WEDDING GUIDE
I hope that this
guide will inspire couples to be actively involved in creating the ceremony
that best expresses their love and commitment. The guide offers many examples
of addresses, vows, and other elements of weddings that I have performed. There
are no "magic words" that must be uttered in every wedding-- there is
a great deal of room for creativity. You are encouraged to write as much of
your wedding as you wish, or to choose elements of your wedding from other
sources.
I'm a progressive Christian pastor. This means that while I am a follower of Jesus, I don't think the Christian way to God is necessarily superior
to other religions. I am open to
including elements of other religious traditions - Christian or not - in
marriage ceremonies at which I officiate. For more about what it means to be "progressive",
see The Center for Progressive Christianity.
In this guide, there are many options for each part of the
ceremony. The different options
are numbered, and you can choose them by their numbers if you wish. Here are some examples:
Some choices for an informal, personal style of wedding ceremony:
Reading: #4, Vows: #9, Rings: #2, Pronouncement: #2, Benediction:
#2
Some choices for a more formal, traditional ceremony:
Bible: #1, Vows: #1,
Rings: #3, Pronouncement: #1, Benediction: #1
THE ORDER OF A WEDDING CEREMONY
This is the typical order of the ceremonies I perform. This is
hardly the only way to structure a service, but it is the one that seems most
familiar and comfortable to most people, in my experience:
Processional: Usually the minister and the groom and his
attendants are in position after the bride's mother is seated. Men are usually
on stage left: from the point of view of the minister in the center, the men
are at his/her left hand. Typical processional music is the Wedding March from
Lohengrin by Wagner: Pachelbel's Canon in D is also a favorite.
(Unity Candle: some
couples choose to have their mothers or other relatives light two candles at
the beginning of the service.
After the vows and rings, the bride and groom take these two candles to
light one 'unity' candle on the altar.)
The Address: words spoken by the minister/rabbi or other
officiating person. I usually begin with background and observations about the
couple, and end with words addressed to the bride and groom.
Poetry or readings often follow the address, read aloud by a
friend or relative of the couple.
This could also take the form of a biblical or other religious passage
or prayer.
The Vows: I encourage couples to write their own, or to choose
from the ones in this guide. Sometimes there are two sets of vows: the "I
do" vows, followed by ones spoken back and forth between bride and groom.
Sometimes, the vows of the couple are followed by vows of parents and vows of
the congregation, in support of their commitment.
The Rings: Often there is a short line exchanged with the rings by
bride and groom -- or I read a poem as they are exchanged. A nice touch in
small weddings is to pass the rings around the congregation, allowing them to
offer blessings as they touch them, before the bride and groom exchange them.
The Pronouncement: this can take many forms, as shown in the
guide.
The Kiss
Closing- Benediction- Blessing
Recessional: typical
music would be the Wedding March from A Midsummer Nights Dream by Mendelssohn.
ADDRESSES
These are examples of wedding addresses that I and others have
written. Each address I write is a personal statement based on my interviews
with the couple.
1. Rosalba and Greg
Dear friends and family: Out of affection for Gregory and Rosalba
we have gathered together to witness and bless the vows which will unite them
in marriage. Many people here have come from far away to celebrate this moment,
and for your presence they want me to express their deep gratitude. To this
moment they bring the fullness of their hearts as a treasure to share with one
another. They bring the dreams which bind them together. They bring that particular
personality and spirit which is uniquely their own, and out of which will grow
the reality of their life together. We rejoice with them in this outward symbol
of an inward union of hearts, a union created by friendship, respect, and love.
Their story began in 1997 - Greg had a huge crush on the flower
lady at Safeway - a lovely lady named Rosalba. He kept finding excuses to buy flowers from her. She transferred to a different Safeway,
and - funny thing - he suddenly needed to go buy flowers at THAT store! Greg moved to Seattle to take a job
there, but when he visited the Bay Area he made sure to seek out Rosalba and
try to fan the spark between them - one time with a bunch of rubrum lilies
which he gave her when he was visiting - and from then on things began to warm
up a lot more. After visits back
and forth between here and Seattle, things got serious enough for Greg to move
back to California, and to use Greg's words, it was time for him to 'domesticate' himself and devote his
heart fully to Rosalba. It was a
big change for them both - for Rosalba to bring Greg into her close-knit
Italian family, and for Greg to fit into such a big and intimate family for the
first time, having had a lot of independence for so long. She grew to adore his spirit of giving
- his romantic displays kept coming and endeared him to her. For him, she was the honey and he was
the bee. She was the one he had wanted for so long, and finally the day came
when he proposed to her -- on Halloween!
At Fishermen's Wharf, with a very clever series of spooky gifts inside
of other gifts, culminating with a white box containing the ring. They've grown closer as he's become a
real part of her family, as they bought a house together and have started
working toward their common dreams.
Their love is a real romance, and we are all privileged to see it
culminate in this moment!
Greg, Rosalba, you now enter into a solemn but joyous promise, one
which you have told me you do not enter into lightly, but rather with
thoughtful intentionality. Much as you know about each other, much as you trust
each other based on your past experience with each other, you still enter into
the unknown as you make your vows together in marriage. Who knows where your
marriage will lead? Who knows what challenges you will face together? You have
carefully chosen to be married, but now that you exchange those rings, marriage
is choosing you. Marriage is carrying you along to places that you can't
imagine. Marriage now takes hold of you, and carries you along in a flow that
is bigger and stronger than you are. Abandon yourselves to this flow, let it
carry you along to the heights and depths of human experience. Embrace and
enjoy the mystery you now enter as you share your vows.
2.) Ann and Rob
Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to
witness and bless the joining of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. It
is my great pleasure to be present at this joyful occasion, as it was when I
first heard about it from Ann. I had known Rob and his family from years ago,
but I got acquainted with Ann because Rob's sister Kate thought that she and I
would have fun e-mailing sermons back and forth to each other, because Kate
loved her so much as her pastor in Canada. Indeed, this was the case -- I really
enjoyed Ann's gifts as a writer and preacher. Our friendship was a collegial
connection on the Internet, so it was a great delight, when, to my total
surprise, she called on the phone to ask the following favor: "Will you
perform my wedding with Rob Green?" I was so happy for both of them, and
charmed by the story of their romance, which began through Kate's introduction
of them to each other in Canada and was facilitated by the Internet. It seems
that Ann also excels at a quite different form of writing than sermons! It is
obvious that we are witnessing the union of two adventurous spirits. Or I
should say four adventurous spirits. You may be aware of the conspiratorial
tendencies of Ann's daughters, who very early on informed their mother that they
had chosen Rob to be their father. Only fellow adventurers would make such a
choice, to leave home in a green, well-watered, highly civilized country and
move far, far away to a mountainside of yucca and juniper and sage.
As we know, Rob and the rest of the Greens live for adventure, and
it will be all we can do to keep them down here on the bottom of the valley for
a while. Marriage is your next adventure, Ann and Rob, and on this trek we wish
you godspeed. To what heights you will go, you cannot know. This is a trek with
no map, and no guide but the mysterious Holy Spirit that blows where it wills
through your souls, defying any weather forecast. You'll hear advice from the
rest of us -- but almost all of it will be projections of our own hopes and
fears, reflections of our own joys and heartbreaks in marriage. From this
moment, your marriage takes its own course up the mountain, and our pledge
today is to encourage your marriage to unfold in its own way and to become a
force for great good in each of your lives, in the lives of your children, and
in your community of family and friends.
3.) Lisa and Jim
Dear friends and family: Out of affection for Jim and Lisa we have
gathered together to witness and bless the vows which will unite them in marriage.
Many people here have come from far away to celebrate this moment, and for your
presence they want me to express their deep gratitude. They especially want to thank the
folks¬¢¬(r)and you know who you are - who worked so hard in such a short period of
90 days to pull this event together.
Lisa’Äôs parents, Patricia and George, and Jim's folks, Selma and Chuck,
are very much present today in spirit, and Lisa and Jim's hearts are touched to
know how much their parents would have enjoyed this moment.
Lisa and Jim started the journey to this spot 5 and a half years
ago, when in passing in a restaurant in San Rafael, Jim told Lisa that she
ought to give him a call sometime - and at first she thought, -yeah, right! but
then she thought about it some more and gave it a go - and called him - and the
rest is history! Here we have two
people who love life in full - people who know how to have a good time and take
their fun very seriously, as seriously as they take their work! Two people who get it about family and
community and commitment and friendship.
Two seasoned but saucy Sausalitans who love their town and give it their
all. Jim woke up one day and said
to himself, "Lisa is as good as they get! What are you waiting for?" and knew it was time to let go of all his inhibitions about
marriage and pop the question to the woman he adored. Lisa was blown away when their engagement was announced over
the bullhorn at Spinnaker - and also delighted to be making this commitment to
the man she calls an "all round great guy", a man of great
generosity, supportive of all that Lisa believes and does, who enjoys baseball
almost as much as she does, and is willing to make room in his home for a lot
of stuffed rabbits! Jim's words to
Lisa, printed on the invitation to their wedding, say it all: "We've been together for some
time, and I want you to know that I love you more now, than when love first
brought us together." Theirs is a love sealed in devotion and deep friendship,
but such a big love that there is room in it for lots of others who delight in
basking in their glow.
4.) Will and Leslie
Will and Leslie, you are now surrounded by your "Perfect
Proposal" fan club! --
surrounded by people who love you and cheer you on as you move from engagement
to marriage in this holy moment.
People from far and near who add their blessing to your vows, people who
want to be here for this moment, and to be there when you need them as you go
through the joys and trials of marriage.
Leslie found love in the garage of her condo complex one day. It was love at first sight. It was such a sweet dog! And - on the other end of the leash, his owner wasn't bad
looking, either! Not long after
that, the dog's owner, a fellow named Will, offered to help set up a VCR in
Leslie's condo. And then he
decided it was much nicer to watch the VCR in her condo than the one in his
condo. And then they began to
realize that this relationship was about a whole lot more than watching
television together.
Will's incredibly elaborate Perfect Proposal to Leslie, with the
Aibo dog opening its mouth to reveal the engagement ring in front of Leslie at
the Metreon, will never be forgotten by those who witnessed the event and those
who heard of it later. It is
emblematic of the care that both of them have taken to prepare for this sacred
moment. Will and Leslie have
patiently and steadily worked to perfect their love for each other, to get to
know each other really well, to work on their communication with each other, to
understand each other better, to grow as a couple. They enter into their vows with a beautiful intentionality
that is especially impressive to me, having known them in the past few years
and having watched their relationship mature. There is a charm and sweetness to their relationship that
warms all of us who stand in its glow.
POETRY and READINGS
1.) KAHLIL GIBRAN, from THE PROPHET
Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a
moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink
not from the same cup. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one
of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver
with the same music. And stand together but not too near together; For the
pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in
each other's shadow.
2.) Poem by Christopher Marlowe
(Groom: ) Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the
pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills and fields, Woods, or steepy
mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed
their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals.
(Bride:) And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand
fragrant posies A cap of flowers, and a kirtle. Embroidered all with leaves of
myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold;
(Groom:) A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber
studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love.
(Bride:) The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing For thy
delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with
me and be my love.
3.) Poem by Antonio
Machado:
La plaza tiene una torre
La torre tiene un balcon
El balcon tiene una dama
La dama una blanca flor.
Ha pasado un caballero
No se porque el paso,
Y ha tratado la plaza
La plaza con la torre
La torre con el balcon
El balcon con la dama
La dama con su blanca flor
The plaza has a tower
The tower has a balcony
The balcony has a lady
And the lady has a white flower.
A gentleman passed by,
I don't know why
And carried away the plaza,
The plaza with the tower
The tower with the balcony
The balcony with the lady
The lady with her white flower.
4.) Poem by Jim
Burklo:
Love is the time zone where now is forever
Love is the country without a boundary
Love is the nation without a flag
Love is the game with rules you learn by playing
Love is the musical instrument that plays you
Love is the song you can't remember, but sing again and again
Love is the language that translates all the others
Love is the mountain with a higher peak you can't see till you
climb the one you can
Love is the story that is always different and always the same
5.) The Invitation by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know
what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will
risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being
alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want
to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been
opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of
further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you
can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to
remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I
want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can
bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be
faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it's not pretty,
every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and
still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money
you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and
despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed
us.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I
want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink
back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have
studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls
away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly
like the company you keep in the empty moments.
6.) Poem by Roy Croft
I love you,
Not only for what you are
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself
But for what
You are making of me
I love you,
For the part of me
That you bring out,
I love you,
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart,
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.
I love you.
7.) Apache Wedding
Prayer
Now you will feel no rain
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness,
For each of you will be a companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
JEWISH BLESSING
(Officiant pours wine into the glass, then this blessing is
recited:)
Blessed art Thou, O
Lord our God, King of the universe, who createst the fruit of the vine, symbol
of joy. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has created
all things to thy glory. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the
universe, creator of humankind. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the
universe, who makest bride and bridegroom to rejoice together. Blessed art
thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has created joy and gladness,
pleasure and delight, love and peace.
(Wine glass is given to bride, who drinks half, then groom
finishes it; then the groom wraps the glass in a cloth, gives it to best man,
who sets it on the floor; groom then crushes it after the kiss.)
BIBLICAL AND OTHER SACRED PASSAGES
1.) I CORINTHIANS 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith, so as to
remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love
is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or
rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it
does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as
for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for
knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy
is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child; when I became a man,
I gave up my childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to
face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been
fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of
these is love.
A contemporary interpretation of I Corinthians 13:
This love I speak of is a love that is slow to lose patience. It
looks for ways to be constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious
to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has
good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. Love knows no limit to its
endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything.
It still stands when all else has fallen. It will be the bond of this marriage.
2.) KORAN
Allah is he who created you from a single soul and made its mate
from it, that he might move toward her and find comfort in her. When he is with
her, she bears a light burden and goes about with it. When she grows heavy,
they both pray to Allah, their Lord .Remember your Lord in your mind with
humility and respect, in quiet tones, morning and evening, and do not be
forgetful. Those who are near to your Lord do not turn away from his worship in
pridefulness, but glorify him and prostrate themselves before him constantly.
(Q'ran, Al-A'Raf, 7: 190-207)
OTHER PASSAGES:
SONG OF SOLOMON Chapter 3 and 4
EPHESIANS 5:1-2
COLOSSIANS 3:12-17
MATTHEW 5:1-10
MATTHEW 13:31-33
VOWS
1.) TRADITIONAL, "I do":
Do you, ___, take ___ to be your lawful wedded wife/husband, to
love and to cherish, to honor and to respect, for better, for worse, for
richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to hold from this
day forward as long as ye both shall live? . I do.
2.) TRADITIONAL, first person (repeating each phrase after
minister):
___, I take you to be
my wife/husband, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and
in health, to give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to love and to
cherish, from this day onward.
3.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional flavor, first person:
In the presence of God, and before these witnesses, I ____ take you,
____ to be my wife/husband; to laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in
sorrow, to grow with you in love, to love and to cherish and to be faithful to
you alone as long as we both shall live.
4.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional form, "I do":
____, do you take ____ as your wife/husband, to pledge to share
your life openly with him/her, to give and to receive, to speak and to listen,
to inspire and to respond, to honor and to tenderly care for him/her, and in
all circumstances of your lives together to be loyal to him/her with your whole
life and your whole being?
5.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional form, first person:
____, I take you as my wife/husband; I pledge to share your life
openly with you, to give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and
to respond, to honor and to tenderly care for you, and in all circumstances of
our lives together to be loyal to you with my whole life and my whole being.
6.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional form, "I do":
_____, will you have ___ to be your wedded wife/husband? Will you
love, comfort, honor and keep him/her in sickness and in health; will you share
with him/her your fears and your failures, your aspirations and triumphs, your
hopes and dreams from this day forward? I DO.
7.) CONTEMPORARY, first person:
___, I pledge myself to you, to be your husband/wife. It is my vow
to love you and stay by you, furnishing smiles and support, giving challenge
and encouraging growth, understanding our individuality, and cherishing our
oneness. You are my beloved and my friend.
8.) CONTEMPORARY, first person:
____, I pledge myself to you, to be your husband/wife. It is my
vow to create for us a love that grows deeper with each passing day, in
honesty, faith and tenderness. A love that will enrich our lives, separately
and together. A love that respects our uniqueness and celebrates our union. You
are my beloved and my friend.
9.) FIRST PERSON
Rosemarie, from this day which I will never forget, I will love
you for the rest of our lives together and love you more as time goes on. I
will be by your side in every moment of our lives, forever. I will never stop
loving you, or the children that you bring into the world. I will always be
there when you just need a friend. So this ring of love which I give to you
symbolizes a solid band of love that will never be broken, and seals my love
for you in my heart and mind forever. This ring is a symbol of my unending
love. I love you.
Brian, you are the man I have always dreamed of and the only one I
will ever be with. I will love you and respect you, I will work hard to keep
the love always in our marriage. I will stand beside you through laughter and
tears, through good times and bad. When you need comfort, I will console you,
and when you need love I will give you my heart. I will always love and respect
your parents and family as you do. As time unfolds we hope to have children and
with God's blessing we will grow together with our children as a family. I will
work hard to be a good wife and mother. Brian, my love for you grows with each passing
day. I will always be with you and I will love you forever. This ring is a
symbol of my unending love. I love you.
10.) TRADITIONAL (PRAYERBOOK), responding:
____. Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife/husband, to
live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou
love her/him, comfort her/him, honor, and keep her/him in sickness and in
health; and, forsaking all others, keep they only unto her/him, so long as ye
both shall live? I will.
11.) CONTEMPORARY, first person
I choose you to share my life with me. I promise to honor and care
for you, to love you for yourself, and to speak the truth to you in love. This
is my pledge to you as long as life endures.
12.) TRADITIONAL (PRAYERBOOK), first person:
I ____ take thee ____ to my wedded wife/husband, to have and to
hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in
sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part,
according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.
13.) FIRST PERSON
I promise you my love, for today and tomorrow.
I promise you as much happiness as I can give.
I promise never to try to change you, but will accept the changes
you make in yourself.
I promise you my love, for today and tomorrow.
I promise not to doubt or mistrust you, but to grow and add to
your life of contentment.
I'll accept your love for me without fear of tomorrow, and I'll
love you more than I do today.
14.) AN INTRODUCTION TO THE VOWS
Ron and Kathy, it is your intention to share with each other your
laughter, and your tears and all that years will bring by your promises. Bind
yourselves now to each other as husband and wife.
VOWS OF PARENTS
Will the parents of Jill and Brian please rise. These two have
come to this moment after affection and nurture from you which they value
immeasurably. Do you offer your continued care for them, encouraging their love
for each other as they grow in marriage? If so, say We do.
VOWS OF CONGREGATION
And do we, as family and friends, vow to support and encourage
Randy and Michelle as they grow in marriage? If so, let us all say, "We
do".
RINGS
1.) POEM OVER THE RINGS (as rings are exchanged) Jim Burklo
To eternity this moment yields
By rings endued with covenanting power
Each to the other is given forth,
Each from the other received;
Forged in a common life,
To be kept round and shining
By unconditional caresses.
2.) POEM OVER RINGS (as rings are exchanged) Tim Swezey
The ring is eternal
Forever perfection
All points to the circle
The strongest direction
The round of love
Beginning and ending
We see in the ring
Their love never ending.
3.) TRADITIONAL (PRAYERBOOK)
As you give this ring, symbol of your commitment in marriage,
repeat after me.
With this ring/ I thee wed/ with my body I thee worship/ and with
all my worldly goods I thee endow.
4.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional flavor (repeat)
I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with all that I
am, and all that I have, I honor you.
5.) CONTEMPORARY, traditional flavor
As by these rings you symbolize your marriage bond, may their
meaning sink into your hearts and bind your lives together by devotion and
faithfulness to each other. Through your consecration of this bond and through
your ever-deepening love for each other, may your home be a haven where the joy
of life is constantly renewed.
6.) CONTEMPORARY (repeat)
With this ring I pledge my love and faithfulness to you.
7.) PASSING OF THE RINGS
. Now, as the rings are passed to you, take a moment to offer in
silence or in words your blessings on this marriage. (rings are passed among
the congregation and returned to the couple)
PRONOUNCEMENTS
1.) TRADITIONAL (PRAYERBOOK)
Forasmuch as Paul and Michele have consented together in holy
wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto
have given and pledged their trotht, each to the other, and have declared the
same by giving and receiving a ring, and by joining hands; I pronounce that
they are husband and wife, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen.
2.) CONTEMPORARY
As Jill and Brian have consented to be married and have pledged
their faith and love to each other in the presence of God and these witnesses,
I pronounce that they are husband and wife.
3.) By Jim Burklo
By the power of the love which we witness between these two, I now
pronounce them husband and wife.
4.) CONTEMPORARY
Larry, I now pronounce you the husband of Linda.
Linda, I now pronounce you the wife of Larry.
CLOSINGS, BLESSINGS, BENEDICTIONS
1.) BENEDICTION Jim Burklo
May the peace of God
Swell and roll over you
Like a wave in the sea
May the peace of God
Warm you all over like the sun above
May the peace of God
Fill you like cool wind
May the peace of God
Surround you like trees in a forest
May the peace of God
Be with you. AMEN
2.) NUMBERS 6:24-27 (BIBLE)
The Lord bless you and keep you,
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto
you,
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Hebrew transliteration:
Ah ya so' Adonai anoi
eh elechol v'yashom'
L'hoh shalom.
3.) CLOSING WORDS Jim Burklo
Let's go and celebrate!
4.) I CORINTHIANS 13 (BIBLE)
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends. Amen!
5.) By Ann McKeown
May the blessing of the God of Sarah and Abraham, the blessing of
Jesus, born of the woman Mary, and the blessings of the Spirit, who broods over
us as a mother hen over her chicks, be with each one of us this day, and
always. Amen.
6.) CONTEMPORARY
May all the blessings attend you, may joy pervade your lives
together, may your home be forever a place of peace and true fulfillment.