Sample Marriage Ceremony (More traditional)           Home    Back

ELIZABETH and ROLAND


Introduction:

Officiant: Welcome, to all of you who have gathered today to share in this ceremony with Elizabeth and Roland.

The words that will be spoken here today are significant, though they are not what join these two. Nor is it this ceremony. For we are not here to mark the start of a relationship but to recognise a bond that already exists. Elizabeth and Roland have already joined themselves together, and we have gathered so they might bear witness before us of the love that has grown between them.

We are here to witness their statement of love and commitment. This is an act as ancient as the human race and, at the same time, as new as each morning. For it speaks of the past and hopes for the future, of the life of the individual and the existence of the community. Marriage is a going forth; a giving up of one way in search of a greater fulfillment than either can achieve alone, risking what they are for what they might be.


Declaration of Intentions:

Officiant: Elizabeth and Roland, do you come with joy and anticipation to this moment when you will be legally joined in marriage? Do you pledge to treat each other with kindness, respect and compassion, to listen to each other and to speak to each other with honesty, today and always?

Elizabeth & Roland: We do.


Recognition of the Gathered Company:

Officiant: Each of you has been invited here because you are a special person in the lives of Elizabeth and Roland. You have come to celebrate with them and to witness their commitment to one another. Will you, their friends and family, do all in your power to support this couple now, and in the years ahead?

Reply: We will.

Words to the Couple:

Officiant: You have come to love each other deeply and sincerely. That love has given you the desire to unite in marriage and to establish a home together. In this ceremony you are dedicating yourselves to give happiness and well being, each to the other. Your marriage is an act of trust. It must not be based on the vain hope of what the other will do or will not do, might become or might not become. It must be based on the firm belief in your own individual worth and that of the other. Your pledge today is an expression of your devotion. The words spoken in this ceremony will validate your marriage only if your love and commitment to one another are strong enough to sustain it. Today you announce your love for each other in the presence of families and friends. We rejoice with you and we wish you well.


Other words:

Officiant:

May the sun bring you new energy by day;
May the moon softly restore you by night;
May the rain wash away your worries
And the breezes blow new strength into your being,
And all the days of your life may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.
Now you can feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now there will be no more loneliness,
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together,
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
 

Traditional Apache Prayer

Betrothal:

Officiant: Elizabeth and Roland, as you have come here freely to give yourselves in marriage do you now promise that you will love and honour each other as husband and wife? Reply: We do

Exchange of vows:

Repeat after Officiant:

I, Roland, take you, Elizabeth, to be my wife; to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; until the end of our days.

I, Elizabeth, take you, Roland, to be my husband; to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; until the end of our days.


Exchange of Rings:

Officiant asks for and receives the rings saying:

The ring is the symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end. Love freely given has no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May your rings always call to mind the freedom and the power of this love!

Elizabeth: I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment.
Roland: I accept this ring as a sign of your love and commitment.
Roland: I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment.
Elizabeth: I accept this ring as a sign of your love and commitment.


Pronouncement:

Officiant: Roland and Elizabeth, inasmuch as you have pledged yourselves, each to the other, and inasmuch as you have declared the same in the presence of this company by exchanging vows and by giving and receiving rings, I do now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may seal your covenant with a kiss.


Signing of the Register and License:

Officiant announces the signing of the register. Flute music while Bride, Groom, Maid of Honour, Best Man, and Officiant sign the License and Register.

Closing:

With abiding confidence and deep affection,
We send you forth on life's journey together.
May love and peace be yours always.
A peace which the world can neither give nor take away,
A love which the world cannot destroy.
May you have courage, wisdom and peace in your future years together.
And may the happiness you share today be with you always.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I present to you Roland M. & Elizabeth J. , as husband and wife