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Faith, Hope & Love Ceremony

 

Declaration of Consent (Optional)

Who has guided this woman throughout her life, nurtured her and loved her, cherished her and taught her to soar on her own wings, and who now guides her here today as she comes to join with another in marriage?

 

Greeting / Welcoming Words

Blessings and welcome. We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments… the uniting of GROOM and BRIDE in the enduring bonds of marriage.

 

This celebration is but an outward sign of an inward union of heart, mind and spirit. This is a celebration of the joining of two hearts in love… two souls already attuned to one another. When such a true bond already exists between two people in love, it is only fitting that an outer acknowledgment be made.

 

We are here to bear witness to the entry into the closer relationship of husband and wife of these beloved friends who are already one in spirit.

 

As you fulfill your lives and commitment to each other with happiness, trust, and constant friendship, you will create a life together in which each of you can grow, both as a couple, and as individuals. No greater blessing can come to your marriage than your continued love and respect for each other.

 

In presenting yourself here today to be joined in marriage, you perform an act of faith. Dedication, love and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in your hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny, just as you have faith in one another today.

 

A reading from the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita…

 

Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the varieties
And realities of your existence;
The bliss of growths
The glory of action,
The splendor of beauty;
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.
Such is the salvation of the dawn

 

The Charge / Question of Intention

Before we come to the exchange of vows, I will ask each of you your intent.

 

GROOM, do you take BRIDE to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her forevermore? ((I do)

 

BRIDE, do you take GROOM to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him forevermore? (I do)

 

Wedding Vows

BRIDE and GROOM, in honor of the solemn pledge you are about to make, and symbolizing its unbroken perpetuity, join hands.

 

GROOM, if you wish to take BRIDE as your wife, then please repeat after me:

 

I, GROOM, take you, BRIDE, to be my wife, my partner in life
and my one true love.
I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you.
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully,
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
Whatever may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep.

 

BRIDE, if you wish to take GROOM as your husband, then please repeat after me:

 

I, BRIDE, take you, GROOM, to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love.
I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you.
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully,
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
Whatever may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep.

 

Exchange of Wedding Rings
 

Do you have the rings?

 

Traditionally, the passage to the status of husband and wife is marked by the exchange of rings.

 

These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver.

 

May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken and the promises that have been made.

 

GROOM, place the ring on BRIDE ’s left hand and repeat after me:

 

I, GROOM, take thee, BRIDE to be my wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you. With this ring, I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live.

 

BRIDE, place the ring on GROOM ’s left hand and repeat after me:

 

I, BRIDE, take thee GROOM, to be my husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you. With this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live.

 

Benediction / Closing Blessing

BRIDE and GROOM, may all that you are, always be in love; may all that is love, always be in you.

May your love be as beautiful on each day you share as it is on this day of celebration,

and may each day you share be as precious to you as the day you first fell in love.

May you always see and encourage the best in each other.

May the challenges that life brings your way make your marriage even stronger…

and may you always be each other’s best friend and greatest love.

 

Pronouncement as Husband and Wife

BRIDE and GROOM… In as much as you have each pledged to each other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion, by the authority vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

 

GROOM, you may kiss your Bride!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I take great pleasure in presenting to you for the first time, GROOM and BRIDE, husband and wife!

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