Presentation of Bride:
Who presents this woman to be married today?
Welcome:
Let us make a wedding!
Stefani and Mark have been together for quite some time now.
As the years have gone by, their love has grown stronger and more beautiful. They have learned that they can depend on each other and the comfort of their bond to bring forward an abundance of gifts and lessons into their lives.
Through their sacred union in marriage this day, they are declaring to each other and to this gathering of their families and friends that they will be by each other’s side, no matter what life brings their way.
Stefani and Mark have included both Christian and Jewish traditions in their ceremony to represent their two faiths. To begin, a reading from 1st Corinthians:
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and patience will never fail.
Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
Three will remain: faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.
Reading:
David Labrador and Etta Bates to share the reading of the Seven Blessings.
- May you be generous and giving with each other.
- May your sense of humor and playful spirit always continue to enliven your relationship.
- May you always respect the diversity of humankind.
- May you act with compassion to those less fortunate and with responsibility to the communities of which you are apart.
- May you appreciate and complement each other’s differences.
- May you always share yourselves openly with your friends and family.
- May your home be a haven of blessing and peace.
Dedication:
Of all the people you have met, you have found each other. Are you ready to be married?
Now as Stefani and Mark prepare to exchange their vows, let us all take a moment to remember our own promises.
Declaration of Intent:
Stefani and Mark each of you have had quite a journey in your lives so far.
You are so blessed to have found each other as partners.
It is with great love today that you choose to share all of life’s blessings, challenges, joys, and sorrows with each other.
Do you Mark take Stefani to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish, to have and to hold, for better for worse, richer or poorer in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?
Do you Stefani take Mark to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor and cherish, to have and to hold, for better for worse, richer or poorer in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?
Exchange of Rings:
Wedding rings are a symbol that has been carried forward from antiquity. They are simple and strong.
They are round like the sun and the moon, like the eye, and like the embrace of love.
As you enter into the circle of your shared love, may you be blessed through your devotion to this union.
May your journey as husband and wife be filled with peace, love, and joy.
I bless these rings. May the grace of this day carry forward with you all the days of your lives together and may you find delight in each other and may your love continue to grow and to nurture you throughout your lives.
Mark place the ring on Stefani’s finger and repeat after me:
With this ring, I take you as my wife.
Stefani place the ring on Marks’s finger and repeat after me:
With this ring, I take you as my husband.
Pronouncement:
Please join hands.
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 Maryland, it is my honor to pronounce you husband and wife.
Breaking of the Glass:
Stefani and Mark have chosen to participate in the breaking of the glass. This Jewish tradition has several meanings. It reminds us that love, like glass, is fragile and must be protected. The shattering of this glass also symbolizes the breaking down of barriers between people of different cultures and faiths. Most of all, the glass is broken to protect the marriage with a prayer: may the marriage last as long as the glass is broken – forever. What we have joined together today let no man tear asunder.
Mazel Tov
The Kiss:
You may now kiss for the first time as husband and wife.
Introduction of the Couple:
Honored guests let me present to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Stephenson.
Let us go forth in celebration.
Ceremonies With Hallie 