This is our Pre-Written Classic Secular Wedding Ceremony #3. Words in italics are spoken by the Bride and Groom. Words in
{ } are spoken by the Justice of the Peace to the guests, and generally explain what is happening or about to happen in the ceremony. All other words are spoken by the JP directly addressing the Bride and Groom, and/or the guests.
Processional
Opening Words
Good morning/afternoon/evening, and welcome to the ceremony that will unite Bride and Groom in marriage. We gather here today to celebrate their union, and to honor their commitment to not just gazing at one another, but to looking outward together in the same direction. Today Groom and Bride proclaim their love to the world, and we rejoice with and for them.
In marriage, we give ourselves freely and generously into the hands of the one we love, and in doing so, each of us receives the love and trust of the other as our most precious gift. But even as that gift is shared by two people who are in love, it also touches the friends and family members who in various ways support and contribute to the relationship. All of you are Bride and Groom's community, and each of you has played some part in bringing them to this moment. This is why gathering as a community is such an important part of a wedding ceremony. Because Groom and Bride are now taking a new form as a married couple, and in this form, they become part of their community in a new way.
Bride and Groom, we are here to remember and rejoice with you and to recount with one another that it is love that guides us on our path, and to celebrate as you begin this journey together. It is in this spirit that you have come here today to exchange these vows.
Expression of Intent
{At this time, Bride and Groom will make public their intention to marry...}
Groom & Bride, please join hands.
If you, Groom, and you, Bride, have freely and deliberately chosen each other as partners, and you know of no just cause why you may not be so united, please turn and face each other, and take each other's hands.
Do you, Groom's Full Name, solemnly declare in the presence of these witnesses that you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? If so, please answer I do.
Groom: I do!
Will you love her, comfort her, honor her, keep her in sickness and in health, and cherish her until death do you part? If so, please answer I will.
Groom: I will.!
Do you, Bride's Full Name, solemnly declare in the presence of these witnesses that you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? If so, please answer I do.
Bride: I do.!
Will you love him, comfort him, honor him, keep him in sickness and in health, and cherish him until death do you part? If so, please answer I will.
Bride: I will!
Vows and Exchange of the Rings
{And now, Bride and Groom will say their vows and will exchange their wedding rings...}
Groom, please repeat after me:
I, Groom, take you, Bride, to be my wife, my faithful partner in life, my constant friend and my one true love. I promise to love you without reservation, in good times and in bad, in plenty and in want, to stand together in our times of joy and sorrow, always to be open and honest with you, for as long as we both shall live.
Bride, please repeat after me:
I, Bride, take you, Groom, to be my husband, my faithful partner in life, my constant friend and my one true love. I promise to love you without reservation, in good times and in bad, in plenty and in want, to stand together in our times of joy and sorrow, always to be open and honest with you, for as long as we both shall live.
Word About the Rings
The wedding ring is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Groom & Bride give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their life one, to work at all times to create a love that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end.
Ring Vows
Groom, please repeat after me:
Bride, I give you this ring with all that I have, and all that I am. It represents my love for you and, as that, it shows no beginning and no end. I ask that you wear it as an outward symbol of my love, and that it may remind you, and show to others, how much you mean to me.
Bride, please repeat after me:
Groom, I give you this ring with all that I have, and all that I am. It represents my love for you and, as that, it shows no beginning and no end. I ask that you wear it as an outward symbol of my love, and that it may remind you, and show to others, how much you mean to me.
Consecration
May today's celebration remain with you as a sign of the partnership you have formed. We hope that you will grow and change with circumstance. We hope that you will not be afraid of making mistakes and that you will always be open and honest with each other. We trust that you will learn to accept the changes of life and its wonder — as at this moment you accept the joy of being married. May the love that you feel and share with us today continue to grow deeper and stronger.
Pronouncement of Marriage
{At this time we come to the Pronouncement of Marriage. The Pronouncement is my public, and legal, proclamation that Bride and Groom are married. It is the exact moment of Marriage...}
Inasmuch as Groom and Bride 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, by the power vested in me by the State of New Hampshire 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 each of you will be companion to the other.
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!
Permission to Kiss
Congratulations, you may kiss!
Presentation of the New Couple
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce to you...
Mr. & Mrs.___________________
Recessional
Please
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