Introduction:
Love is the reason we are here. In marriage we not only say, “I love you today”, but also, “I promise to love you for all of our tomorrows.” Groom and Bride, in the days ahead of you, there will be stormy times and good times, times of conflict and times of joy.
I ask you to remember this advice:
Never go to bed angry.
Let your love be stronger than your anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than to break.
Believe the best of your beloved— rather than the worst.
Confide in your partner and ask for help when you need it.
Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.
Give your spouse the same courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.
Say “I love you” every day.
Declaration of Intent:
Groom and Bride, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift, a lifelong commitment, and a challenge to love one another more completely each and every day.
Please join hands and look into each other’s eyes.
Groom, with this understanding, do you take Bride to be your wedded wife to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health,forsaking all others and to be faithful only to her, so long as you both shall live? Please answer, I do- Groom: “I do.”
Bride, with this understanding, do you take Groom to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,forsaking all others and to be faithful only to him, so long as you both shall live? Please answer, I do- Bride: “I do.”
Vows
We’ve come to the point of your ceremony where you’re going to say your vows to one another.
Before you do, I ask you to remember that love – which is rooted in faith, trust, and acceptance – will be the foundation of an abiding and deepening relationship. No other ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those you now assume.
Bride, we will start with your promise- please repeat after me:
I, Bride, take you, Groom to be my husband. To share all that I am and all that I have, for all time to come. And I promise to do all in my power to keep my love as deep and as strong as it is today.
Groom, please repeat after me:
I, Groom, take you, Bride, to be my wife. To share all that I am and all that I have, for all time to come. And I promise to do all in my power to keep my love as deep and as strong as it is today.
Rings:
These rings are symbols of eternity and the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end. Today you have chosen to exchange rings, as a sign of your love for each other, and as a seal of the promises you make this day.
Groom, as you place this ring on Bride’s finger, repeat these words after me:
This ring, a gift for you symbolizes my desire that you be my wife from this day forward.
As this ring has no end neither shall my love for you.
Bride, as you place this ring on Groom’s finger, repeat these words after me:
This ring, a gift for you, symbolizes my desire that you be my husband from this day forward. As this ring has no end neither shall my love for you.
Reading:
The bride and groom have chosen a reading by E.E. Cummings, I carry your heart with me
I carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it
(anywhere I go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate
(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world
(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart
(i carry it in my heart)
Challenge to the Bride and Groom:
Groom and Bride, in your journey of life together, remind yourselves often of the love that brought you together. Give the highest priority to your love. When challenges come, remember to focus on what is right between you. In this way, you can ride out the storms. And when clouds hide the sun in your lives – remember, even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is always there.
Apache 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 there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there are three lives before you; His life, Her life and Your life together.
Pronouncement:
Groom and Bride, you have consented together in holy matrimony before your friends and family, have pledged your vows to each other, and have exchanged rings as tokens of your love and commitment to each other. In accordance with the laws of the state of Illinois, and with great joy, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may seal your vows with a kiss!
I’m pleased to introduce to you for the first time, Mr and Mrs!
