This is my base ceremony that I use for all of my ceremonies.
My name is Brad and I’m happy to be here with you and officiate this wedding ceremony.
As Bride\Groom and Bride\Groom wanted this moment to be special, they are grateful to you, their family and friends for being here with them, celebrating the start of their new lives together, as a soon to be married couple. You have been an important part of their lives in the past, and they look forward to your continued love, and support in the future, as they journey through life together as a husband and wife.
Bride\Groom and Bride\Groom would also like to recognize all of those who aren’t here with us today, as they are certainly missed, but not forgotten on this day of celebration.
So as we start, Ill ask you to quiet your hearts and your minds.
(How you met) – Send me a paragraph about your love story.
A wedding is such a wonderful occasion, filled with hopes, dreams and excitement.
We are here today to celebrate the love that you, Bride\Groom and Bride\Groom have for each other, and to recognize and
witness your decision to journey forward in your lives as marriage partners.
What you promise to each other today, must be renewed again tomorrow and everyday that follows.
At the end of this ceremony, legally you will be married.
But still, you must decide each and every day,
to commit yourselves to one another, and to this new family you have created.
Make such a decision, and keep on making it, for one of life’s greatest blessings, is to love and to be loved.
ADDRESS
Bride\Groom & Bride\Groom, your marriage will no doubt be filled with surprises.
Some you will welcome, while others will test the strength and flexibility of your bond.
I ask that you be compassionate with each other and nurture yourselves, your family AND this union with tender loving care.
Lead with your hearts and take the time to do the simple things that will nurture your love.
Deeply listen to each other, to your dreams, and to your frustrations.
Be helpmates. Be playful in finding ways to refresh and express your love to each other every day.
It is your love that has brought us together here today. May it grow deeper and sweeter with each passing year.
READING
Listen to these words of wisdom on how to create a successful marriage from a poem entitled:
While this poem is often used in weddings, I think the words are perfect, and are well worth reading.
“The Art Of Marriage” Wilferd A. Peterson
A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things…
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and
demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right partner…
It is being the right partner.
So at one point in time, you both fell in love. Do you remember that moment?
A READING, BY DAVID LEVIATHAN-Everyday
What is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such a small measure of time contain such enormity? The moment you fall in love feels like it has centuries behind it, generations – all of them rearranging themselves so that this precise, remarkable intersection could happen. In your heart, in your bones, no matter how silly you know it is, you feel that everything has been leading to this, all the secret arrows were pointing here, the universe and time itself crafted this long ago, and you are just now realizing it, you are just now arriving at the place you were always meant to be.
With that being said, are you ready to say your vows to each other?
WEDDING VOWS
_____, please repeat after me.
I, _____, take you _____\ to be my partner in life.
I promise to walk by your side forever, \
to love, help and encourage you, \ in all that you do.\
I will take time to talk with you, \ to listen to you, \and to care for you. I will share your laughter and your tears, \
as your partner, husband and best friend.
(Personal Vows can Be added Here)
_____, please repeat after me.
I _____ , give myself to you _____, \ on this our wedding day.
I will cherish our friendship, \
and love you today tomorrow and forever. \
I will trust you and honor you. \I will love you faithfully, \
through the best and the worst, \through the difficult and the easy.\
Whatever comes our way, \I will be there always.
(Personal Vows can Be added Here)
RING CEREMONY
May I have the rings please.
A ring is a fitting symbol for a wedding promise.
It is a circle with no beginning and no end, and
Love without end, is what we hope to achieve in marriage.
As often as you both look at your rings, I hope that you will be reminded of these commitments that you have made and are about to make.
_____, place the ring on _____’s finger and repeat after me.
I give you this ring. \ Wear it with love and joy.
As this ring has no end, \neither shall my love for you.
I choose you to be my wife,\ this day and forevermore.
_____, place this ring on _____’s finger and repeat after me.
This ring I give you, \in token of my love and devotion.
With my heart, \ I pledge to you all that I am.\ With this ring,\
I marry you and join my life to yours.
CLOSING READING
BLESSING FOR A MARRIAGE
~ James Dillet Freeman ~
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another – not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another’s presence – no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.
PRONOUNCEMENT
_____ and _____, because you have committed yourselves to each other in marriage, and demonstrated this by the exchanging of vows and the giving of rings, before (God) and witnesses and myself, by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband/wife and husband/wife.
_____, you may kiss your _____.
(Optional: Im proud to introduce for the very first time, Mr. & Mrs. ________ )
The above is about a 14-minute ceremony. I think it is perfect in and of itself. But its important that you love it and we can certainly add and make changes. You processional and recessional will add time to this. Also your own vows that you add will also add time.