Closer Than Ever Before
Bride and Groom, today you are surrounded by your friends and family, all of whom are gathered to witness your marriage and to share in the joy of this occasion which should e one of the most memorable and happy days of your life.
Life h as no singular meaning, so much as it is composed of many meaningful events, some of wh ich can be specified and planned for, one of these events is marriage.
As you know, no priest, no rabbi, no public official can marry you. Only you can marry yourselves. By a mutual commitment to love each other, to work toward creating an atmosphere of care, consideration and respect, by a willingness to face the tension and anxieties that underline human life, you make your wedded life come alive.
On this day of your marriage, you stand somewhat apart from all other human beings. You stand within the charmed circle of your love; and this is as it should be. But, love is not meant to be the possession of two people alone.
Rather, it should serve as a source of common energy, as a form in which you find the strength to live your lives with courage. From this day forward you must be closer together than ever before, you must love one another in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, but at the same time your love should give you the strength to stand apart, to seek out your unique destinies, to make your special contributions to the world which is always a part of us and more than us.
Today, as you join yourselves in marriage, there is a vast and unknown future stretching out before you. The possibilities and potentials of your married life are great; it now falls on your shoulders the task of choosing values and making real moral dreams that other men and women have engendered and died for. In this way, you will create the meaning of your life. If your love is vital, it will make the choosing and acting easier for you.
Let Us Pray:
Almighty God, may we have your presence at this ceremony of marriage, in order that you, Dear Lord, may guide these two individuals in the glorious and happy ways of married life. Teach them to live the life of love and honor and to have them be ever respectful of each other. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Groom, will you take Bride as your wife, to live with her in the honorable relation of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and will you live for her, before all others as long as you both shall live?
Groom: I will.
Bride, will you take Groom as your husband, to live with him in the honorable relation of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and will you live for him, before all others as long as you both shall live?
Bride: I will.
Please face each other, joining right hands as a symbol of your union.
Groom, will you then repeat after me?
I, Groom, take you, Bride, to be my wife, to live with you from this day forward, for better, for worse, in plenty and in want; in strength and in weakness; to love and to cherish, so long as we both shall live.
Bride, will you then repeat after me?
I, Bride, take you, Groom, to be my husband, to live with you from this day forward, for better, for worse, in plenty and in want; in strength and in weakness; to love and to cherish, so long as we both shall live.
You have told me that you wish to exchange rings as a token of the commitments you are making to each other.
Groom, will you take the ring you have and place it on Bride's finger and repeat after me.
With this ring, I pledge you my love.
Bride, will you take the ring you have and place it on Groom's finger and repeat after me.
With this ring, I pledge you my love.
Optional: (One of these unification ceremonies listed below may be included in your regular ceremony at no extra charge. Two or more unification ceremonies are an additional charge).
Groom and bride, having declared in the prsence of these witnesses that you take one another as husband and wife, and having symbolized your marriage by the joining of hands and the giving and acceptance of rings; now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me, I do now declare in the presence of these witnesses that you are husband and wife.
You may seal your promises with a kiss.
It is my honor to present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. ____________.
Unification Ceremonies:
