Wedding Ceremony Script

[StarCoveter]

We are wanting to come up with a completely original script. We dont' want any of the traditional repeating of the vows or anything that you hear at every other wedding.

I've tried searching online for some ceremony scripts to just get an idea... but I'm lost! I dont' really know what to look for! So if anyone can point me in the right direction, or give me some links to look at, I'd really appreciate it!!!

[ger]

We wrote our own vows. I googled wedding vows and then took what we liked from each of the ones I found.

Here is a spot on here where we talk about writing vows. http://forums.onewed.com/showthread.php?t=11288&highlight=writing+vows&page=2

Hopefully some of this helps.

[StarCoveter]

I think we're going to do some kind of collaborative vow, and we need to get started on that... but I also need ideas on the entire thing you know! Like what our officiant is going to say right at the beginning, and what the flow of things is going feel like. I'm so lost. :whoa:

[miranda]

I just googled "wedding ceremony words" or something like that. Honestly, the unitarian churches were my biggest help. A lot of them have their scripts online, and they were awesome. I just took a little from all of them, threw it all together, and according to my pastor, came up with something awesome :) I can PM it to you if you'd like. I'm pretty proud of it, actually!

[Danielle9608]

this is mine sorry i know its long:
Welcome
Welcome family and friends on this beautiful day for this, we are here this morning to celebrate and bless the wedding of Danielle and Jonathan. They would like to thank each of you for making the journey to be with them today as they celebrate their marriage. Each of you has touched their lives in a special way, and they are honored to have you present to day.

We have gathered in this place of natural beauty to be joyful in celebration for Danielle and Jonathan in the new life they now begin together. For Danielle and Jonathan this ceremony represents the start of a new chapter in their lives. Today, they proclaim their love and commitment to each other.

Danielle and Jonathan, I welcome you to this moment in your lives and to the place you have come to in each other's hearts. I join with you on this day, in the uniting of your two souls already attuned to one another.

Danielle and Jonathan wanted to be married at this special place near the oceans edge. They felt that it was important to represent the coming together of their past, present and onward into their future together.

Remembrance
Today as we celebrate this special day, Danielle and Jonathan would like to pause to reflect upon those who have shaped their character, molded their spirits and touched their hearts. Although death has separated us physically, faith and love have bound us eternally. Though we cannot see you, we know you are here. Though we cannot touch you, we feel the warmth of your smile, as we begin a new chapter in our lives. Let us not forget the ones that have departed from our world, but not before they graced us with special memories only they could create. May our loved ones that touched our lives deeply, but only stayed briefly in our lives, be looking over us today as we join our lives together as one.


Parents Recognition
Will the parents of Danielle and Jonathan please stand.

Many years ago, though it may feel like only yesterday, two children were born into this world. When you first gazed at them, you marveled at their perfection and you felt truly blessed. In your children you saw infinite potential and you placed great hope.

With you they uttered their first words. With you they took their first steps. You rejoiced in their victories, you cried at their sorrows. You guided them, nurtured them, educated them, loved them.. You gave them all you had to give, so they would grow up strong and independent, capable of great love, capable of what they are doing here today. Without you, this marriage would not, could not be possible.

Now, today all the love and caring you gave to Danielle and Jonathan, they will give to each other. And it does not end here. For in turn, they will pass it along to their children. And we see firsthand how this sublime torch, this lineage of love, gets passed along from generation to generation, and in a very real sense we be immortal. We thank you and honor you.


(continued on to next post)

[Danielle9608]

Family and Community Support
To all of you, who are gathered here, today will be especially important to this couple, you are loved ones and friends that fill their lives. You are the framework that supports their world. You represent, symbolically, all the people who will be touched in any way by the life of this couple. You represent their families and friends, past, present and future. Marriage is an intensely personal act, but, in order for the couple's marriage to gain strength to last throughout the years, their marriage must be supported by their greater society of family and friends. Today, Danielle and Jonathan proclaim their love and commitment to each other, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now begin together.


Surprise Reading - Jeanne (Danielle's Aunt)
Can your aunt e-mail it to me so I can have it to put into the final version I give to you?


A passage from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians – Sam (friend of the couple)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What is Marriage
A joyful marriage is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say I love you. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted. Let your courtship not end with the honeymoon, but continue throughout all the years. Your marriage will be a great journey of surprises, joys and miracles. Above all, remember that your love for each other will prevail.

No ceremony can create your marriage. What this ceremony can do is witness and affirm the choice you have made to begin a new life today as husband and wife. Marriage is not an event but an inner spiritual journey. It is a path towards mutual enrichment, a give and a take between two people, a mingling of two endowments which diminished neither, but enhances both.

Your marriage will provide you with safety and comfort of an embrace from one who will not judge you by your mistakes, but instead, will love you in spite of them. You will always know the security of having a partner who supports you and believes in you without condition. The strength of the bond between you will give you courage in the face of adversity. The joy you will share will sustain you through times of sorrow and doubt. The love you share will inspire you and all that you will do on this Earth.

Those who truly love one another cherish each other's divinity. Those who know true love look upon one another with eyes that see through the personality to know the others inner most emotions and aspirations. To make this marriage work, however, will take more than love. It will take trust, to know in your hearts, that you want only the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow even when it is difficult to do so. It will take courage to honor your differences, to make the important things matter, and let go of the rest. And it will take faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for both of you.

Wedding Vows
Today you make a commitment to Love and care for each other for the rest of your lives. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, they create a unique bond which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. The strength of that bond will provide you courage in the face of adversity; joy and laughter to sustain you through times of sorrow and doubt, and love that will inspire you in all that you do.

Jonathan and Danielle if at this time you wish to affirm your free choice to unite as partners in marriage please indicate that now by turning to face each other, join hands and look deeply into each others eyes as you take your wedding vows before your family and friends.

Jonathan please repeat after me the vow you have selected to make

Danielle, I accept you just as you are today.
I give you my promise that from this day forward
You shall not walk alone.
May my heart be your shelter
and my arms be your home.
I promise to love you,
to honor you,
and to cherish you
for all my days.
I make this commitment with all my love.

Danielle please repeat after me the vow you have selected to make

Jonathan, I accept you just as you are today.
I give you my promise that from this day forward
You shall not walk alone.
May my heart be your shelter
and my arms be your home.
I promise to love you,
to honor you,
and to cherish you
for all my days.
I make this commitment with all my love.

[Danielle9608]

Ring Exchange
I will ask you now to seal the vows you have just made by the giving and receiving of rings. ~ May I have the rings please ~


The wedding ring has been a traditional symbol of commitment and enduring love that, like a circle, has no end. These rings are your gift to each other, they are the outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual bond that unites your two hearts in love that has no end. With your rings you seal the vows you have just exchanged, reminding each other of your decision to remain faithful to your promises of love and commitment. Let them be a symbol of a never ending love and devoted friendship. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you formalized today.



Jonathan, please repeat after me while placing this ring on Danielle's finger.

With this ring,
a symbol of my love,
I thee wed.


Danielle please repeat after me while placing this ring on Jonathan's finger.

With this ring,
a symbol of my love,
I thee wed.


Ring & Hand Wrapping (This is my special blessing I give to you)
These rings are powerful symbols. The circle symbolizes the wholeness of your love, unbroken and everlasting. The precious metal represents the sincerity of your commitment. It is strong, enduring, and does not tarnish. As you wear them, may you be reminded of your eternal love and devotion to each other.


These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go, may they always return to one another in their togetherness. May these two find in each other, the love for which all men and women long. May they grow in understanding and compassion. May the home that they establish be a place of
happiness for all who enter it, a place of growing and learning, of good friends and laughter. May your two rings symbolize the spirit of the undying love in the hearts of you both.


Sand Ceremony
Danielle and Jonathan as you stand on this sand by the ocean, you have committed here today to share the rest of your lives with each other. You entered this relationship as two distinct individuals, but from this day forth your lives will be melded together. Often marriage is viewed as the coming together of two persons. In reality marriage is much broader. As we give thanks for the love that brings Danielle & Jonathan together, we also recognize the merging of families taking place, and the additional love and responsibility the family brings to their relationship.

This relationship will be symbolized through the pouring sand from individual containers. We will start the base of our container with sand from whence you came. Will the parents of Danielle & Jonathan come forward. As parents of these fine young adults who are committed to merging their lives together with you from whence they came, the sand in these container will represent symbolically all the heritage from each of your families as well as the love, relationships and history that came from each of you as individuals. (families pour into the container)
Danielle & Jonathan I ask you now to bend down and scoop a handful of this sand that lays beneath your feet. As you pour these grains of sand into this container you will always be reminded of this place where you stood and made your commitment to each other
(Danielle & Jonathan to pour handfuls in container.)
The same sand that was here a few moments ago has not disappeared, or changed. It has been enhanced by it's partner to create something bigger and more beautiful than it was just moments ago. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and placed back again into your individual hands as they were grain for grain, so will your marriage be. Although your individuality remains, far more important is the reality that you are no longer two, but one - never to be separated from the other.

I ask you to take your beautiful container home, find a special place in your home where you can see it everyday. I invite you gather a little sand from the special places you visit and experience as you travel together during your lifetime and place that sand into this special container. When you place that sand into this container, it too will become indistinguishable from the sand you have here now. As the level of the sand increases, so will the bond of your love. You see the more experiences you have together as a couple, the stronger your relationship will become. When you gaze upon this container, may you remember all the happy memories you've had together, beginning with this day

Closing
Jonathan and Danielle, may the challenges of your life together be met with courage and optimism. May you learn from your challenges and grow in your achievements. May life bless you with friends and family in a wide network of mutual support and enjoyment. May you face adversity with courage and a light heart.

May your union last through all of your moments together, so that in the triumphs and the trials that lie ahead, you will feel just as happy as you do now – happy to be in love and married to one another. Go then in peace, and live more and more in the present, which is beautiful and bountiful and stretches beyond the limits of the past toward the horizons of the future.

Pronouncement
Jonathan and Danielle, you have openly declared your wishes to be united in marriage and in the presence of these witnesses have pledged your love to one another. You have confirmed the same by each giving and receiving a ring and by joining hands. By the power vested in me and invoking the power of the spirit, which performs every true marriage, it is my honor and delight to pronounce that you are husband and wife.

Please seal your vows with a kiss.


Presentation of the Couple


Family and friends, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan and Danielle XXX

[Danielle9608]

Sorry I know that is long, I hope it helps because we are doing some non-traditional things in our too.

[SouthernQueenBride]

Awww ... Danielle! That is so beautiful!!! I got kinda teared up reading parts of it!

[Danielle9608]

Awww ... Danielle! That is so beautiful!!! I got kinda teared up reading parts of it!


Thanks Lauren :)

[val24]

i love your cermoney reading danielle
it is awesome!!

i have a rough copy of what my officiant came up with. It needs some tweaking but i love it though!

[erika85]

Awww ... Danielle! That is so beautiful!!! I got kinda teared up reading parts of it!

Me too!!!:sob: It is so beautiful!!!:heart:

[ger]

Wow, Danielle, that is beautiful. You did a wonderful job. Congratulations!!

[miranda]

Mine is waaaaaaay shorter than Danielle's!

Welcoming

Welcome family and friends. We are gathered here today to unite Justin and Miranda in marriage.

In marriage, we give ourselves freely and generously into the hands of the one we love, and in doing so, each of us receives the love and trust of the other as our most precious gift. But even as that gift is shared by two people who are in love, it also touches the friends and family members who in various ways support and contribute to the relationship. All of you are Miranda and Justin’s community, and each of you has played some part in bringing them to this moment. The ideals, understanding, and mutual respect which they bring to their marriage have their roots in the love, friendship, and guidance which you have given them. Because Justin and Miranda are now taking a new form as a married couple, they become part of their community in a new way.

Presentation

Who brings this woman to be wedded to this man?
(Father): I do.
As our sons and daughters find partners and found the homes of the next generation, each family is enlarged. Do you, who have nurtured these two, give your blessing to their union and their home?
(Family): We do.

Declarations

Justin and Miranda, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift, a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely. This ceremony marks neither a beginning nor an end in your relationship, but one step in a continuing process of change and growth.

Inevitably there will be mistakes; inevitably there will be times of tension and conflict. But if these are openly acknowledged and faced, they can be turned from problems into opportunities, and you will find new meanings and richness in your shared life together.

With this understanding, do you Justin take Miranda to be your beloved wife? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her, for as long as you both shall live?
(Justin): I do.

Do you Miranda take Justin to be your beloved husband? Do you promise to be a tender, faithful wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him, for as long as you both shall live?
(Miranda): I do.

Reading: “The Rhythm of Free Partners” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules. The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern, intricate but happy and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart’s. To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding. There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, the heavy hand; only the barest touch in passing. Now arm in arm, now face to face, now back to back – it does not matter which. Because they know they are partners moving in the same rhythm, creating a pattern together, and being invisibly nourished by it. The joy of such a pattern is not only the joy of creation or the joy of participation, it is also the joy of loving in the moment. Lightness of touch and living in the moment are intertwined. When both partners love so completely that they have forgotten to ask whether or not they are loved in return; when they only know that they love and are moving to its music – then, and then only, are two people able to dance perfectly in tune to the same rhythm.

Exchange of Vows

In a world where the pressures pushing people apart often seem stronger than those drawing people together, your commitment to each other will need to be re-expressed in many different ways in the coming days and years. The expression in your vows today is simply a visible milestone in your journey together. Please join hands.

Justin, repeat after me:
I Justin take you Miranda to be my wife/
I take you with your strengths as well as your weaknesses/
I promise above all else to live in truth with you/
And to communicate fully and fearlessly/
I give you my hand and my heart/
As a sanctuary of warmth and peace/
And pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor/
As I join my life to yours.

Miranda, repeat after me:
I Miranda take you Justin to be my husband/
I take you with your strengths as well as your weaknesses/
I promise above all else to live in truth with you/
And to communicate fully and fearlessly/
I give you my hand and my heart/
As a sanctuary of warmth and peace/
And pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor/
As I join my life to yours.

Exchange of Rings

From earliest times, the ring has been an outward symbol of the commitment of marriage. Let these rings always be a reminder to you of the commitment you made today, and that love, despite its occasional sorrows, is a circle of happiness, wonder, and delight.

Justin, take the ring and place it on Miranda’s finger, and repeat after me:
As this ring / has no end / neither shall my love for you.

Miranda, take the ring and place it on Justin’s finger, and repeat after me:
As this ring / has no end / neither shall my love for you.

Let these rings forever be to you a symbol of the preciousness, the purity, and the permanence of true wedded love.

Pronouncement

For as much as Justin and Miranda have consented together in wedlock, have given and pledged their vows, each to the other, and having declared the same by the giving and receiving of rings, do now pronounce that you are husband and wife.

Prayer of Aspiration

Let us pray. In this hour, rich with hope and promise, we pray that the spirit of trust, understanding and love may be with Justin and Miranda through all the years that lie ahead. May their trust bring them strength and confidence, whatever trails and adversities they may meet; may their understanding support and acceptance of each other amid life’s uncertain ties. In the tomorrows which Justin and Miranda will enter together may they find far more in life than either of them would have found alone. May they find tolerances for their prejudices, reverence for the beauties and respect for the truths they will encounter as they go forward together. Amen.

[miranda]

The Lord’s Prayer

We will now recite the Lord’s Prayer. We do this in memory of those who could not join us in celebration today.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Presentation

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you for the first time as husband and wife, Justin and Miranda Metcalf.

[Danielle9608]

aww Miranda your ceremony is lovely! and just think you will be saying it in 9 DAYS!!!

[ger]

That is beautiful too! And soon it will be your turn to actually say those words. Good luck!!

[ger]

Here was ours. It is VERY short...and sweet! We loved it.

Pastor - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Guests - And also with you.

Pastor - Let us pray.
Eternal God, our creator and redeemer, as you gladdened the wedding at Cana in Galilee by the presence of your Son, so by his presence now bring your joy to this wedding. Look in favor upon Gerri and Bruce and grant that they, rejoicing in all your gifts, may at length celebrate with Christ the marriage feast which has no end. Amen.

Pastor - Family and friends, you have been invited here today to be witnesses to Gerri and Bruce's wedding ceremony as they exchange vows, rings, and the promise of a shared future.

That shared future includes you!!

You are called to witness this marriage and to witness TO this marriage. In witnessing you are called to be supportive in times of joy, in times of sorrow, in times of tiral.

You are called to support, not intrude, build up, not tear down, to encourage, not discourage tand to pray continually for Gerri, Bruce, and their marriage.

2nd Pastor - First reading from Genisis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Here ends the reading.

Pastor - Second reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It alwasy protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Here ends this reading.

Marriage is a mystical union, the creating of a profound unity between two individual people. Since believers are already united in Christ, marriage brings about the greatest of unions. The marriage ceremony becomes a time of claiming God's presernce and God's promise. It is a sacred time which should honor the spirit of Christ and set the tone for the entire jouney of marriage.

God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was not just for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture. It was instituted by God and has three basic aspects: (1) the man leaves his parents and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife; (2) the man and woman are joined together by taking responsibility for each other's welfare and by loving their mate above all other; (3) the two become one flesh in the intimacy and commitment of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all three of these aspects.

Love takes people as they are, not as they should be or as we want them to be.

[ger]

Pastor - Gerri and Bruce, if it is your intention to share with each other your joys and sorrow, and all that the years will bring and with your promises, bind yourselves to each other as husband and wife, signify by saying, "I do".

(Gerri and Bruce face each other and join hands) Our vows.

(Gerri and Bruce exchange rings with these words)

I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness


2nd Pastor Gerri and Bruce, by their promises before God and in the presence of family and frinds, have bound themselves to one another. I pronounce the husband and wife. Those whom God has joined togehter, let no one put asunder.

Pastor - (Sand Ceremony) Gerri and Bruce will now symbolize the joining of their lives by the blending of the two sands that represent their individuality. The third colored sand symbolizes God in this union.

Let us pray: Faithful Lord, source of love, pour down your grace upon Gerri and Bruce, that they may fulfill the vows they have made this day and reflect your steadfast love in their life-long faithfulness to each other. As members with them in the body of Christ, use family and friend to support their life together; and from you great store of strength, give them power and patience, affection and understanding, courage and love toward you, toward each other, and toward the world, that they may continue together in mutual growth according to you will in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You may begin you married life with a kiss. (Smooch smooch)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present Mr. and Mrs. Bruce and Gerri Carpenter

[StarCoveter]

OK -

Thank you Thank you Thank you! To all of you. Seriously, I didn't know how to begin, since FH's sister is doing it for us, and she's never done it before either! Besides, I want to come up with the script that way I know EXACTLY what is going to be said, because I am very picky and definitely non-traditional.

This will all help a lot! I'm going to go print it now :hi:

[uptowngirl]

Those ceremonies are all beautiful - Danielle I love your version of the sand ceremony and adding more sand as you go through life...

There is a book that my mom bought me that has been really helpful in planning our ceremony. It is called Sacred Threshold, Rituals and Readings for a Wedding with Spirit and is by Gertrude Nelson and Christopher Witt. I know they have it on Amazon. It has a lot of ideas for both traditional and non traditional ceremonies and also talks about all the various symbols (like the rings and blessings, etc...)

[wooser]

Does it talk at all about hand fasting? We would like to do that, but trying to find more info on it.

Thanks,
Niki

[SunnyOne]

I can completely relate-- I've been searching online, trying to get ideas for scripts for the past several months. I know that I want the ceremony to be pretty short but it's hard to keep it short and still make it meaningful. I enjoyed reading the post that (Danielle-- I think?) shared. Her wedding sounded nice. I liked a lot of the parts but it's too long for what I'm going for.