| This
ceremony was written for a non-Christian couple with Christian families.
They wanted a civil ceremony that would be meaningful for their
religious guests while staying true to their own feelings. This
ceremony includes a unity candle. The mothers light the two tapers
after they are escorted down the aisle.
Family and
friends, we welcome you today to witness the marriage of [groom]
and [bride]. You have shared and contributed to their lives in
the past, and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, [bride
and groom] ask you to share in their future.
Marriage is
a promise, made in the hearts of two people who love each other,
which takes a lifetime to fulfill. Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other's lover, teacher, listener,
critic, and best friend.
It is into
this state that [bride and groom] wish to enter.
Who gives
their blessings to this union? (parents and/or guests say "we
do".)
If anyone
present can show just cause as to why this couple may not be legally
joined together, you should now declare it, or hereafter hold
your peace. (silence)
[bride and
groom], I charge and require of you both, as before a bar of justice,
and in the presence of these witnesses, that if either of you
know of any legal or moral impediment to this marriage, you do
now reveal the same. (silence)
[groom], do
you take [bride] to be your wife? Will you love, honour, and cherish
her, in good times and in bad, and do you promise to stay true
to her as long as you both shall live?
(groom) I
do.
[bride], do
you take [groom] to be your husband? Will you love, honour, and
cherish him, in good times and in bad, and do you promise to stay
true to him as long as you both shall live?
(bride) I
do.
[bride and groom], may you pledge to each other to be loving friends
and partners in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and
appreciate one another; to respect and cherish each other's uniqueness,
and to support, comfort, and strengthen each other through life's
joys and sorrows. May you promise to share hopes, thoughts, and
dreams as you build your lives together. May your lives be ever
intertwined, your love keeping you together. May you build a home
that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honour for others
and each other. May your home be forever filled with peace, happiness,
and love.
[bride and groom], please face each other and hold hands. [groom],
as you look at [bride], repeat these words after me:
(groom) I
[groom], take you [bride], to be my wife, to have and to hold,
from this day forth, to love, honour, and cherish, to comfort
and respect, in sorrow or in joy, in hardship or in plenty, so
long as we both shall live.
[bride], as
you look at [groom], repeat these words after me:
(bride) I
[bride], take you [groom], to be my husband, to have and to hold,
from this day forth, to love, honour, and cherish, to comfort
and respect, in sorrow or in joy, in hardship or in plenty, so
long as we both shall live.
The ring is
a symbol of unity into which your two lives are now joined in
an unbroken circle; in which, wherever you go, you will return
to one another.
(groom) [bride],
I offer this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion. Let it
always be a reminder of my vows to you.
(bride) [groom],
I offer this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion. Let it
always be a reminder of my vows to you.
[bride] and
[groom], the two separate candles symbolize your separate lives,
separate families and separate sets of friends. I ask that each
of you take one of the lit candles and that together you light
the centre candle.
The individual
candles represent your lives before today. Lighting the centre
candle represents that your two lives are now joined to one light,
and represents the joining of your two families and circles of
friends into one.
[bride] and
[groom], may your home be a haven of peace and your relationship
be one of truth and understanding. May you enjoy length of days,
fulfillment of hopes, and peace and content of mind as you, day
by day, live and fulfill the terms of this covenant you have made
with one another.
And now, for
as much as you have made your vows, each to the other, and have
declared the same by giving and receiving your rings, I pronounce
that you are husband and wife. [groom], you may kiss your bride!
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