Opening Prayer

Let us begin by welcoming the presence of God within each of us. As we lift into the loving that joins us together as  one, let us surround Bride and Groom with our love, our prayers, and our best wishes for them on this, their wedding  day, and throughout their journey together as Marriage Partners. Beloved God, we welcome you and are so grateful for your  presence here with us today.

We have come here as a community of family and friends to love and support Bride and Groom, to witness their entrance into the sacred and joyous covenant of marriage, and to celebrate the beginning of their journey together as Marriage Partners.

We are here because we love Bride and Groom. We rejoice that they have found each other and that through each other, they have come to know the power of love as they have never known it before.

We celebrate this union of their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls and wish them great joy.

We ask, Beloved God, that you guide and bless Bride and Groom with a loving, healthy, and happy marriage.

We ask that through this union they may come to know you more deeply.

Amen.

Remembrance

Bride and Groom

have asked that we take a moment to honor the memory of those loved ones who could only be here today in spirit.

Gathering Words

Dearly beloved,

we are gathered here in the presence of these witnesses, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony; which is an honorable estate, revered since time immemorial as the most profound and tender of human relationships.

The union of two people in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity, and, when it is God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the  Lord.

Therefore marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God.

Bride and Groom,

remember that love and faithfulness alone will provide a solid  foundation for a long and happy marriage.

No relationship is more tender than that of husband and wife. And no promises are more sacred than those of Marriage Partners. In keeping faithfully to your vows and in bringing to this marriage the best that is within you, your life together will be filled with grace and joy, and your home will be a place of  peace.

The choice to enter into marriage is profound. In choosing a lifelong partner, we are choosing the one who will witness our changes and growth, and who will affect these changes and shape our maturation as well.

Bride and Groom,

this day not only signifies a celebration of shared values and commitment, but it attests to the fact that you have chosen to build your future together.

Through the sacred vows of marriage you are saying that who you are and who you want to be can best be achieved through this  union.

As we rejoice in Bride and Groom’s marriage today,

let us each consecrate the relationships in our own lives and rededicate ourselves to these unions we share.

Let us each choose the path of loving and caring for  one another and of making these commitments a priority in our  lives.

Declaration of Support

Bride and Groom,

today we have come together to celebrate the love you have found with each other. By being here with you, each of us is declaring our support for your decision to join together in marriage.

(To guests)

As families and friends you form the community of support that surrounds Bride and Groom. Each of you, by your presence here today, is being called upon to uphold them in honoring and loving each other.

Always stand beside them, never between them. Offer them your love and support, not your judgment. Encourage them with your kindness and loving hearts, and  honor  this marriage into which they have come to be joined today. Will everyone please stand?

Collectively,  you represent the families, friends, and traditions that have brought Bride and Groom to this point in their lives.

Please affirm your support for this marriage by responding “Yes, I do”to the following  question:

As part of the community which surrounds Bride and Groom, do you offer your love and support to strengthen their marriage and bless this family created by their union?

Guests: Yes, I do!

Please be seated.

Marriage Address

Marriage is the essence of human relationships.

It challenges us to be of one accord without abandoning the truth of our individuality. It challenges us to not lose ourselves in one another, but rather to walk side by side heading in the same direction. As with all relationships, marriage is an endless presentation of choices about how we want to be with one another.

Each choice results in either more unity or more separation. Choose into that unity, Bride and Groom, every chance you get.

Sacrifice your judgments, expectations, and any other ways that you have learnedto separate yourselves from each other. Share the gifts of your friendship, humor, vulnerability, sensitivity, and kindness.

Be sure to find ways each daynto protect, affirm, and support each other, and to treasure the balance and shared values that you have found with each other.

Enjoy  the intertwining of your independence with your intimacy. I wish you the courage to keep your loving hearts open to each other for the rest of your lives.

God bless you.

Candle Ceremony

From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven. And, when two souls who are destined to be together find  each other, their streams of light flow together, and a single brighter light goes forth from their united being.

Human love is not a substitute for spiritual love— it is an extension of  it.

Bride and Groom, when you see each other as the divine and eternal beings that you are, you will never cease to wonder and glory in your coming together. The purpose of human love is to awaken love for God.

The truth that is continually reborn is that within each human being burns the spark of the divine.

When two people love one another with devotion and freedom, they kindle the awareness of that spark in each other as nothing else quite can  do.

Bride and Groom,

in committing to one another today, you kindle one another’s divine light and promise always to do your best to see that light in one another, to nurture and tend that divine flame in your partner as best you can each day, especially at the times it may be hardest to do, and the times your partner may doubt or forget the existence of that light within him or herself.

Bride, take this candle now, and light it from the center candle representing the divine source.

As you do so, symbolically enter the sacred trust to honor the divine spirit in Groom.

Groom, as you light this candle from the divine source, symbolically enter the sacred trust to honor the divine spirit in Bride.

Now, bring your individual flames together, symbolizing the new and greater flame of your marriage, remembering that just as this union is made stronger by your strength as individuals, so are you as individuals made stronger by the strength of this union.

And never forget that the light of your union, while made up of your unique and individual expressions of light, is continually sustained and renewed by your connection to the eternal and inexhaustible light of God, the Source.

(To guests)

Please stand and join me in the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

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, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

Wedding Vows

Bride and Groom,

please join hands to share your Wedding Vows.

Groom:

I take you, Bride, to be my wife, from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come. To laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow, to grow with you in love, serving mankind in peace and hope, as long as we both shall live.

Bride:

I choose you, Groom, to be my lifelong partner, lover, and best friend. I will always be faithful to you and be at your side to laugh with you in times of joy  and comfort you in times of sorrow. Wherever our path leads us, it takes us together.

I will encourage and support you, honor and love you.

I will respect our differences and do my part to work through all our challenges.

Groom, I’ll be your safe haven and  your home. With purity of heart and love in my soul,

I stand before our loved ones as your lifelong partner.

Ring Exchange

May I have the rings, please?

Bride and Groom,

these wedding rings symbolize the holiness, perfection, and peace that is available to you in your marriage. They are symbols of the love, friendship, and faithfulness that you  share.

As circles, they have no beginning or end. They are round like the sun, the moon, the earth, and the universe.

Just as these rings have no points of weakness, may your union be  strong, and may you be blessed with joy as you journey through life together surrounded by the circle of your love. Groom, place this ring on Bride’s finger.

Groom:

I love you.

(He places the ring up to the knuckle of her finger.)

 Bride:

I wed you.

(She moves the ring over the knuckle onto her finger.)

 

Officiant:

Bride, place this ring on Groom’s finger.

 

Bride:

I love you.

(She places the ring up to the knuckle of his finger.)

 Groom:

I wed you.

(He moves the ring over the knuckle onto his finger.)

 Final Blessing

Bride and Groom,

you have declared your intention and vows before God and this gathering of your families and friends.

May the grace of this day carry forward with you all the days of your lives.

May you find delight in each other and may your love continue to grow and to nurture you throughout your lives. I wish you the strength to be true to the vows you have made here today.

May you always have the wisdom to cherish the precious love you share. May you abide by the laws of Spirit, nurturing yourselves and this marriage with acceptance, understanding, cooperation, and loving.

May the life you share be peaceful, healthy, and filled with blessings and joy.

As the Apache Wedding Blessing declares:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other; Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other; Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you.

Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness, And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the First Nation Church and the Knights of St. Valentine and in accordance with the laws of the State of the Maryland, it is my honor to pronounce you partners in marriage.

 

You may now kiss as husband and wife for the first  time.

Congratulations and God bless  you!