We Believe All People Regardless Of Race, Gender, Or Sexual Orientation
Have The Right To Marry.
Every Couple United In Marriage Has The Right To Choose Ceremonial
Observations & Who Will Conduct That Sacred Right.
Customized Ceremony Scripts For Every Couple
Have The Right To Marry.
Every Couple United In Marriage Has The Right To Choose Ceremonial
Observations & Who Will Conduct That Sacred Right.
Customized Ceremony Scripts For Every Couple
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choose your officiant, script, and ceremony music
~Traditional Vows Or Personalized & Unique Like You~
~Traditional Vows Or Personalized & Unique Like You~
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CEREMONY OPENER
Marriage is a supreme sharing, perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyful uniting of a man and a woman whose care and affection have flowered into a deep and abiding love. Those who take its sacred vows have their lives blended into one, just as the waters of two rivers are joined, they come together to form an even greater one. It is not a giving up or losing oneself, but rather a giving into something greater-a transformation of self in which each can say, "I am no longer I but also We." It is a process in which each can be challenged to discover new possibilities in themselves and each other. For the lives the two of you have lived up until this moment are, in some sense, now completed and over.
Together you now live within the creation of something new, something which has never existed before - your miraculous marriage-an expression that is at once public and private, precious, sacred, and truly unique to the two of you.
No ceremony can create your marriage. Only you can do that-through love, patience, dedication, perseverance-through talking and listening and trying to understand-through helping and supporting and believing in each other-through learning to forgive, learning to respect and appreciate your differences, and learning to make the important things matter and letting go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you have made to begin a new life today as husband and wife.
Together you now live within the creation of something new, something which has never existed before - your miraculous marriage-an expression that is at once public and private, precious, sacred, and truly unique to the two of you.
No ceremony can create your marriage. Only you can do that-through love, patience, dedication, perseverance-through talking and listening and trying to understand-through helping and supporting and believing in each other-through learning to forgive, learning to respect and appreciate your differences, and learning to make the important things matter and letting go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you have made to begin a new life today as husband and wife.
TRADITIONAL CEREMONY
We are gathered here to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, the joining of two hearts, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite this couple in marriage.
Who Gives This Woman To Be Married? (optional)
Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love, and are finalizing it with their wedding. A good marriage must be created. It is never being too old to hold hands. It's remembering to say I love you every day. It's not just marrying the right person, it's being the right partner.
REPEAT AFTER ME
I, ________ take you ________ to be my wife, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I, ________ take you ________ to be my husband, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
________ do you take ________ to be your lawfully wedded wife? I DO
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her as long as you both shall live? I DO
________ do you take ________ to be your lawfully wedded husband? I DO
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him as long as you both shall live? I DO
Wedding rings are an unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this couple in marriage.
GROOM: This ring is my promise that I will love, honor, and cherish you all the days of my life. With this ring, I thee wed.
BRIDE: This ring is my promise that I will love, honor, and cherish you all the days of my life. With this ring, I thee wed.
By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
LADIES & GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU MR. AND MRS. __________
Who Gives This Woman To Be Married? (optional)
Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love, and are finalizing it with their wedding. A good marriage must be created. It is never being too old to hold hands. It's remembering to say I love you every day. It's not just marrying the right person, it's being the right partner.
REPEAT AFTER ME
I, ________ take you ________ to be my wife, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I, ________ take you ________ to be my husband, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
________ do you take ________ to be your lawfully wedded wife? I DO
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her as long as you both shall live? I DO
________ do you take ________ to be your lawfully wedded husband? I DO
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him as long as you both shall live? I DO
Wedding rings are an unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this couple in marriage.
GROOM: This ring is my promise that I will love, honor, and cherish you all the days of my life. With this ring, I thee wed.
BRIDE: This ring is my promise that I will love, honor, and cherish you all the days of my life. With this ring, I thee wed.
By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
LADIES & GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU MR. AND MRS. __________
SPECIAL READINGS
SOMEDAY IS NOW
You have known each other from the first glance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of YES to this moment of YES, you've been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All of those conversations while riding in a car, over a meal, or during long walks.....all those sentences that began with "When we're married" and continued with "I will, You will, and We will". The late night talks that included "Someday" "Somehow" "Maybe" and all the promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these things and more are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, all those things we promised, hoped, and dreamed .... I meant it all, every word.
Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you've been many things to each other: acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dance partner, and even teacher; for you have learned much from each other in the last few years. Now you shall say a few words to take you across a threshold of life and things will never quite be the same. For after these vows, you will say to the world: This is my husband - This is my wife.
THESE HANDS
These are the hands of your partner. Young, strong, and full of love; holding hands as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will hold and comfort you in grief and uncertainty. These are the hands that will countless times, wipe tears of sorrow and joy from your eyes. These are the hands that will hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength. These are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still reach for yours, still give you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
What is real? asked the Rabbit one day, as they were lying side by side near the nursery fender before Nana came to tidy the room. Does it mean having things buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?
Real isn't how you are made, said the Skin Horse. It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time .... not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real.
Does it hurt? asked the Rabbit.
Sometimes, said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. When you are real, you don't mind being hurt.
Does it happen all at once?....Like being wound up? he asked, or bit by bit?
It doesn't happen all at once, said the Skin Horse. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are REAL, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all. For once you are REAL, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
QUOTE BY ALBERT EINSTEIN
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute.
That's Relativity.
You have known each other from the first glance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of YES to this moment of YES, you've been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All of those conversations while riding in a car, over a meal, or during long walks.....all those sentences that began with "When we're married" and continued with "I will, You will, and We will". The late night talks that included "Someday" "Somehow" "Maybe" and all the promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these things and more are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, all those things we promised, hoped, and dreamed .... I meant it all, every word.
Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you've been many things to each other: acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dance partner, and even teacher; for you have learned much from each other in the last few years. Now you shall say a few words to take you across a threshold of life and things will never quite be the same. For after these vows, you will say to the world: This is my husband - This is my wife.
THESE HANDS
These are the hands of your partner. Young, strong, and full of love; holding hands as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will hold and comfort you in grief and uncertainty. These are the hands that will countless times, wipe tears of sorrow and joy from your eyes. These are the hands that will hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength. These are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still reach for yours, still give you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
What is real? asked the Rabbit one day, as they were lying side by side near the nursery fender before Nana came to tidy the room. Does it mean having things buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?
Real isn't how you are made, said the Skin Horse. It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time .... not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real.
Does it hurt? asked the Rabbit.
Sometimes, said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. When you are real, you don't mind being hurt.
Does it happen all at once?....Like being wound up? he asked, or bit by bit?
It doesn't happen all at once, said the Skin Horse. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are REAL, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all. For once you are REAL, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
QUOTE BY ALBERT EINSTEIN
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute.
That's Relativity.
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IRISH POEM
God bless this man and wife and may their marriage be blessed. Bless the hearth, the table too, and bless each place of rest. Bless each door that opens wide to stranger, kith, and kin. Bless each shining window pane that lets the sun shine in. Bless the roof and tree up above. Bless every solid wall, the peace of man, the peace of love, the peace of God on all. |
Kristina & Keith Holten's Special Reading
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SCRIPTURE READING
ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER 4, VERSES 9-12
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER 4, VERSES 9-12
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
ACTIVITIES
PARTNER'S PAINTING
This is a ceremony option we came up with that combines each person's creativity and becomes a true piece of art in your home. Use your wedding colors or your favorite colors and bring them together, to symbolize the act of you both coming together on your wedding day.
We suggest painting your newly shared last name or your combined initials. You could also each paint a word that signifies your individual sentiment of your relationship. Paint a basic shape such as a heart or a tree, for the more artistic.
This is a ceremony option we came up with that combines each person's creativity and becomes a true piece of art in your home. Use your wedding colors or your favorite colors and bring them together, to symbolize the act of you both coming together on your wedding day.
We suggest painting your newly shared last name or your combined initials. You could also each paint a word that signifies your individual sentiment of your relationship. Paint a basic shape such as a heart or a tree, for the more artistic.
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Blending Colors Together
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WARMING OF THE RINGS
Wedding rings are the most visible sign of the bond these two people are about to make. A commitment of life, to each other, and to the future. Before ________ and ________ say their vows and exchange rings, they have asked that the people before them participate in a warming of the rings ceremony.
Hold their rings for a moment, take the opportunity to wish them your love, making a silent wish for the future this couple will share. When returned, these rings will contain in their precious metals that which is all the more precious---your love and pledge of support for their union.
TYING THE KNOT
Today we will modernize the ancient tradition of tying the knot.
This ribbon represents the timeline of your lives as one. Life is not simple and each day is not the same. It is filled with times of joy, challenges, pain, laughter, hope, new experiences, and the opportunity to share those moments with a chosen partner. Take this ribbon, with each one of you holding an end. Intertwine it until you create a knot. The knot signifies a moment in your timeline, this very moment, a moment you share together which is now stronger than it was before. Now pass the ribbon to your bridesmaids to create a knot. Bridesmaids, please hand the ribbon to the groomsmen so that everyone who is honored to be part of this couple's wedding can add even greater strength to this marriage.
After everyone completes their knots, please return it to the Bride & Groom. Notice that the knots are nearly impossible to undo. If you were able to untie the knots, the ribbon would never be the same. In fact, the ribbon would become much weaker and susceptible to damage from anything in its environment. But this ribbon, it has the encouragement and a close bond created by the people who will be the support you need in difficult times. May the material always serve to remind you of their presence in your wedding, your life, and the love and wishes of prosperity throughout the timeline of your new lives together as husband and wife.
THE ROSE EXCHANGE
The rose is known as the romantic flower of love and a single rose has always meant the same thing: the words, I Love You! Your roses serve as the best first gifts to each other. As you exchange these graceful symbols of love, it may seem as if you haven't done anything at all. Just a moment ago, you were holding one small rose. Now you're still just holding one small, ever so elegant rose. In some ways your roses are like a wedding ceremony. Just like these roses, tomorrow may seem no different than yesterday. But in fact, today.....just now, you have both given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life. One that we all hope you will always remember - the gift of true abiding love within the devotion of marriage. ________ and ________, I ask that wherever you make your future home together, whether it be a large elegant home or a small graceful one, that you choose a special location for your roses. On each anniversary of this wonderful occasion, that you meet and exchange a fresh, new rose as a symbol of your commitment to your marriage. And as a re-commitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love.
CHRYSANTHEMUM GIFT TO MOTHERS
The chrysanthemum is a flower that is both beautiful and has many meanings across the globe. In Asia, the mum signifies life and rebirth. While in America, it stands for respect and honor. In general, chrysanthemums are believed to represent happiness, love, longevity, and joy.
__________ (Groom's Mother) and __________ (Bride's Mother)
________ (Groom) and ________ (Bride) give you these flowers today to represent their respect, honor, and love for you.
UNITY CANDLE
________ and ________, together as you light this candle of unity, you symbolize the flame of your own individual selves joining to ignite the partnership and unity of marriage. You also bring warmth, strength, comfort, and wisdom of your family's fire as kindling for your own. The flames that were once separate, now feed the same fire. From this day onward, may you bask in the beauty of the light of your love. May its light shine brightly upon your path together and may the heat become an eternal flame that will comfort you all the days of your lives and beyond.
SAND CEREMONY
________ and ________, together as you pour your individual jars of sand, you symbolize your differences joining to develop the foundation of your marriage. It's common knowledge that the foundation of any structure is the biggest component to its longevity. As the sand comes together, so does your love, strength, trust, and wisdom to create something beautiful. From this day forward, may you gaze at the beauty of your creation which shall remain all the days of your lives.
Wedding rings are the most visible sign of the bond these two people are about to make. A commitment of life, to each other, and to the future. Before ________ and ________ say their vows and exchange rings, they have asked that the people before them participate in a warming of the rings ceremony.
Hold their rings for a moment, take the opportunity to wish them your love, making a silent wish for the future this couple will share. When returned, these rings will contain in their precious metals that which is all the more precious---your love and pledge of support for their union.
TYING THE KNOT
Today we will modernize the ancient tradition of tying the knot.
This ribbon represents the timeline of your lives as one. Life is not simple and each day is not the same. It is filled with times of joy, challenges, pain, laughter, hope, new experiences, and the opportunity to share those moments with a chosen partner. Take this ribbon, with each one of you holding an end. Intertwine it until you create a knot. The knot signifies a moment in your timeline, this very moment, a moment you share together which is now stronger than it was before. Now pass the ribbon to your bridesmaids to create a knot. Bridesmaids, please hand the ribbon to the groomsmen so that everyone who is honored to be part of this couple's wedding can add even greater strength to this marriage.
After everyone completes their knots, please return it to the Bride & Groom. Notice that the knots are nearly impossible to undo. If you were able to untie the knots, the ribbon would never be the same. In fact, the ribbon would become much weaker and susceptible to damage from anything in its environment. But this ribbon, it has the encouragement and a close bond created by the people who will be the support you need in difficult times. May the material always serve to remind you of their presence in your wedding, your life, and the love and wishes of prosperity throughout the timeline of your new lives together as husband and wife.
THE ROSE EXCHANGE
The rose is known as the romantic flower of love and a single rose has always meant the same thing: the words, I Love You! Your roses serve as the best first gifts to each other. As you exchange these graceful symbols of love, it may seem as if you haven't done anything at all. Just a moment ago, you were holding one small rose. Now you're still just holding one small, ever so elegant rose. In some ways your roses are like a wedding ceremony. Just like these roses, tomorrow may seem no different than yesterday. But in fact, today.....just now, you have both given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life. One that we all hope you will always remember - the gift of true abiding love within the devotion of marriage. ________ and ________, I ask that wherever you make your future home together, whether it be a large elegant home or a small graceful one, that you choose a special location for your roses. On each anniversary of this wonderful occasion, that you meet and exchange a fresh, new rose as a symbol of your commitment to your marriage. And as a re-commitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love.
CHRYSANTHEMUM GIFT TO MOTHERS
The chrysanthemum is a flower that is both beautiful and has many meanings across the globe. In Asia, the mum signifies life and rebirth. While in America, it stands for respect and honor. In general, chrysanthemums are believed to represent happiness, love, longevity, and joy.
__________ (Groom's Mother) and __________ (Bride's Mother)
________ (Groom) and ________ (Bride) give you these flowers today to represent their respect, honor, and love for you.
UNITY CANDLE
________ and ________, together as you light this candle of unity, you symbolize the flame of your own individual selves joining to ignite the partnership and unity of marriage. You also bring warmth, strength, comfort, and wisdom of your family's fire as kindling for your own. The flames that were once separate, now feed the same fire. From this day onward, may you bask in the beauty of the light of your love. May its light shine brightly upon your path together and may the heat become an eternal flame that will comfort you all the days of your lives and beyond.
SAND CEREMONY
________ and ________, together as you pour your individual jars of sand, you symbolize your differences joining to develop the foundation of your marriage. It's common knowledge that the foundation of any structure is the biggest component to its longevity. As the sand comes together, so does your love, strength, trust, and wisdom to create something beautiful. From this day forward, may you gaze at the beauty of your creation which shall remain all the days of your lives.
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BREAKING THE GLASS
The final act of this ceremony is the shattering of the glass. This old custom has many traditions with many interpretations. Today, the fragility of the glass suggests the frailty of human relationships. Before you both walked down the aisle, you were different than you will be at the end of this ceremony. Just as permanent and final as the breaking of this glass is unchangeable, for it cannot go back to the way it was. The glass is broken to signify the change you both have just made and also to protect this marriage. May your bond of love be as difficult to break as it would be to put back together the pieces of glass. Knowing that this marriage is permanent, ________ and ________ should strive every day to show each other love, respect, and happiness. ________ (Bride), place the glass on the floor between the two of you and take ________ (Groom's) hand. ________ (Groom) will stomp on the glass. After he breaks the glass, I want everyone to shout "CONGRATULATIONS!"
CEREMONY CLOSINGS
TAKE A MOMENT
Before I pronounce you husband and wife, I have one more thing I want you to do. Please take each other's hands.
Your wedding day will fly by.....filled with dancing, conversations and photos with loved ones, and cake. We can't forget about the cake. Take a few seconds to look into each other's eyes and create your own special moment. Without speaking a word, the two of you are communicating at your deepest level. You may not have known until now, but this is the moment you have been anticipating and dreaming of as you planned your wedding. You're sharing your excitement of what is to come with such an intense feeling of love, yet you can't really explain it. In fact, your connection is so overwhelming that, even though neither of you have spoken, we are all interpreting your language and beginning to feel like a part of us joined you in your moment of unspoken love.
THANK YOUR GUESTS
________ and ________, please turn and face your family and friends. ________ and ________ stand now before those they love who love them back. Those who have raised them, taught them, supported them, and shaped them. Most importantly, those who have given them not only the capacity to love, but to understand it and the desire to return it. Because of that they are able to stand across from each other - to take the limitless wealth that you have all given them in spirit, in time, in love - and return it. Not just to each other and all of you, but to the memory of those passed. And to the hope for those yet to be.
________ and ________ both knowing that language often fails emotion, simply say to you, "Thank You"
Before I pronounce you husband and wife, I have one more thing I want you to do. Please take each other's hands.
Your wedding day will fly by.....filled with dancing, conversations and photos with loved ones, and cake. We can't forget about the cake. Take a few seconds to look into each other's eyes and create your own special moment. Without speaking a word, the two of you are communicating at your deepest level. You may not have known until now, but this is the moment you have been anticipating and dreaming of as you planned your wedding. You're sharing your excitement of what is to come with such an intense feeling of love, yet you can't really explain it. In fact, your connection is so overwhelming that, even though neither of you have spoken, we are all interpreting your language and beginning to feel like a part of us joined you in your moment of unspoken love.
THANK YOUR GUESTS
________ and ________, please turn and face your family and friends. ________ and ________ stand now before those they love who love them back. Those who have raised them, taught them, supported them, and shaped them. Most importantly, those who have given them not only the capacity to love, but to understand it and the desire to return it. Because of that they are able to stand across from each other - to take the limitless wealth that you have all given them in spirit, in time, in love - and return it. Not just to each other and all of you, but to the memory of those passed. And to the hope for those yet to be.
________ and ________ both knowing that language often fails emotion, simply say to you, "Thank You"
