Other Introductory Thoughts

Prelude 1
[A couple’s beautiful words to be used for their wedding]

Marriage is a commitment to one another, to be each other’s best friends and champions, to see each other through both the hard times and happy times, to pick each other up when one of us may falter and above all else, to remain steadfast in our love and devotion to one another. Marriage is not only a promise to God, but to one another, our families and our loved ones, that we vow to cherish each other, remain faithful and to develop and nurture our trust, respect and love for one another. We promise to always maintain honest and open communication, while striving to push each other to be the best versions of ourselves. With grace, wisdom and hopefully some humor, we will navigate life’s challenges and successes as partners.

Prelude 2
Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love and are finalizing it with their wedding Today. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more and it is their desire to love each other for life and that is what we are celebrating here today.

Other Readings

Reading 11
From “The Irrational Season” by Madeleine L’Engle

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

Reading 12
Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud. Love is never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand it’s own way. Love is not irritable or touchy. Love does not hold grudges and will hardly notice when others do it wrong. Love is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the costs. You will always believe in them, always expect the best in them, and will always stand your ground in defending them

Other Vow Wordings:

Vows 3
Bride/Groom I vow to help you love life, / to always hold you with tenderness / and to have the patience / that love demands, / to speak when words are needed / and to share the silence / when they are not, / to agree to disagree / and to live within the warmth of your heart / and always call it home.

Vows 4
I, Groom/Bride / take you, Bride/Groom / to be my wedded wife/husband / To have and to hold from this day forward / To love, comfort, and honor, / for better or for worse, / for richer or for poorer, / in sickness and in health, / to laugh with you in joy, / to grieve with you in sorrow, / to grow with you in love, / as long as we both shall live.

Vows 5
I, Groom/Bride take you, Bride/Groom to be my wife/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

Other Ring Wordings

Ring 3
The ring is 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.
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, and I promise My love to you. Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit.

Other Marriage Blessings

Bless their marriage, O God, as they begin their journey down the road of life together.
We don’t know what lies ahead for the road turns and bends. But help them to make the best of whatever comes their way.
Help them to continue to enjoy each other as they did when they first met. Help them to realize that nothing or no one is perfect and to look for the good in all things and all people including themselves.
Help them to respect each other’s likes and dislikes, opinions and beliefs, hopes and dreams and fears even though they may not always understand them.
Help them to learn from each other and to help each other to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Help them to realize that no matter what happens to them they will hold on to each other and know that things have a way of working out for the good.
Help them to create for their children a peaceful, stable home of love as a foundation on which they can build their lives.
But most of all, dear God, help them to keep lit the torch of love’ that they now share so that by their loving example they may pass on the light of love to their children and to their children’s children forever. Amen