Introduction
Good morning, and welcome to the ceremony that will unite [Insert Name]
and [Insert Name] 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 [Insert
Name] and [Insert Name] 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 [Insert Name] and [Insert Name]’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 [Insert Name] and [Insert Name] are now taking a new
form as a married couple, and in this form, they become part of their
community in a new way.
Vows
[Insert Name], repeat after me:
I [Insert Name] take you [Insert Name] to be my Spouse
I promise above all else to live in truth with you and to communicate fully and fearlessly
I give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace
and pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor as I join my life to yours.
[Insert Name], repeat after me:
I [Insert Name] take you [Insert Name] to be my Spouse
I promise above all else to live in truth with you and to communicate fully and fearlessly
I give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace
and pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor as I join my life to yours.
Presentation of Rings
For thousands of years lovers have exchanged rings as a token of their
vows. These simple bands are not of great value in themselves, but are
made precious by our wearing of them. Your rings say that even in your
uniqueness you have chosen to be bound together. Let these rings also be
a sign that love has a strength as well as substance, a present as well
as a past, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle
of happiness, wonder, and delight.
Please take your rings and put them on each other’s finger, and repeat after me:
Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is eternal/
Just as it is made of indestructible substance/
My commitment to you will never fail/
With this ring I take you to be my trusted confidante and partner for life.
Pronouncement
(Apache Wedding Blessing)
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 for the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life inside you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter the days of your life together.
And may your days be good, and long upon the earth.
[Insert Name] and [Insert Name], although I’m officiating here today, it
is not truly in my power to sanctify, legitimize or bless your
relationship in any way, because the two of you have already done that
in your hearts. So, by joining hands right now and looking into each
other’s eyes, let it be known that you are joined, body and mind in this
lifetime, and that this bond is to be cherished and eternal.
And now that you have stood before me and exchanged these rings and
these vows, and have agreed to be united according to the laws of the
State of Idaho, it gives me gives me great pleasure to pronounce that
you are….married. Congratulations!
