 4th 1997 on our boat while anchored off Buck Island. Buck Island is a small island near St. Croix which is one of the US Virgin Islands. For the ceremony, about 20 large boats rafted up with us and about 500 friends joined us.

This is a unique ceremony. We wrote it and performed it without a third party (ie no minister or judge). Our love stands on its own and is based on very deep understandings of each other.

It is a legal marriage.

We are legally registered ministers in the territory of the Virgin Islands. Charlie was ordained and registered with the court many years ago. While he has officiated at many ceremonies, this is his first time on the receiving end. Alex registered for the purpose of performing the ceremony.

Charlie We joyfully welcome all present to witness and celebrate the joining of our lives in marriage. Here, with friends and family, we share the essence of our commitment. Today our union is formalized under the law of man. Each of us will speak words that belong to both. If we break down a little, give us a little time, our joy overflows. You'll know we're done when we kiss.

Alex Today the promise and hopes of our union are expressed. This is the most important commitment of our lives. The essence of this commitment is the taking of each other, in entirety, as lover, partner, companion and friend. This is a decision we have made with great consideration and respect, uncompromisingly with reverence and honor for each other's individuality and needs. Knowing these things, we make this commitment. Our commitment will continue to grow and be renewed.

Charlie Our union goes beyond itself to enhance the lives of others. Let our marriage create a realm where no person is ever a stranger. We hope our love, our strength, and our responsibility will radiate outwards from us, enhancing growth and strengthening our community. Just as we are committed to each other we are committed to our community.

Alex We know that we will not always perceive the world or our relationship as a joyful place. We also know that love is patient and kind. We seek to both understand and be understood. Together, through our understanding and commitment, we will overcome times of fear, discomfort, shadows, or silences. We will persevere through all difficulties with a love that rises from seeing through the other's eyes.

Charlie We promise to employ the spirit of inquiry when the need arises to adjust differing perceptions, always keeping in mind a deep respect for each other. May God grant us success in our efforts to maintain our faith in heaven's ways, our patience to listen, our capacity to understand, our compassion to accept, our joy of tolerance and our good humor. We live in joy, hope, faith, honor and love, the greatest of these being love.

Alex We happily share our selves and have thus discovered a greater self. The spirit of heaven dances between us, allowing love without striving to manage or possess. We know that personal spaces in our togetherness create a stronger whole. These personal spaces give us room to grow as individuals. Individual growth is important to our growth together -- as we each grow, the entirety of our union grows.

Charlie We know that we are each unique individuals. We rejoice in our differences as we do in the similarities that brought us together. We will live together, sharing our potentials, joys, needs and goals. This goes beyond mutual support or dependency. We promise to always hold each others dreams as our own. The challenge of our mutual goals of faith, growth, responsibility, understanding and joy excite and direct our lives to their fullest.

Alex We are partners in all things. Gladly we share our selves. This is a union of love. Through this love we find strength and courage when weak or tired, and warmth when cold or uncertain. When necessary, we will lean on each other for support. The combination of our individual strengths overcomes all weakness to create a greater whole.

Charlie Alexandra Lee Torrey, I love you. I promise to share all of my life openly with you, to love, cherish, and stand beside you, in times of celebration and in times of difficulty, in times of good health and in times of changing health, in times of joy and in times of conflict, for all our lives. Your smile is my most treasured possession; I will do all that is within my power to insure that I will always be fully worthy of it. With all of my heart, mind, body and soul I ask, will you be my wedded wife?

Alex Yes.

Alex Charles Vickroy Balch, I love you. I promise as your wife to share all of my life openly with you, to love, cherish, and stand beside you, in times of celebration and in times of difficulty, in times of good health and in times of changing health, in times of joy and in times of conflict, for all our lives. With all of my heart, mind, body and soul I ask, will you be my wedded husband?

Charlie Yes.

Alex Rings are a circle, the symbol of the earth, the universe, and eternity. Like circles, our rings have no beginning or ending. They are tokens of the relationship we have come here to celebrate and confirm.

Charlie: With the presentation of this ring which is also the symbol for your family I wed you. I give you all the treasures of my heart, mind, soul and life.

Alex: With the presentation of this ring and the sharing of my family name I wed you. I give you all the treasures of my heart, mind, soul and life.

Alex & Charlie: By our commitment and love for each other and the power vested in us by the territory of the Virgin Islands we are now husband and wife.

Charlie: We are now as two, yet one. Our unity will last through all trials and triumphs that lie ahead.

Alex: We will live more and more in the presence of our love, which in it's beauty extends beyond the past and future. We have joined together, and together we shall go forth.

Alex and Charlie: Grow old along with me

The best is yet to be

The last of life for which the first was made.

********************

Marriage Ceremony with child

2010-06-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

MARRIAGE CEREMONY of GROOM and BRIDE NAMES

Officiated by Rev. Robert Yslas, Jr.

WELCOME

Welcome to the marriage of ______ and ______. You have been asked to gather here to witness and share in the joy of this union.

_____ and _____, you have come to be joined in holy marriage to one another. You are about to make promises which are not to be taken lightly, but to be taken with the seriousness of life itself.

We have gathered in the presence of God to give thanks for the gift of marriage, to witness the joining of _____ and _____ to surround them with our prayers, and to ask God’s blessing upon them, so that they may be strengthened for their life together.

We have been created male and female, and given marriage, so that husband and wife may help and comfort each other, faithfully together in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, throughout all their days.

God gave us marriage for the full expression of the love between a man and a woman. In marriage a woman and man belong to each other, and with affection and tenderness freely give themselves to each other.

We have been given marriage for the well-being of human society, for the ordering of family life, and for the birth and nurture of children.

Marriage is a holy mystery in which a man and a woman are joined together, and become one, just as Christ is one with the church.

In marriage, husband and wife are called to a new way of life, created, ordered, and blessed by God. This way of life must not be entered into carelessly, or from selfish motives, but responsibly, and prayerfully.

We rejoice that marriage is given by God, bless by our Lord, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let marriage be held in honor among all.

PRAYER

Let us pray:

Gracious God, you are always faithful in your love for us. Look mercifully upon _____ and _____, who have come seeking your blessing. Let your Holy Spirit rest upon them so that with steadfast love they may honor the promises they make this day, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

_____ and ____ as you come to one another, remember: Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your soul.

Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give our hearts, but not into each other’s keeping; for only the hand of God can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together. For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

Mark then that this is the hour and these are the minutes when you have turned your faces toward each other in promise. Suns shall rise and moons shall set upon your faces now as before. But your promises, soon to be made, proclaim that these same suns and moons shall not find you separated. Each of you shall know that the other has become flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone.

Let humanity now trace its trail in the vastness of space. Let the depths yield up their secrets to the probing of our minds, but let it be known also to you with equal importance that something unique and new in the universe has here today begun.

WHO GIVES THIS WOMAN TO BE MARRIED TO THIS MAN?

(Bride’s parents stand and respond…”WE DO.”)

I Corinthians 13 says:

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, and 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.

VOWS

_____, do you promise to respect and honor the absolute integrity of life _____ leads as an individual? (I DO)

_____, do you promise to recognize the existence of the individual identity within _____? (I DO)

_____, will you offer _____ all the love that flows through you to create a love that flows together? (I DO)

_____, will you release _____ an open love embracing all that you can be so your love will flow together? (I DO)

_____, do you present to _____ your name so she will be called as you are called? Do you give her the sun that rises in your life and all the beauty that your hands and spirits can make together? (I DO)

_____, do you accept _____’s love and his name and your calling together; do you join your hands with his hands and your spirit with his spirit so that your lives may be beautiful together? (I DO)

If this is so then come together now, joins hands, and repeat these vows to one another:

I _______take thee ______to be my wedded wife; and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful husband, in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.

(I DO)

I _____, take thee _____to be my wedded husband; and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful wife, in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live

(I DO)

RINGS

A CIRCLE is the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe, of wholeness and perfection and peace. The ring you give this day is the symbol and the circle of shared love into which you enter together as husband and wife.

(Taking the bride’s ring to give to groom)

Let us pray:

Praised art thou O Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who has brought us to life and blessed us with love. O Lord of all things animate and inanimate, bless this ring so that he who give us and she who wears it may abide in the security of your love. Amen.

_____ placing this ring on ______ left hand, repeat after me:

THIS ring I give you in token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love.

(Next ring, taking the grooms ring to be given to the bride)

Let us pray:

Praised art thou O Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who has brought us to life and blessed us with love. Lord God of all things animate and inanimate, bless this ring so that she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in the security of your love all of the days of their lives. Amen.

_____, placing this ring on ______ left hand, repeat after me:

THIS ring I give you in token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love.

PRAYER

Let us pray:

Eternal God,

Creator and preserver of all life,

Author of salvation

And giver of grace:

Look with favor upon the world you have made and redeemed,

And especially upon _____ and _____.

Given them wisdom and devotion in their common life,

That each may be to the other

A strength in need,

A comfort in sorrow,

A counselor in perplexity,

And a companion in joy.

Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will,

And their spirits in your Spirit,

That they may grow in love and peace

With you and each other

All the days of their life.

Give them the courage,

When they hurt each other,

To recognize and confess their fault,

And the grace to seek your forgiveness,

And to forgive each other,

Today we not only celebrate this marriage

But we also celebrate the formation

And affirmation of a family with (child’s name)

We pray that you guide _____ and _____ as parents

To raise and teach (child’s name) with love and respect;

And that you protect this new family and keep them

Always in your care.

Grant that all who have witnessed these vows today

May find their lives strengthened,

And that all who are married

May depart with their own promises renewed.

Enrich with your grace

All the husbands and wives, parents and children,

That, loving and supporting one another,

They may serve those in need

And be a sign of your kingdom. Amen.

UNITY CANDLE

The unity candle symbolizes the very essence of the wedding ceremony. The two side candles, which represent you as individuals, are used to light a single center candle as a visible symbol of your commitment to each other. There is an additional smaller candle for (child). _____ and _____ will light the candles and then all three of them will light the center Unity Candle.

_____ and _____ the two side candles are a symbol of your separate lives, families, and friends. I now ask that you take your candles, along with (child), and that together you light the center candle. Lighting the center candle represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and symbolizes the joining together of your two families and sets of friends to one. The greater height of the center candle depicts your belief that together you can become more than either could alone (Please light the center candle, music to be placed here, and then return before minister).

CHALLENGE

_____ 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 for each other.

Now by the authority committed unto me as a Minister of the Universal Life Church, I declare that _____ and _____ are now husband and wife, according to the Ordinance of God and the Law of the State of ____; in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

_____, you may now kiss your bride.

It is now my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. ________.

********************

Interfaith Ceremony

2010-06-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome:

Hello, my name is ___________, and it is my honor to serve as presiding officer over today?s service. The couple and their parents welcome each of you. Your presence at this special event is greatly appreciated. Please, note that _______ and ________ have put together this ceremony, so at the conclusion of the service, you may direct any complaints to them.

Marriage is what brings us together today. In electing to merge their lives together as one, they embark upon a journey that will take the rest of their days to complete. That voyage begins here, this day, this moment, and they are honored and privileged that all of you have decided to share this day with them.

As many of you know, ________ and _______ come from different religious backgrounds. They have decided to write a ceremony that weaves together not only elements of Christianity and Judaism, but Buddhism and Hinduism as well. These spiritual traditions have combined to form one beautiful fabric, symbolic of their lives, into which they will stitch many hours and days and years. Upon this canvas, they hope to incorporate all things, all experiences, into a design that will be their own, and to watch it grow ever larger and more beautiful.

The more earthly fabric under which the bride and groom are gathered here is the chuppah, which symbolizes the home that ________ and _______ will create together. The sides remain open to illustrate that friends and family are always welcome.

The roof of the chuppah is made from Julie?s father?s prayer shawl. It symbolizes the importance of what is beyond ourselves and reminds us of the presence in our hearts of those who could not be with us today.

Not only do ________ & _______ appreciate that you are all here to participate in and bear witness to their special day, they also look forward to having friends and family close by to share in their lives as they work to build a home and family together.

We would like to call on __________ to read a selection that Bride has chosen:

Reading:

Mark Golebiowski From 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran

(pg. 69 of Wedding Vows and Traditions)

Love one another, but make not a bond of love;

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other?s cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other?s keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other?s shadow.

Unity candle:

Austin narrates: At this time, Chris and Julie will light a unity candle. (To ________ and _______ ) The individual candles before each of you represent your lives before today. Lighting the center candle represents that your two lives and two families are now joined in one light.

[________ and _______ and parents light candles]

Blessing: (I want to adapt this. I do not care for the first part of the message much)

Austin reads adapted Buddhist blessing:

________ & _______ : Remember that nothing happens without cause. Your union has not come about accidentally, but is the ordained result of many past lives. Therefore, the tie that exists between you cannot be broken or dissolved.

Remember that happy occasions will come as surely as morning. Remember that difficult times will come as surely as night. When things go joyously, rejoice in each other?s company. When things go badly, shelter yourselves in each other?s compassion. To simply say the words love and compassion is easy. But to accept that love and compassion are built upon patience and perseverance is not. Your marriage will be firm and lasting if you remember this.

At this time, we would like to call _______to read a selection that Groom has chosen.

Reading:

Unending Love by Rabindranath Tagore

I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times...

In life after life, in age after age, forever.

My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,

That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,

In life after life, in age after age, forever.

Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, it's age old pain,

It's ancient tale of being apart or together.

As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge,

Clad in the light of a pole-star, piercing the darkness of time.

You become an image of what is remembered forever.

You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount.

At the heart of time, love of one for another.

We have played along side millions of lovers,

Shared in the same shy sweetness of meeting,

the distressful tears of farewell,

Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.

Homily:

Thank you, _____.

It took me about two years to realize that ________ & _______ were a perfect couple and the an additional two months to understand why they had chosen to participate in this unique wedding ceremony. I?d like to help answer the same questions for anyone who still may harbor such questions.

As for their choice of ceremonies:

Both ________ & _______ are proud of their rich ethnic and religious backgrounds and the families that helped shape their personalities and values. They sought to honor each other in a manner that did not supersede either participant. That respect for each other?s upbringings will undoubtedly help shape their marriage.

As for what the pair does or does not hold in common:

_______ is the picture of manners, reserved, steady, and level headed. Clear, concise, and authoritative, she expresses herself with brevity and clarity. Steady and consistent in habits she likes to eat out, but be home in time for bed at 10:00. Her expectations are high: she will not accept an unfulfilling career, an uninteresting topic in a conversation, or a bad meal and she will let it be known clearly when she is not pleased.

Now _____. He is a bit different. His manners sometimes fail to help him make a stellar first impression. It took a bit of time for me to overcome my first impression. It was probably only the second time that we had actually met yet he threw a pool cue at me after I told him that he was being a bit loud in the otherwise empty pool hall. In his defense though he did miss. He can get a little loud. Wake the dead loud, and his choice of language and subjects of conversation have been known to make people blush. He will argue anything from sports to politics providing details and supporting facts during even the most inane debate. He relishes the opportunity to display his mastery of the English language, while using leaps of logic and deft verbal maneuvering. Watching groom can be a joy itself. One moment he is laughing; the next, shouting in righteous fury. In between arguments and rants he is considerate of others points of view, conscientious, curious about the world around him, and open minded. All told groom is easily contented. A hotdog, a beer, and a fun-editing project will keep him happy, yet his behaviors are anything from consistent. Yes, I would say that ________ & _______ are an eclectic pair.

I?d be remiss if I didn?t share some of the things that ________ & _______ have in common that you may not be aware of. For instance: They are both about to turn the dreaded 30, they share many friends in common though many of these friendships were developed independently, they both share a love for reading and writing, they both enjoy dancing, their parents married, bought homes, and had their first children at almost the same times, and both set of parents are happily married. They both are the eldest siblings in their families and both have sisters. They both took family vacations at almost the same place in Michigan and undoubtedly crossed paths in high school and college if not on vacation.

In the end, though, you cannot determine if a couple is meant for each other by an evaluation of similarities and differences pluses and minuses as Ross famously did with Rachel on a popular episode of the TV show Friends.

Adaptability and accommodation are vital components to the success of a relationship. Those of you that are married can attest to that fact. Perhaps, you moderate some annoying little habits, maybe you dress differently or improve your manners, but good couples accept and cherish their spouse for the person that they are. ________ & _______ with all their unique qualities are perfect for each other, because of the love they have for each other and how they make each other feel when they?re together. Hardship and trials will inevitably arise, but they will overcome them together in a manner that would have been impossible as individuals. Most important, they are going to have a fabulous and joyful marriage and have a lot of fun along the journey.

________ and _______ , on a personal note, presiding over a wedding is just as much of a once in a lifetime event for me as getting married will be each of you. I conjure up a lot of crazy ideas, but getting ordained over the internet, so that I could perform marriages may have been one of my most audacious. Many plans fall short of expectations yet other times they succeed beyond imagination. You are good friends and I?m confident that you will be a wonderful couple. Thank you again for letting me share in your special day.

To those gathered here today to witness this marriage, I want to make sure that you were fully aware that Julie and Chris are truly grateful to each of you for making it here. You are all special to the bride and groom, and they hope that you will continue to play a large part in their new life together.

Without further ado, as I know you are all very eager to see this couple get married?

Vows & Exchanging of rings:

Do you _____ promise to love _____ completely today, as you did yesterday and as you will tomorrow?

Do you promise to be there for him (her) when he (she) needs you most?

Will you hold him (her) in your heart just as you hold him (her) in your arms?

Will you share in his (her) dreams, delight in his (her) joys, and comfort him (her) in sorrows?

Will you be his (her) confidant, his (her) counsel, his (her) friend and his (her) lover?

When he (she) is not within your sight, do you promise to hold him (her) in your thoughts?

Answer: ?I do/I Will?

Austin asks ________ and _______ to 'Repeat after me'

(in unison, one line at a time)

You are my life;

you are my dreams;

you are my joy;

you are my love;

Todd hands over rings, ring exchange.

Austin: Final word

As you grow old together and your love matures, may you hold on to the passion and affection for each other that you feel today. And now with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

Kiss!

Breaking of the glass:

Someone hands over glass.

Groom breaks glass.

Mazol tov!

Kiss!

S. Austin Muzumdar

********************

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Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Dorothy Torres

Introduction
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the wedding of ____ and ____. ____ and ____ have chosen this spot to announce their love and commitment for each other, to the world. This place was chosen for its beauty and openness, two wonderful qualities that this location has in common with the commitment that will be spoken here today.

Reading

Marriage is a solemn commitment made by two people that hold the hope and promise of a lifetime of togetherness. Their lifetime will hold many trials and tribulations. Just as the waves of the ocean pass over, so hard times will pass over this couple. Be strong, like the mountains that surround you. Stand together and you can face any storm that comes your way. Stand together, support each other, and soon you will have smooth sailing again.

We who are witnessing your marriage, hope that your love and respect for each other, your trust and understanding of each other will shine through any adversities you may face and sing out with the true love and joy that it is your hearts today.

Presentation of the Bride
(Addressing the Father of the Bride) ______ was born into your life as your little girl, you watched over her cared for her, and helped her become the woman we see here today. Will you now present her to be married so she may step into the next part of her life, as a wife and soul mate to _______?
Vows

Do you (Grooms Name), take (Brides Name) to be your wife? Will you stand together during ruff seas, mountain storms, torrential down pours, and desert winds? Will you also stand together during the sun rises, sun sets, and the many blessings and beauty that the world may bring to you?

(Grooms Name): I will.

Minister: Do you (Brides Name), take (Grooms Name) to be your husband? Will you stand together during ruff seas, mountain storms, torrential down pours, and desert winds? Will you also stand together during the sun rises, sun sets, and the many blessings and beauty that the world may bring to you?

(Brides Name): I will.

Rings Introduction
Minister: The wedding ring is a symbolic icon. Alone the ring is just a piece of metal heated and formed with out love. But today, we will transform these cold pieces of metal into beautiful symbols of everlasting love. They will be placed on your fingers and shine forth like a beacon in the storm shouting out that you are not alone in this world, that you have someone to share your life with. When you are apart from each other let this symbol shine in your heart as well as on your hand. This symbol that says you have chosen each other above all others.

Ring Vows
(Bride repeats after minister): (Grooms Name), I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. Please receive this ring as a symbol of my love and as a constant reminder that I have chosen you above all others to be the one to share my life.

(Groom repeats after minister): (Brides Name), I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you. Please receive this ring as a symbol of my love and as a constant reminder that I have chosen you above all others to be the one to share my life.

Declaration of Marriage

Minister: You all have been given the pleasure of witnessing this very special occasion that formally announces the marriage of (Grooms Name) and (Brides Name). Now they have spoken their vows to each other and given their promises. They have declared before all of us that they are in love and they will live together in holy matrimony. They both now wear the rings of love on their hands and in their hearts. So, by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce them to be Husband and Wife.

Minister: (Grooms Name), you may kiss your bride
Presentation

Minister: Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present (Brides Name) & (Grooms Name) (Grooms Last Name).

Rev. Dorothy Torres
http://www.castleministries.com

********************

Commitment Ceremony

2010-06-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Shannon

Amy, I thought that there was a need for a commitment ceremony for same/sex ceremonies. I know that though they are not "legal" many same sex couples still wish to make a public announcement, if you will, of their devotion to one another. I wrote this one because my best friend is looking to have such a ceremony in the future and I was inspired to give her something different. Enjoy! I hope this helps other ministers, and everyone can feel free to use it, change it and make it their own.

Blessings,
Rev. Shannon

A Celebration of Commitment

By Reverend Shannon Wilcox-Hale

Today we come together to celebrate a day that has long been anticipated. A day filled with joy, happiness, contentment and jubilation. We are here to witness Gods greatest miracle, the miracle of love. This love that shines through these two people will light up even the darkest of nights. Love is a testament to all ages of the great gifts of the Lord. With strength, kindness, tenderness, and happiness, this love will stand all tests of time. We are here to celebrate, and rejoice with _____ and _____, two people sharing this miracle of love. As they commit themselves to one another for life, let us reflect upon our own relationships and rejoice in all the ways that the Lord blesses us daily.

Let me now take a few moments to recognize the families of Tanya and Tonya, it is because of you that these two are who they are today. They are two very successful (men/women) that are kind, caring and strong. It takes a great commitment to raise independent, strong, successful children, but you have. I want to thank you for being positive influences on the hearts of these two wonderful (gentlemen/ladies), by teaching them the values that shape their lives. Thank you for showing them the beauty and wonder that each new day brings. Each person goes forth in life touching the lives of those around them, so in bringing your goodness to them, they spread that goodness to all that they meet. God blesses those who spread joy and happiness to all those they come in contact with. You have shown them what it is to be good parents, siblings, and family. _____ and _____, I want to always remember these blessings your families have bestowed upon you and remember to thank them often for their love and devotion to you.

I want to take this time to celebrate what it means to be a family. A family does not just consist of children and parents. It consists of that same miracle of love enveloping the parents and children in a protective sheath that none can penetrate. _____ and _____ make sure you always continue to nurture the love that you are sharing here today, nurture it within your family, give it to your children, and they will pass that legacy along to their children and to all they meet. You are two very special people whose love will last forever and you have the unique opportunity to teach all those around you what true love is.

From this commitment you will become true friends. There is nothing greater in the world than a true friend. A true friend is one who is there to laugh with when you are happy, cry with you when you have been hurt. True friends know just how to help you weather that storm and never leave you to do it on your own. You have the incredible gift of being able to live the rest of your lives together side by side, heart to heart with your one true friend. There will be struggles, and there will be hardships, but with love, devotion, and respect for one another, you will make it through all that comes your way. Each path we take is a learning experience, and we grow from learning. Learn from one another, take your individual experiences, hope, and dreams and meld them together into a life long journey that is only meant for the two of you.

Please repeat after me:

_____, I love you. You are my best friend, my confidant. Today I promise my life to you. I will forever give all of my self, heart, body and soul to you and you alone. I promise to encourage you when you are feeling the hardship of trials to come. I promise to inspire you when you need that boost to keep you going. When you are happy, I will rejoice with you. When you are sad, I will comfort you. I promise to hold you and cherish you because you are my one true friend. I will help you achieve all the goals you have set forth in life, and dream with you for the future.

_____ and _____ have chosen to exchange rings as a sign of their commitment to one another. May I have the rings?

Lord, bless these rings which are an outward sign of a deep love and commitment between these two gentlemen/ladies. Bless the commitment of their love and devotion to one another for all their lives which these rings symbolize. Watch over this couple and shower them with your love. Bless them that they always know happiness and contentment. Walk with them when they have struggles that they will know they are never alone. Keep them safe in your strong and peaceful arms Amen.

Minister gives ring to _____:

(_____ while placing ring on _____'s finger) _____ repeat after me:

Minister gives ring to _____:

(_____ while placing ring on _____'s finger) _____ repeat after me:

With this ring I commit myself with all my heart, to you forever.

As _____ and _____ have committed themselves to one another in their hearts, before God and those gathered here today, may we all rejoice in their _expression of love.

You may now kiss/hug one another.

May God bless your lives together, and bring you much joy!

********************

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Family Garden Ceremony

2010-06-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

By Wayne F. Doberstyn

______&______ have chosen to symbolize the uniting of their families by creating a family garden. Each member of the family will now be presenting a flower that symbolize virtues that are important to their family.
-______(usually groom)will present a white rose, which symbolizes love and unity;
-______(usually bride) will present the Aster, a talisman of love;
-______will present Zinnia, a flower that represents faithfulness
-______will present Delphinium, a flower that represents big-hearted fun;
-______will present Queen Anne's Lace, a flower that represents security;
-______will present Hydrangea, a flower that represents understanding;
-______will present Stock, a flower that represents affection;
-______will present Bouvardia, a flower that represents enthusiasm.
(Flowers are planted in a pot as the names are read)

Wayne F. Doberstyn

Wedding Welcome

2010-06-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

By GVirmond@aol.com

Dear friends, family, and honored guests,

We are gathered here today in the presence of our God and witnessed by you, our beloved guest. On this wondrous occasion of this marriage between two such young and in love Children of God. We gather this day in fellowship not only to honor this marriage but to honor our Sovereign God. Yahweh

We gather today oh lord in your presence to marry this couple in your name. To honor your wonderful gift of marriage, and this couples life long pledge, to love honor and truly cherish one another as they both shall live. Each member of this alliance, this holy union means a life long sharing of those good and bad times, times of sickness and health, times of great happiness and yes, times of sadness also. Give then strength dear Father to cling to each other and yet grow strong as individual members of this team that they have chosen to create anew. Give then strength oh god of our fathers. To pursue on anothers happiness as there own, yet willing to forsake all others in this pursuit of one anothers goals and life long dreams

We Gather today ole Lord in Your Presence
To marry this couple in your name
To honor Your wonderful gift of this marriage
And in this couple life long pledge they remain

To love, Honor and truly Cherish
One another as they shall live
Each member of this alliance
On another as they shall give

This Holy Union, a sharing of good times and bad
Times of sickness and in health times
Times of great happiness and even those sad
Giving them strength to cling to one another in all times
This moment forever, the moment , now Wed

Be blessed all family and dear friends
For today in the sight of Gods eyes
Rejoice in this marriage of man to woman
For a miracle of out creator has been seen this day
Give praise to the Father, Amen

All stand, Be blessed all family and dear friends for today in the sight of God's eyes and the sight of men's, two have become one in the eyes of our Lord and have been sent forward into that days of happiness that only our lord and God can provide for his children on this wondrous and so happy of occasions. For They have been blessed by our Lord and King. Rejoice in this marriage of man to woman. For a miracle of our creator has been seen this day, amen.

********************

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Wedding Vows - Short Ceremony

2010-06-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Anonymous

Friends, I welcome all of you as we are assembled.
Minister in the presence of God to unite _______ and _______ in marriage.

Marriage is to be a permanent relationship of one man and one woman freely and totally committed to each other as companions for life.

Who gives this woman to be married?

I do (or) We do

Minister

The home is built upon love, which virtue is best portrayed in the thirteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. "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;...So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love".

-- PAUSE --

Marriage is a companionship which involves mutual commitment and responsibility. You will share alike in the responsibilities and the joys of life. When companions share a sorrow the sorrow is halved, and when they share a joy the joy is doubled..

Before we go any further - knowing both of you as well as I do and based on my 28 years in law enforcement, I am going to give you your rights.....

Groom, Bride....You have the right to remain silent. If you choose not to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You are entitled to attorneys and to have them present before this ceremony continues. Knowing these rights, do you both wish to proceed?

Very well - please join right hands and take the following vows:

Minister to Groom _____ -

Groom _____, will you take Bride _____ to be your wife; will you commit yourself to her happiness and her self-fulfillment as a person, and will you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve her in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to her, so long as you both shall live?

Groom _____ - I will

Minister to Bride _____ -

Bride _____, will you take Groom _____ to be your husband; will you commit yourself to his happiness and his self-fulfillment as a person, and do you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve him in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to him, so long as you both shall live?

Bride _____ - I will

Bride _____ will hand her bouquet to the maid of honor when the ceremony starts. The engagement ring will be transferred to the right hand prior to the processional. Minister will receive the ring from the groomsman and proceed.

Minister -

The wedding ring is a symbol of marriage in at least two ways: the purity of gold symbolizes the purity of your love for each other, and the unending circle symbolizes the unending vows which you are taking, which may be broken honorably in the sight of God only by death. In this case, there is a third way.....having seen the diamond on these rings, I must add that like diamonds, their marriage is forever!!!

As a token of your vows, you will give and receive the rings.

Groom _____, you will give the ring and repeat after me......Bride _____, I pledge my love and life to you and your children and believe our marriage will be full of love and humor.

Bride _____, you will give the ring and repeat after me......

Minister to audience -

Since they have made these commitments before God and these friends and family, by the authority of God and the laws of this state, I declare that Groom _____ and Bride _____ are husband and wife.

Minister to Groom _____ and Bride _____ -

Groom _____ and Bride _____ you are no longer two independent persons, but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no one separate.

Minister - Will everyone please join me now in the Lord's Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

In closing, I would now like to make a few personal comments.

Groom _____ and Bride _____ have entered into this marriage with open eyes. They both are aware of how hard it is to keep a relationship together in these complex times.

Knowing Groom _____ and Bride _____ as well as I do, I am confident that the maturity and humor they both bring into this marriage shall sustain them through good times and bad. Let's all root for a lot of good times!!!

Groom _____......I guess it's time - you may now kiss your bride.

I have the pleasure to present for the first time.... Mr. and Mrs. Groom and Bride ______.

********************

A brief Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-06T17:41:00.001-07:00

By Rev. Jim Demanche

Wedding Ceremony: Brief

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the presence of God, to join this man

_________ and this woman ____________ in the bonds of Holy Matrimony.

Marriage is a sacred and blessed event given to us by God Himself. The vows which are spoken and exchanged here are not to be taken lightly. It is a life long commitment of love, one for another.

Groom: Do you __________ take ___________ to be your lawfully wedded Wife? To love, honor, cherish, and comfort her in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, forsaking all others for as long as you shall live? (I DO)

Groom places ring on Brides finger and repeats: "With this ring, I thee Wed"

Bride: Do you ____________ take ____________ to be your lawfully wedded Husband? To love, honor, cherish, and comfort him in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, forsaking all others for as long as you shall live?

(I DO).

Bride places ring on Grooms finger and repeats: "With this ring, I thee Wed".
As you have now exchanged vows of love and commitment one for another, and in the presence of these family members, friends, and witness, with the authority given to me by God and the State of California, I now pronounce you both (Husband and Wife).

You may now kiss each other!

It is my honor to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. _____________

********************

Various Sand Ceremonies

2010-06-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sand Ceremonies

"Today, this relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand, one representing you BRIDE and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other representing you, GROOM, and all that you were and all that you are, and all that you will ever be. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be."

Sample Sand Ceremony - 2

Groom and Bride, you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and the exchange of a kiss, and this covenant is a relationship pledge between two people who agree that they will commit themselves to one another throughout their lives. The most beautiful example of this partnership is the marriage relationship. Today, this relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand. One, representing you Groom, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be. The other representing you, Bride, and all that you were and all that you are, and all that you will ever be.
As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be.

Sample Sand Ceremony - 3

"BRIDE and GROOM, today you join your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you'll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be."

Sample Sand Ceremony - 4

"Today, BRIDE and GROOM, have chosen to commemorate their marriage through the celebration of the Sand Ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes the inseparable union of BRIDE and GROOM into a new and eternal marital relationship. Bride and Groom will simultaneously pour separate containers of sand into a common vessel. Each grain of sand in their separate containers represents a unique and separate moment, decision, feeling or event that helped shaped Bride and Groom into the separate and unique individuals that they are today. As they pour their separate containers of sand into a common vessel, those separate and independent individuals will cease to exist. Instead they will merge into a loving and supportive marital community. BRIDE and GROOM, just as the grains of sand can never be separated into their individual containers again, so will your marriage be."

Sample Sand Ceremony - 5

"Please note this empty glass. Glass, itself, is made from sand and the sands of time have come together, melting into one piece to make this vessel. The sands of time should remind us all of our eternal love and our mortality. Today BRIDE and GROOM have chosen to represent their love to each other in a special sand ceremony. Please BRIDE and GROOM, take your separate glass of sand and alternate the pouring of sand into this joining vessel and united, repeat after me: You are my love for eternity. I blend with you. My heart is like these grains of sands, merging with yours. I am yours. You are mine. We are together forever like the sand, like the wind. We are one."

Warmly,

Amy Long
www.ulcseminary.org
916-690-1682
Wishing you all good things.......

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-04T17:38:00.001-07:00

Officiated by Uncle Harry

Harry begins:
On behalf of Heather and Derek, who is my favorite nephew, I would like to welcome you and thank you for sharing this very special day with them. Your presence here is a visible expression of your love and respect for their decision to be joined in marriage.

Heather and Derek, today you are surrounded by your family and friends as they gather to witness your marriage and share in the joy of this happy occasion.

Life is a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And, like a story, it is best experienced with the people you love. Everyone in this circle is here because they're a part of Heather and Derek's story. Some of you are participating by holding up the huppah, some of you will be adding your voices to the ceremony, and some more will be participating by laughing and crying along with us. Also, I'm told there's a kiss at the end.

First, Heather and Derek's friend, John Halcyon Styn, would like to make a blessing.

Halcyon's Blessing:

The universe gifts us with more blessings than we can ever understand.
It is one of the grand ironies of being human: Such big brains, and so little comprehension of the gift of every moment.
But sometimes the universe makes it very easy for us. Sometimes we have experiences that transcend the circumstances of our daily lives and help us feel the gift of existence itself.
... like when the sun sets so beautifully that the world starts and ends in that moment.
... like when we glimpse into a babies eyes and are reminded of a truth we always knew.
... like when a dormant branch buds its perfect green leaves – teaching us its eternal cycle of spring renewal.
... or like when two beautiful, loving souls find one another, let their love blossom, and form a union of their lives.
This love is a gift from the universe. It is a gift to the universe.
The universe itself is made warmer and more loving by the path they walk together.
We are all blessed to be here, but the gift of this love doesn't end at these walls or in the memories of the people here.
Like that perfect sunset casting brilliant color across the horizon, their loving union casts love across all our lives – reminding us of what this journey is all about.
On behalf of the universe, I want to say Thank You to Heather and Derek. May your love forever shine.

Harry Continues:
Albert Einstein said: "Strange is our situation here upon Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. However, there is one thing that we do know, that we are here for the sake of others. Above all, for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy."
And now a story from Derek and Heather's friend, Lance Arthur.
Lance's Story:

When I heard that Derek and Heather were to be married, my first thought was, "I have to buy a new suit!"
Bringing a new suit into your life is not something to be taken lightly. There are a lot of things to consider, and you need to be very careful and thoughtful about your choice. Sure, you can see something in the window, draped ever so flatteringly on a mannequin, and think to yourself, "that is SO me." Then you try it on for size, take it for a test drive, look in the mirror and realize, nope, this is so NOT me.
So you move on. There are racks and racks of suits out there, friends. So many choices you can get dizzy or frustrated or depressed when you keep trying them on and they just don't quite work. The fit is a little off, the color doesn't compliment your eyes, wide lapels are out, too many or too few buttons on the jacket ... and those pants make your ass look huge.
Huge.
Sometimes you wear something just because it's convenient. You know it's not exactly right, but you wear it anyway. And all the while you feel just a little uncomfortable, just the slightest bit ... wrong.
But every once in a while, and very rarely, you find something that is perfect. This suit, for example. After Christmas sale, Barney's New York, Costume National, half price. Italian tailoring, 100% Gabardine wool, hand-stitching along the lapels, lovely detail work inside the jacket, double vents, no pleats.
Once in a great while, it all comes together. It all falls into place. It all works.
All it takes is a little luck, like finding yourself in the right place, at the right time, having the patience to wait for the right one, and never losing hope that somewhere, out there, is the perfect suit for you.

Harry Continues:
Marriage. It ranks right up there with birth and death as one of the three biggies in life. But it's the only one that we'll celebrate with a conscious awareness. Very few of you remember your arrival, and even fewer of you will attend your own funeral. Pick a society, any society: Jewish farmers 100 years ago in Poland, English émigrés to Canada, San Franciscan hipsters ... What's the one thing they all have in common? Marriage. It's like a cultural handrail. It links us to the past, and guides us to the future.
And now a reading from Derek's father, Morris Powazek.
Dad's Reading:

Birth is a beginning
And death a destination.
And like is a journey:
From childhood to maturity
And youth to age;
From innocence to awareness
And ignorance to knowing;
From foolishness to discretion
And then, perhaps, to wisdom;
From weakness to strength
Or strength to weakness -
And, often, back again;
From health to sickness
And back, we pray, to health again;
From offense to forgiveness,
From loneliness to love,
From joy to gratitude,
From pain to compassion,
And grief to understanding -
From fear to faith;
From defeat to defeat to defeat -
Until, looking backward or ahead,
We see that victory lies
Not at some high place along the way,
But in having made the journey, stage by stage,
A sacred pilgrimage.
Birth is a beginning
And death a destination.
And life is a journey,
A sacred pilgrimage -
To like everlasting.

Harry Continues:
Marriage is the union of disparate elements: male and female, yin and yang, proton and electron. What we're talking about here is the very tension that binds the universe. When we look at marriage, we're looking at creation itself.
And now a reading from Derek and Heather's friend, Magdalen Powers.
Maggie's Poem:

"The Sunrise Ruby," by Rumi
In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of water.
She asks, "Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth."
He says, "There's nothing left of me.
I'm like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight."
This is how Hallaj said, I am God,
and told the truth!
The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don't think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there.

Harry Continues:
The vows a bride and groom recite are a reflection of the people they are, and the love they share. Derek and Heather have prepared their own vows. Derek, you first.
Derek's Vows:

Heather, do you remember what I told you at the end of our first day together? "I am enamored with you." That was true enough, but it was a cop-out. Because what I really wanted to say, from the moment we met, was: I love you.
I have been in love before. But never like this. Because I love you even when I you make me crazy. Perhaps because you make me crazy.
I love you when it's easy, and when it's hard. When you're difficult, and when I'm difficult.
Basically, I have no choice. It doesn't seem to be up to me. And I realize now that I will always, always love you.
I love your sense of adventure. Your quest for fairness. Your passion and your art. I love that you look at the same world I do, and see things I do not.
I love that you give me room to be who I am, even when you're not sure it's a good idea. I love that you remain so kind, in a world that can be so hard.
I love your softness and your strength. Your independence and your camaraderie. You are goofy and beautiful and crazy and make every day a story worth telling. I want to share everything good with you, and shield you from everything bad. I want to make a home with you that is the place we both want to be.
I want to make a family with you that is the exception to the rule. I want to fix every mistake and make a million more and always know that it's you and me, together, no matter what. I want us to be side by side for as long as we're lucky enough to live.
Heather, will you be part of my story, will you be my partner in crime, will you be my wife?

Harry: Heather, your turn.
Heather's Vows:

Derek, I hope that I tell you that I love you enough, because you've brought an unending fountain of joy into my life.
Today, here in a place that is so very special to the both of us, we've brought together our nearest and dearest, and if I wasn't so very nervous, I'd scream "I love you Derek Matthew Powazek" at the top of my lungs so that they, no, all of San Francisco could hear me.
You came into my life like a "coup de foudre" and from that moment I knew that you were the only one for me:
I love that you accept and sometimes only shudder at my madcap schemes and will always jump on the bed with me.
I love that you have become a champion of Chihuahuas everywhere. I love that you will sit through the most inane sci-fi flick to please me.
But more importantly,
I love your dedication, creativity and drive.
I love that you give voice to other people's stories.
I love the depth of feeling and connection you have for your family.
Through times both good and bad, we've made a wonderful home for ourselves full of laughter, passion, creativity, silliness, strength and support. And now, we're becoming family.
Derek, will you be my eternal love, will you be my family ... will you be my husband?

Harry Continues:
This is the point in the ceremony when I usually talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, having no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metal is liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees. Hot metal is poured into a mold, cooled, and then painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements.
Love is like that. It's hot, dirty work. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.
With that in mind, Eamon, may I have the rings?
Eamon brings the rings.
Derek, place the ring on Heather's finger and repeat after me:

With this ring / I thee wed / and pledge my life with yours.

Heather, place the ring on Derek's finger and repeat after me:

With this ring / I thee wed / and pledge my life with yours.

"I am the sky," says the Hindu bridegroom to the bride. "You are the earth. We are sky and earth united. You are my husband. You are my wife. My feet shall run because of you. My feet shall dance because of you. My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind think because of you. And I shall love because of you."

Heather and Derek, by the authority vested in me by the State of California, as a Commissioner of the Superior Court, it is my pleasure to pronounce you, spouses for life.

You may now kiss each other.

Families and friends, it is with great pleasure I introduce you to Mrs. Heather Powazek Champ and Mr. Derek Champ Powazek.
http://enamored.us/ceremony/

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Wedding Ceremony

2010-06-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Chris and Ponzi, I greet you. And to all of you, dearest family and friends, and on behalf of Chris and Ponzi, I welcome you as well.

Let your presence be welcome, let your hearts be glad, for everything there is a season, and a time and a purpose. And this is the time and this is the place to celebrate the wedding of Chris and Ponzi – and we are happy and we are grateful!

A wedding is a wonderful occasion. It is an important ritual filled with hopes, dreams and excitement… and one that celebrates the lives of two people and those they love… and one that celebrates different cultures and friends and beliefs from all around the world. We are here today to celebrate the love that Chris and Ponzi have for each other, and to recognize and witness their decision to journey forward in their lives as marriage partners.

Let us open our wedding ceremony by blessing this sacred space and with a blessing for Chris and Ponzi: May our couple, Chris and Ponzi, be blessed now and forevermore; may their love be nurtured by each other and all their friends and family, always and forever; may this marriage be cradled in their hands and nurtured by their love and devotion; may this man, Chris, grow strong in the arms of this woman, Ponzi; may this woman, Ponzi, grow glorious in the love of this man, Chris; may the earth be brought closer to heaven through this love; may all the world be blessed hereby.

For some time now, Chris and Ponzi have known and loved each other. They have been strengthened by their love and have received many blessings through its beauty and tenderness. Today and with conscious choice and great joy, Chris and Ponzi enter into the sacred partnership of marriage, vowing to be partners through the triumphs and trials – the ups and downs – of their shared life.
For those of us blessed by a true partnership of love, we feel safe in the presence of our loved one. There is no need to hide any part of ourselves for fear of being judged or rejected. We can just be together from moment to moment, fully recognizing that by freeing one another to be truly who they are, we are loving each other more.
Marriage is a reflection on our histories as well as on our future, on our losses as well as our hopes and possibilities. And so, as Chris and Ponzi wed, it is worthwhile to contemplate that they could not and would not be standing here today if they had not followed their own star home and done what they needed to do to deliver themselves to this point in their lives.
A true marriage is the ultimate relationship because it offers the opportunity of limitless intimacy between two people. It is a great and challenging adventure into the depths and heights of caring, affection, trust and understanding.
A true spiritual marriage is a journey of transformation. In marriage, we do not give ourselves to another, but rather surrender into something greater while maintaining our well-being as individuals. A truly sacred marriage union is a vehicle that allows us to know our true selves by reflection through our loved one.
And so, we celebrate with you, Chris and Ponzi, as you begin your precious, sacred and unique marriage journey as husband and wife. As life partners, your relationship is lovely in its innocence, mighty in its strength and abundant with possibilities. On behalf of your loved ones here this evening, our dearest wish for both of you is that you have the great good fortune to share happy marriage, and that you continue to light up the room for each other, for the rest of your lives.
Chris loves you very much, Ponzi, and he is so proud to become your husband this evening. From your very first meeting to all of your time together as your relationship has grown and matured… Chris is very confident in his choice of you as his life partner. In Chris's words: "We met each other online – what more could a geek want? Ponzi always has my best interests at heart, both personally and professionally. She is my soul mate."

And Chris, well, you are indeed one lucky guy! This wonderful woman standing before you loves you dearly and Ponzi is so honored to become your wife this evening. As Ponzi shared with me, "I love Chris most when he's just being himself – original, intelligent, lovable and silly. He never ceases to amaze and excite me with his passion. He makes me laugh and reminds me not to take life so seriously – something I unintentionally do. He's my perfect 'other half.'"

Chris and Ponzi, you give us hope and we are so delighted to be your witnesses tonight. We are touched by your happiness; we are moved by the courage of your love. And It gives us great joy to celebrate your wedding day with you.

I now turn to the parents of our groom, Joe and Judy – I know you take great pride in your son, Chris.and the love and respect you have for him he also feels for you. Chris and Ponzi are grateful to you both for raising Chris to be the man he is today and thank you for your part in their marriage. May we have your blessing on this occasion?

I now turn to the parents of our bride, Sam and Phyllis – I know that you take great pride in your daughter, Ponzi, and the love and respect you have for her, she also feels for you. Ponzi says that she got her sense of adventure from her mother and her sense of strength from her father.and perseverance from both. Chris and Ponzi thank you for your part in their marriage. May we have your blessing on this occasion?
Chris and Ponzi are absolutely delighted that all of you, their dearest family and friends, could be here tonight to share this special moment with them. They have asked me to thank each and very one of your for your love, appreciation and support… and for sharing this most special and intimate of moments with them, their wedding day. In Ponzi's words: "It's a dream to have all of you here to celebrate with us. I'm humbled by the love and friendship we have in this room. There are no words that can express the great fortune we have in the community you create for us to love and be loved in. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this special day with us."

I know that some of you have traveled far to be here this afternoon.Chris and Ponzi would especially like to acknowledge and welcome Ponzi's Grandmother, Bobbie Jo for making the trip here from North Carolina to be here this evening – welcome, Bobbie Jo.

And so, in your best voices, and with the words, "We Will," I now ask all of you, family and friends, if you are willing now and always to sustain and strengthen this marriage by upholding both Chris and Ponzi with your love and support.

Now I, Annemarie Juhlian, a non-denominational Celebrant, am duly authorized by law to officiate this, your marriage, according to the laws of Washington State.

Chris and Ponzi, since it is your intention to join in marriage..will you now please join your hands as well as your hearts?

Chris, will you have Ponzi to be your beloved wife, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope and love? Will you listen to her deepest thoughts, be tender-hearted and kind and wise in your daily care of her, and stand faithfully by her side in sickness and health? Choosing Ponzi above all others, will you undertake to care for her well being of mind and body and spirit, as long as you both shall live?

Ponzi, will you have Chris to be your beloved husband, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope and love? Will you listen to his deepest thoughts, be tender-hearted and kind and wise in your daily care of him, and stand faithfully by him side in sickness and health? Choosing Chris above all others, will you undertake to care for his well being of mind and body and spirit, as long as you both shall live?

And now, Chris and Ponzi will say the most powerful, most loving words two people can say to each other. They will take their wedding vows. And Chris and Ponzi have each written their vows that they will now share with each other and all of us.

So we come, Chris and Ponzi, to the presentation of the rings by which you symbolize and bind your love for each other. Your rings are adornments, carefully chosen for their beauty and simplicity. They quietly sit on your fingers, reminding you of the power of love and the pledge of your partnership and love.

And when you have been together for a long, long time, you will look at your rings, and you will feel the indentation they have made on your fingers. And you will know that these rings contain all of the memories of what your lives and your relationship have been.
Robert, may I have the Bride's ring, please?

Chris, please slip Ponzi's ring on her finger and repeat these words, phrase by phrase, after me… "Ponzi, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow to you. With all that I am and all that I have, I honor you."
Maryam, may I have the Groom's ring, please? "Ponzi, please slip Chris's ring on his finger and repeat these words, phrase by phrase, after me… "Chris, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow to you. With all that I am and all that I have, I honor you."

In ancient traditions, the signing of a marriage certificate symbolized the joining together of not only the couple but two families. In celebration of the vows that Chris and Ponzi have taken this evening, our couple along with their two witnesses, Robert and Maryam, will sign their marriage documents.

So as the marriage documents are signed, I invite all of you to send Chris and Ponzi and invisible wish, prayer or good thought as we launch them into their married life together…
Chris and Ponzi, on this sacred day, your wedding day, we ask that the love you share give you strength.
May the dreams you share bring you hope.
May the beliefs you share bring you peace.

And wherever you are in your journey through life, may your hearts always find their way home.

And as I am so very privileged to bring you together in marriage today, I have a personal wish for both of you. My wish is that many, many years from now you are able to look back on your life together – pleased, satisfied, and fulfilled – and that you are able to look at one another and be able to say: "Because of you, I have lived the life I've always wanted to life – because of you, I have become the person I always longed to be."

Chris and Ponzi – by the love that has brought you here today.by the vows you have exchanged and by the integrity of your commitment… in the presence of your dearest family and friends.it is my pleasure and my honor to pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your marriage with a kiss!

http://chris.pirillo.com/our-wedding-ceremony/

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Anniversary Ceremony

2010-06-01T16:33:00.001-07:00

10^th Wedding Anniversary

Rev. Bill Wiles

(Groom name and Bride Name), all of us gathered here today, your family, relations and friends; delighted to be able to share the happiness of this day with you. All married couples here today have an added reason for joy. Today, the renewal of your vows sparks off memories of their own wedding. It reminds them of the commitment they made to each other and that their marriage is a sacrament blessed by God.

And so, (Groom name and Bride Name) the renewal of your vows today is a reminder to them and yourselves to cherish and foster yours and their marriages once again today.

Who gives these two people to each other? (Grandkids say "We Do!")

A renewal of vows is a recommitment to each other. You have already made these pledges to each other, but sometimes we need to hear them again from time to time to rekindle those feelings that the trapment of everyday life leads us to forget.

With that being said, (Groom), do you reaffirm the vows you made to (Bride) ten years ago to love, cherish, support and defend her for as long as you both shall live? (Groom says "I Do!")

(Bride), do you also reaffirm the vows you made to (Groom) those same long, long ten years ago (Pause for laughter) to love, cherish, support and defend him for as long as you both shall live? (Bride says "I Do!")

By the power vested in me by God, go and live the rest of your fruitful life with peace, love and commitment to each other!

(Groom), you may kiss your bride again!

Written By:

Rev Bill Wiles

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