vows

Vows

(3)

Welcome to the Celebration!

Minister:

We, who have gathered in this circle, are now privileged to witness and to participate in a ceremony celebrating, the public acknowledgment of a love which ____________ and ____________ have for each other, knowing that by our presence here with them, we are saying that they, together, are loved by many others. We have come to surround them as they stand before us in this center, where now ____________ and ____________ in essence say, "Welcome to our marriage! Welcome to the Celebration!"

Marriage is too for children! For them it is, or can be, more than just witnessing. There is an opportunity for them to bring themselves into the new family and in a symbolic sense to give themselves to this new venture as they bring a "Gift of love" which they will present now to ____________ and ___________.

The children come bearing flowers, which are given to the Bride and Groom.

Minister:

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. That is impossible. It is even a disservice to pretend it is possible. Yet that is what most of us demand. We have such little faith in the ebb and flow of life and of love and of relationships.

We leap forward at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb, for we are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanence, on duration, on continuity. But the only continuity possible in life, as in love, is in growth, in fluidity and in freedom, as dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in creating the same pattern.

I speak now to ____________ and ____________ of love, in which, the trust and freedom of the other person becomes as significant as the trust and freedom of one's self. I speak to them of generosity, which gathers the beauty of earth for riches and the kindness which turns away the wrath of foolish men and women. I speak of all our hopes for their continued growth through patience, one for the other. May ____________ and ____________ keep the vows made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know that, in the fullness of being, they are more than themselves and more than each other, that they are all of us and that together we share joyously the fruits of life on this Earth, our home.

Ring Ceremony:

Groom places ring on Bride’s finger:

May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love.

Bride places ring on Groom’s finger:

May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love.

Minister:

May these two find happiness in their union. May they live faithfully together, executing the vows they have made between them; and may they ever remain compassionate and encouraging, that their years may be rich with the joys of life, and their days be long upon the Earth.

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

(5)

Witness and Share the Joy

Minister:

Welcome to the marriage of ____________ and ____________.

You have been asked to gather here to witness and share in the joy of this union.

Groom:

There was darkness for a long time and then there was light, and that light was you. Your love has given me wings, and our journey begins today. I pledge before this assembled company to be your husband from this day forward. Let us make of our two lives one life. I want you for today, tomorrow, and forever.

Bride:

I have dreamed my whole life of having someone as wonderful as you love me the way you do. I give myself to you as your wife, and I promise here to treasure for all of my days the love we celebrate today. Let us bring together our lives and find ourselves anew each day.

Minister to Bride:

____________, will you take ____________ as your husband, in happiness and with patience and understanding, through conflict and tranquility?

Bride:

I will.

Ring is placed on Groom’s finger.

Minister to Groom:

____________, will you take ____________ as your wife, in happiness and with patience and understanding, through conflict and tranquility?

Groom:

I will.

Ring is placed on Bride’s finger.

Minister:

In the years which shall bring ____________ and ____________ into greater age and wisdom, we hope that their love shall be ever young; that they shall be able to always recover from moments of despair. In this hope, may they keep the vows made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know that, in the fullness of being, they are more than themselves and more than each other, that they are all of us, and that together we share joyously the fruits of life on this earth, our home.

Inasmuch as ____________ and ____________ have declared their love to each other before family and friends, I now greet them with you as husband and wife.

You may kiss.

(4)

When Love Beckons

Minister:

We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people, ____________ and ____________, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one. They now desire to profess before all the world their intention henceforth to walk the road of life together.

To these two young people, this marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone. This "birth of spirit" reminds us of spring, the season when all life is reborn and looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that this wedding of ____________ and ____________ be in the spring, and that it be under the open sky, where we are close to the earth and to the unity of life, the totality of living things of which we are part.

The beliefs and thoughts about love which motivate these two people are perhaps best expressed in the words of poet Kahlil Gibran:

"You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days.

Ay, you shall be together even in your silent memory.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heaven dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bondage of love.

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread, but eat not of the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping,

For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together,

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in shadow."

Minister to Bride:

Do you ____________, knowing this man's love for you and returning it, realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses and helping him to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully wedded husband?

Bride:

I do.

Minister:

Place the ring on his finger.

Minister to Groom:

Do you ____________, knowing this woman's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning form them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Groom:

I do.

Minister:

Place the ring on her finger. Let these rings serve as locks–not binding you together–but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever.

And now ____________ and ____________, seeking the fulfillment of love and marriage, find again that the poet Gibran speaks for them:

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving.

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home eventide with gratitude, and then sleep with a prayer

For the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

(2)

May This Day Shine Eternally

Minister:

____________ and ____________, in presenting yourselves here today to be joined in marriage, you perform an act of faith. This faith can grow and develop and last, but only if you both decide to make it so. A lasting and growing love is not guaranteed by any ritual.

If you would have the foundation of your marriage be the devotion you have for one another, not just at this moment, but for all the days to come, then treasure the hopes and dreams that you bring here today. Establish that your love will never be blotted out by the common nor obscured by the ordinary in life. Faults will surface where now you find comfort, and admiration can be shattered by the routine of daily life.

Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today. Only with this spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all the days of your lives.

Groom:

I, ____________, take you, ____________, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

The Groom places the Bride’s ring on her finger and says:

____________, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

Bride:

The Bride places the Groom’s ring on his finger and says:

____________ , I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

Minister:

With this statement made of love and trust, which we have just heard, I now wish you to greet ____________ and ____________ as husband and wife.

May this day shine eternally in your lives.

May it add brilliance to every achievement and cast a divine light over any misfortune.

May you care for each other in all sadness.

May you give cheer to each other.

May you give vitality to each other in all undertakings.

May all that is virtuous, beautiful and honest, remain with you always.

(1)

Enter Days of Togetherness

Minister:

We are gathered here today to take part in the most time-honored celebration of the human family, uniting a woman and a man in marriage. ____________ and ____________ have come to witness before us, telling of their love for each other. We remember, theirs is a love whose source is the affection of those who loved them into being.

We remind them that they are performing an act of complete faith, each in the other; that the heart of their marriage will be the relationship they create. In a world where faith often falls short of expectation, it is a tribute to these two who now join hands and hearts in perfect faith.

Minister to Groom:

____________, will you receive ____________ as your wife? Will you pledge to her your love, faith and tenderness, cherishing her with a husband's loyalty and devotion?

Groom:

I will.

Minister to Bride:

____________, will you receive ____________ as your husband? Will you pledge to him your love, faith and tenderness, cherishing him with a wife’s loyalty and devotion?

Bride:

I will.

Minister:

_____________ and _____________, receive each other from your fathers and mothers, who give you into each other's keeping, by saying now, each to the other, words which will tell of your love.

Groom:

I, ____________, take you, ____________ to be no other than yourself, in all the ways life may find us, tending you in sickness and rejoicing with you in health, as long as we both shall live to love.

Bride:

Minister:

Will you now give and receive a ring?

Bride and Groom:

We will.

Minister:

This circlet of precious metal is justly regarded as a fitting emblem of the purity and perpetuity of the Marriage State. The ancients were reminded by the circle of eternity, as it is so fashioned as to have neither beginning nor end; while gold is so incorruptible that it cannot be tarnished by use or time. So may the union, at this time solemnized, be incorruptible in its purity and more lasting that time itself.

Minister hands the ring to the Groom, who places it on the Bride’s finger:

Wear this ring forever, ____________, as a symbol of love and peace and of all that is unending.

Minister hands the ring to the Bride, who places it on the Groom’s finger:

Wear this ring forever, ____________, as a symbol of love and peace and of all that is unending.

Minister:

We speak to ____________ and ____________ of love, in which the trust and freedom of the other person becomes as significant as the trust and freedom of one's self. We speak to them of generosity, which gathers the beauty of earth for riches, and the kindness which turns away the wrath of foolish men and women. We speak of each of our hopes for their continued growth through patience, one for the other. We speak of our confidence that new levels of understanding, discovered by them in experiences of sorrow and tribulation, shall bring ever new surprises of strength and fortitude they do not now know.

In the years which shall bring ____________ and ____________ into greater age and wisdom, we pray that their love shall be ever young; that they shall be able always to recover from moments of despair, the lithesome ways of buoyant youth. In this hope may they keep the vows made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know that in the fullness of being, they are more than themselves and more than each other; that they are all of us, and that together we share joyously the fruits of life.

Inasmuch as ____________ and ____________ have declared their love and devotion to each other before family and friends, I now greet them with you as husband and wife.

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be sanctuary to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no isolation for you. Now there is no more loneliness. Now you are two, but there is only one life in front of you.

Go now and enter into the days of your togetherness.

We can change the wordings in any of these vows. Deciding which vows you want to use is a very special part of your wedding. We need the perfect vows for YOU!