A SIMPLE CEREMONY (a ten minute ceremony)
A CALL TO CELEBRATION
To all the family and friends of Groom and Bride, I welcome you here to share with them their joy as they pledge the vows which will unite them in marriage. Let us all join in our love and support of Groom and Bride, with our best wishes for their everlasting happiness.
ADDRESS
Marriage is one of the most important obligations that any two people can commit to in their lifetime. Marriage offers the greatest of challenges to overcome, but, in return, marriage gives love, strength and support from one another. It is the couple who preserves and demonstrates unrelenting patience and faith who obtain the highest form of happiness within their marriage.
A good marriage is dependent upon many factors, but the first prerequisite is a strong bond of friendship and respect for one another. Your love for each other will grow with each passing day, but a genuine liking for each other, the willingness to accept each others strong and weak points with understanding and respect, is the foundation of a strong marriage.
Reaing ( A special reading may be inserted)
Prayer (Optional)
Question of Intent
The vows which you are about to exchange serve as a verbal representation of the love you pledge to each other. For it is not the words you speak which will bond you together as one, but it is the inner sense of love and commitment that each of you feels within your heart and soul.
Groom, do you take Bride to be your wife? Do you promise to love and respect her and share all life has to offer...your hopes and dreams...your achievements and disappointments with her from this day forward?
Groom: I do.
Bride, do you take Groom to be your husband? Do you promise to love and respect him and share all life has to offer...your hopes and dreams...your achievements and disappointments with him from this day forward?
Bride: I do.
Exchange of Vows and Rings
May I have the rings please?
May these rings always remain a symbol of the covenant which you now make, and may your love be as endless as the circle in which these rings are formed.
Groom, please place your ring on Bride's finger and repeat after me:
I, Groom, take you, Bride, just as you are above all others, to share my life. I give you this ring as a symbol of our everlasting love.
Bride, please place your ring on Groom's finger and repeat after me:
I, Bride, take you, Groom, just as you are above all others, to share my life. I give you this ring as a symbol of our everlasting 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).
Pronouncement
By virtue of the authority given me by the state of Michigan, and in conformity with the law, I pronounce that you are husband and wife. May you live together in blissful happiness from this day forward.
You may kiss the bride!
Presentation
I present to you Mr. and Mrs. ________.
Unification Ceremonies:
