Rev. Susan Anderson
WEDDING CELEBRANT AND OFFICIANT
MANY BLESSINGS MINISTRY...STANDARD WEDDING CEREMONY
Cherished Memories
Love Story
Many Blessings
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Standard Wedding Ceremony...... Standard Ceremony 4 |
SEEDS FOR CHANGE
Wellness Center
Providing educational
information, programs,
and holistic health
services, we are
committed to helping
bring about balance and
harmony within the
personal,local and global
environment, by assisting
those working toward a
healthier lifestyle.
Welcome
Dear family and friends, I call upon all of you gathered here to witness with me
the marriage of Bride and Groom. You were each invited to join us today so
that you may share in the joy that Bride and Groom are feeling as they
pledge their love and commitment to each other.
CONVOCATION
Bride and Groom’s decision to marry is based in love and founded upon
sincerity and understanding, which leads to a relationship that is rich in
confidence and trust.
A strong marriage is dependent upon many factors. Beyond the love, respect
and trust that you share with one another, there must be a strong sense of
commitment and loyalty that bonds you. And also important are a shared
companionship and a willingness to communicate openly with one another.
This respectful communication and the love that it displays, helps each partner
to accept and understand the other’s strengths and weaknesses and allow for
the continued growth that is necessary in all good and lasting marriages.
INVOCATION
We thank God for this miraculous day. For the fulfillment of love we see before
us, and the joy of sharing this happy occasion. Let us all join together our
prayerful energies and become aware of the presence of God’s Infinite Love,
to make this a day of thanksgiving and possibilities.
We are so happy that Bride and Groom found each other; they know in their
hearts how perfectly suited they are, and that they are choosing on this day of
most special days, to become for all time a beautiful reflection of each other.
READING:
The Art of Marriage
A marriage must be created.
In marriage, the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in
the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating
gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo
or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding
and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right person,
it is being the right partner.
EXPRESSION OF INTENT
We'll begin by asking the question: “Why get married?”
Bride & Groom have answered this question for themselves and they've told
me their answer.
Now I want to ask them one more time, so they can be certain of their
understanding, and firm in their commitment to the truth they share.
And so, this is the ceremony in which Bride & Groom share their
understandings, and commemorate that sharing.
So...we're here to celebrate, to honor, to laugh, and to be glad because love is
alive and well! Bride & Groom are here to prove it.
Bride and Groom, before you are joined together in matrimony here today, in
my presence and in the presence of your family and friends, I am to remind
you of the serious and binding nature of the relationship of marriage.
The commitment of marriage is one of the most important commitments that
two people will make in their lifetime. Marriage, as most of us understand it, is a
voluntary and full commitment of a man to a woman and a woman to a man. It
is made in the deepest sense, to the exclusion of all others, and is intended to
last a lifetime. The vow of marriage is a pledge of everlasting love, within the
unity of matrimony, whereby, committing to share all that life has to offer, the
good times and the bad, with patience and understanding.
For a marriage to remain strong, your faith in that vow must never waver. It
must remain strong through the trials of everyday life. The words that you
speak to each other today are to be the cornerstone for your life together from
this day forward.
Bride and Groom, have you come here freely and without reservation to give
yourselves to each other in marriage?
Respond: We have!
Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your
lives?
Respond: We will!
CONSECRATION
Let us say a short prayer:
God who has created us, each as an individual, open Bride’s and Groom’s
hearts to feel your guidance and support through those who have gathered
with them here today. Let their marriage be an occasion for them to see how
you have been working in their lives separately, and together. May they
remember the vows taken here today, not only in their minds, but also, in their
everyday actions of kindness and caring for one another. Amen.
VOWS
To Groom, please repeat after me:
Groom: From this moment, I, Groom, take you, Bride, as my best friend for
life. I pledge to honor, encourage, and support you through our walk together.
When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so
that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise
to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of
my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow.
To Bride: Do you Bride choose to grant Groom’s request?
Bride answers “I DO.”
To Bride, please repeat after me:
Bride: From this moment, I, Bride, take you, Groom, as my best friend for
life. I pledge to honor, encourage, and support you through our walk together.
When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so
that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise
to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of
my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow.
To Groom: Do you Groom choose to grant Bride’s request?
Groom answers “I DO.”
RINGS – BLESSING & EXCHANGE
Get the rings from Best Man and place on dish for blessing
Bride and Groom have brought rings to present to one another as a symbol
of their marriage vows today.
Now I ask that God bless these rings that Bride and Groom will exchange as
a symbol of their love and fidelity. Say silent prayer over the rings
Groom, please repeat after me:
Groom: Bride, with all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a
symbol of my everlasting love. I, Groom take you Bride as my lawfully
wedded wife.
Bride, please repeat after me:
Bride: Groom, with all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a
symbol of my everlasting love. I, Bride take you Groom as my lawfully
wedded husband.
PRONOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
As you begin your married life together hold close to you the words that you
have spoken to each other today. Life isn’t always an easy road, as you both
know. Rely on your faith in your promises made today to see you through
those times. In times of trouble be strong. Ask God to grant you the gifts of
caring and understanding in your life together, allowing that each may be to
the other a source of strength in need, a counselor in times of uncertainty, a
comfort in times of sorrow, and a companion in your joys.
You have declared before all of us that you will now live your lives together in
marriage. You have made special promises to each other, which have been
symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and giving and receiving of
rings.
By the authority vested in me as a Minister of the State of Pennsylvania, I now
pronounce you to be husband and wife.
THE KISS
You may now seal your marriage with a kiss.
BENEDICTION
Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea
between the shores of our souls. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but
let each one 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. Stand together but
not too near together. For the pillars of the temple stand apart and the oak
and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
INTRODUCTION OF COUPLE
Now that the ceremony is over and the experience of living day to day is about
to begin, go and meet it gladly.
And now it is my pleasure of presenting to you, for the first time as husband
and wife, Introduction of Bride and Groom
Dear family and friends, I call upon all of you gathered here to witness with me
the marriage of Bride and Groom. You were each invited to join us today so
that you may share in the joy that Bride and Groom are feeling as they
pledge their love and commitment to each other.
CONVOCATION
Bride and Groom’s decision to marry is based in love and founded upon
sincerity and understanding, which leads to a relationship that is rich in
confidence and trust.
A strong marriage is dependent upon many factors. Beyond the love, respect
and trust that you share with one another, there must be a strong sense of
commitment and loyalty that bonds you. And also important are a shared
companionship and a willingness to communicate openly with one another.
This respectful communication and the love that it displays, helps each partner
to accept and understand the other’s strengths and weaknesses and allow for
the continued growth that is necessary in all good and lasting marriages.
INVOCATION
We thank God for this miraculous day. For the fulfillment of love we see before
us, and the joy of sharing this happy occasion. Let us all join together our
prayerful energies and become aware of the presence of God’s Infinite Love,
to make this a day of thanksgiving and possibilities.
We are so happy that Bride and Groom found each other; they know in their
hearts how perfectly suited they are, and that they are choosing on this day of
most special days, to become for all time a beautiful reflection of each other.
READING:
The Art of Marriage
A marriage must be created.
In marriage, the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in
the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating
gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo
or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding
and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right person,
it is being the right partner.
EXPRESSION OF INTENT
We'll begin by asking the question: “Why get married?”
Bride & Groom have answered this question for themselves and they've told
me their answer.
Now I want to ask them one more time, so they can be certain of their
understanding, and firm in their commitment to the truth they share.
And so, this is the ceremony in which Bride & Groom share their
understandings, and commemorate that sharing.
So...we're here to celebrate, to honor, to laugh, and to be glad because love is
alive and well! Bride & Groom are here to prove it.
Bride and Groom, before you are joined together in matrimony here today, in
my presence and in the presence of your family and friends, I am to remind
you of the serious and binding nature of the relationship of marriage.
The commitment of marriage is one of the most important commitments that
two people will make in their lifetime. Marriage, as most of us understand it, is a
voluntary and full commitment of a man to a woman and a woman to a man. It
is made in the deepest sense, to the exclusion of all others, and is intended to
last a lifetime. The vow of marriage is a pledge of everlasting love, within the
unity of matrimony, whereby, committing to share all that life has to offer, the
good times and the bad, with patience and understanding.
For a marriage to remain strong, your faith in that vow must never waver. It
must remain strong through the trials of everyday life. The words that you
speak to each other today are to be the cornerstone for your life together from
this day forward.
Bride and Groom, have you come here freely and without reservation to give
yourselves to each other in marriage?
Respond: We have!
Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your
lives?
Respond: We will!
CONSECRATION
Let us say a short prayer:
God who has created us, each as an individual, open Bride’s and Groom’s
hearts to feel your guidance and support through those who have gathered
with them here today. Let their marriage be an occasion for them to see how
you have been working in their lives separately, and together. May they
remember the vows taken here today, not only in their minds, but also, in their
everyday actions of kindness and caring for one another. Amen.
VOWS
To Groom, please repeat after me:
Groom: From this moment, I, Groom, take you, Bride, as my best friend for
life. I pledge to honor, encourage, and support you through our walk together.
When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so
that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise
to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of
my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow.
To Bride: Do you Bride choose to grant Groom’s request?
Bride answers “I DO.”
To Bride, please repeat after me:
Bride: From this moment, I, Bride, take you, Groom, as my best friend for
life. I pledge to honor, encourage, and support you through our walk together.
When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so
that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise
to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of
my heart, I will love you. This is my solemn vow.
To Groom: Do you Groom choose to grant Bride’s request?
Groom answers “I DO.”
RINGS – BLESSING & EXCHANGE
Get the rings from Best Man and place on dish for blessing
Bride and Groom have brought rings to present to one another as a symbol
of their marriage vows today.
Now I ask that God bless these rings that Bride and Groom will exchange as
a symbol of their love and fidelity. Say silent prayer over the rings
Groom, please repeat after me:
Groom: Bride, with all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a
symbol of my everlasting love. I, Groom take you Bride as my lawfully
wedded wife.
Bride, please repeat after me:
Bride: Groom, with all that I am and all that I have, I give you this ring as a
symbol of my everlasting love. I, Bride take you Groom as my lawfully
wedded husband.
PRONOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
As you begin your married life together hold close to you the words that you
have spoken to each other today. Life isn’t always an easy road, as you both
know. Rely on your faith in your promises made today to see you through
those times. In times of trouble be strong. Ask God to grant you the gifts of
caring and understanding in your life together, allowing that each may be to
the other a source of strength in need, a counselor in times of uncertainty, a
comfort in times of sorrow, and a companion in your joys.
You have declared before all of us that you will now live your lives together in
marriage. You have made special promises to each other, which have been
symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and giving and receiving of
rings.
By the authority vested in me as a Minister of the State of Pennsylvania, I now
pronounce you to be husband and wife.
THE KISS
You may now seal your marriage with a kiss.
BENEDICTION
Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea
between the shores of our souls. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but
let each one 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. Stand together but
not too near together. For the pillars of the temple stand apart and the oak
and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
INTRODUCTION OF COUPLE
Now that the ceremony is over and the experience of living day to day is about
to begin, go and meet it gladly.
And now it is my pleasure of presenting to you, for the first time as husband
and wife, Introduction of Bride and Groom