(Please note that any readings, vows, prayers and any other ceremony elements can be changed, rearranged, substituted, deleted or added as necessary.)
~ Welcome and Introduction ~
Minister: Ladies and Gentlemen, today we have gathered together to celebrate the marriage of (Bride) and (Groom).
Love is both humankind’s highest achievement and life’s greatest gift. With love it is possible to live a life together, each seeking the joy, the comfort, the health, and the enrichment of the other.
(Bride) and (Groom) come here today to pledge their love and to celebrate the joining of their lives in this covenant of marriage. The rest of us have gathered here to be witnesses to the vows that are about to be spoken, to celebrate the courage, caring and commitment expressed in the rituals of this ceremony, and to bless this union that (Bride) and (Groom) are about to enter.
To quote the film When Harry Met Sally, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” And being that (Bride) and (Groom) would like to start the rest of their lives together as soon as possible, we will proceed right on to the wedding vows.
~ Vows ~
OPTION 1:
Minister: (Bride), (Groom), I ask you now to join your hands together and to pledge to one another the vows.
(Bride), do you take (Groom) to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and protect him and forsaking all others to be faithful to him until death do you apart?
(Bride): I Do.
Minister: (Groom), do you take (Bride) to be your Wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and protect her and forsaking all others to be faithful to her until death do you apart?
(Groom): I Do.
OR OPTION 2:
Minister: (Bride), repeat after me:
I, (Bride), take you, (Groom) to be my husband, and my better. I will take care and cherish our relationship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will always be open, honest, and faithful to you. I take you for my husband, to have and to hold from this day on, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all the days of my life and until my last breath.
(Groom), repeat after me:
I, (Groom), take you, (Bride), to be my wife, and my better. I will take care and cherish our relationship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will always be open, honest, and faithful to you. I take you for my wife, to have and to hold from this day on, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all the days of my life and until my last breath.
~ Exchange of Rings ~
Minister: And now, (Bride) and (Groom), you will exchange wedding rings. These rings, which have no beginning and no end, symbolize the love and trust between you that will never cease. May its presence on your hand remind you of your love and vows to one another.
~ Pronouncement and Kiss ~
Minister: (Bride) and (Groom) now that you have been joined together in marriage, may you strive always to meet this commitment with the same spirit you now exhibit.
May the happiness that you have brought to this hour never lose its freshness, but ripen into fuller flower and deepen until it is absorbed into the very roots of your being. May you grow ever closer from this day forward, in work and in play, in hope and in counsel, in laughter and in tears.
And above all, may you always be present for one another, be available to one another, and listen to one another – and listen to not only what is said, but what is unsaid, for sometimes what is felt in the heart cannot be spoken by words. So be present, and when in doubt, turn inward for the highest answers, turn to each other for clarity and understanding, and place your love for one another higher in importance than any challenge you may face, for there will be challenges, both internal and external. But through all of the challenges, the changes and chances of life, may you always remain true helpers and true partners to each other.
Until now you have spent each moment of your lives as separate individuals. But from this day on, and every day after, your each moment shall be shared and spent as one. By the power vested in me, and by the power vested in all of us present, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now express your commitment of love for one another with a kiss.
((Groom) and (Bride) kiss.)
Minister: Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. (Last Name)!
All-Faith Wedding Minister 