Share your ceremony script!

[affiwin]

Thanks for these ideas. Another 'to do' on our list.

[IMPPEARL]

I like most people did a combination of alot of the other scripts I read... heres mine

 

On behalf of Craig and Jacqueline, I welcome you and thank you all for gathering here on this beautiful day to witness their marriage ceremony. The fact that you all have travelled such a great distance to be here today is a testament to the amazing amount of love and support they have. Many of you have given them much happiness, love, warmth, and guidance through the various stages of their lives. They would like to sincerely thank you all for being here to celebrate their big day. A special and respectful acknowledgement must also be made to those friends and family members who were unable to attend, or have passed on, but whose spirit remains alive and strong in all our hearts.

 

We are here today to participate in a most joyous occasion; to celebrate one of the greatest moments in life, by acknowledging the wedding of Craig and Jacqueline.

 

Today Craig and Jacqueline proclaim their love to the world, and our joy and thoughts are with them.

 

Being assured of your love as life long companions, and that you have your families blessings, I now ask, who gives this women to be married to this man? (Dean Cottrell “I Do”) Thank you

 

Opening Blessing

 

Craig, Jacqueline, Family and Friends, I would like to welcome you.

 

By entering into this marriage, Craig and Jacqueline are stating publicly, the feelings, and commitments they have held privately between them. They are proclaiming their love for, their trust in, and their loyalty to the one, they cherish above all others.

 

Marriage has been described as living in love with your best friend. Love is one of the few constants in the universe. It is reality, affinity, and communication. Only love is capable of joining living beings by their deepest essence, uniting, completing, and fulfilling them.

 

Marriage is a symbol of the commitment, to create a lifelong partnership, based on love.

 

Craig and Jacqueline would you please face each other and join your hands.

 

 

Vows

 

Craig, as I say these words, would you please repeat after me…

 

I love you, Jacqueline. You are my best friend. Today I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard. These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life. I am forever yours……faithfully.

 

 

Jacqueline as I say these words, would you please repeat after me…

 

I love you, Craig; You too are my best friend. Today I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard. These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life. I am forever yours……faithfully.

 

 

The Rings

 

The wedding ring, traditionally, is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love as it has neither a beginning nor an end. It should always remind those who wear it of the sacredness of marriage and the love that feeds it.

 

Jacqueline and Craig, your rings are intimately associated with your intent to honor and treasure the vows you have made today. By exchanging rings, resolve to live your vows and not to let them drift in shallow promises. Believe and trust that the words you have spoken have the capacity to create the marriage, family and life of your dreams, and that the rings you exchange will have the power to return you to your vows.

 

These rings mark the beginning of a long journey together, wear them proudly, as they are symbols which speak of love that you have for each other….

 

Jacqueline as you place this ring on Craig’s finger please repeat after me…

 

Craig, I give you this ring, as a sign of our marriage, and a lasting reminder, of the vows made between us today. I give you this ring, as a reminder that I will love, honor, and cherish you, in all times, in all places, and in all ways, forever.

 

Craig, if you accept please say I do…

 

 

Craig as you place this ring on Jacqueline’s finger, please repeat after me…

 

Jacqueline, I to give you this ring, as a sign of our marriage, and a lasting reminder, of the vows made between us today. I give you this ring, as a reminder that I will love, honor, and cherish you, in all times, in all places, and in all ways, forever.

 

Jacqueline, if you accept, please say “I Do”.

 

 

Sand Ceremony:

 

As you stand beside the ocean tide, may your love always be as constant as these never-ending waves that pour near your feet, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea; Your love came softly upon each others heart, just as the foam comes softly upon the sand, and just as there will never be a morning without the ocean's flow, so there will never be a day without love for each other. You have pledged yourselves on this day your love will be as dependable as the tide; as these waters nourish the earth and sustain life, may your constant devotion nourish and sustain you until the end of time. Jacqueline and Craig, you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and this covenant is a relationship agreement between two people who agree that they will commit themselves to one another throughout their lives. The most beautiful example of this partnership is the marriage relationship. You have committed here today to share the rest of your lives with each other. First the Parents, Jim and Joan Davidson, and Dean and Ellen Cottrell will join Jacqueline and Craig in this commitment to each other by first pouring a small amount of sand into the large container to represent the foundation and contribute a part of each Family into one sound, unbroken, or enduring unit. It was the hard work and guidance they provided, and their everlasting love, support, and encouragement that Craig and Jacqueline have learned the true meaning of love, friendship and family. Next Bride and Groom will pour in some of their sand individually, representing their individuality. Finally Jacqueline and Craig will simultaneously pour their containers of sand into the common vessel. Each grain of sand in their separate containers represents a unique and separate moment, decision, feeling or event that helped shaped Bride and Groom into the separate and unique individuals that they are today. As they pour their separate containers of sand into a common vessel, those separate and independent individuals will cease to exist. Instead they will merge into a loving and supportive marital community. BRIDE and GROOM, just as the grains of sand can never be separated into their individual containers again, so will your marriage be."

 

Music Starts (Bon Jovi – Thank You for Loving Me), and ceremony takes place….continue after song ends

 

Blessing:

I would now like to ask a very good friend of Jacqueline’s, Jodey Therriault to come up and say a blessing…

 

With the words from an old Apache Wedding Blessing, I would like to bless this union

 

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for 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 only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth."

 

"Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives -- remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jacqueline and Craig have demonstrated in your presence today, their belief in their love, and their desire to live together in Holy Matrimony. If you also believe in their love, and wish to add your blessing on their marriage today, please respond now by saying……………WE DO

And are you all willing to sustain and strengthen this marriage, by giving Jacqueline and Craig the public commitment of your love and support, through all the ups and downs ahead of them…If you are willing, please say……….WE ARE

 

Pronouncement

 

Each of you has pledged your truth, one to the other, by giving and receiving your Love. May you strive always to meet this commitment, with the same spirit you now are now shining. We all bear witness to this ceremony you have just performed, and this bond that has been formed today can be broken by none.

 

Now it is my pleasure to announce you as Husband and Wife.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Family and Friends

 

Mr. And Mrs. Craig, and Jacqueline Davidson, you may kiss the bride………

[doblauvelt]

These are all so beautiful. I've already begun copying and pasting, thanks so much ladies!

 

One question though, I've noticed that no one's had a reading in between... I want my brother and FSIL to be our readers, has anyone else thought of doing this?

[khandie]

They are all beautiful words and will inspire me as my fiance' and I start to write ours. Thank you all for sharing.

[tmurphy82]

This is great--thanks for sharing!

[doblauvelt]

Thanks for all the ideas, here's mine:

 

On behalf of XXX and XXX, I welcome you and thank you all for gathering here on this beautiful day in Mexico to witness their marriage ceremony. The fact that you all have travelled such a great distance to be here today is a testament to the amazing amount of love and support they have. Many of you have given them much happiness, love, warmth, and guidance through the various stages of their lives. They would like to sincerely thank you all for being here to celebrate their big day. A special acknowledgement must also be made to those friends and family members who were unable to attend; but although absent in body, I am sure that they and all others who love you are here with you in spirit right now giving you their love and blessing.

 

And now we honor your parents and ask for their support…

 

As our sons and daughters find partners and find homes for the next generation, each family is enriched and enlarged. Would the parents of the bride and groom please stand?

 

This occasion is a special celebration for you, the parents who have brought these children into the world, and nurtured them into adulthood. Today you are witnessing another stage in the lives of your son and daughter. Your continuing support and encouragement will be needed as XXX and XXX unite in marriage.

 

Will you who have loved and nurtured these two, try with the greatest love and wisdom you have, to support this new couple and help in every way? If so, please say “We Will.”

 

Parents: We Will.

 

I would like to invite XXX XXX to read Wilfred Chris Ardis’s, “Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life”.

 

“Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It's laughing with each other about silly little things, and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trusting each other when you're apart. It's getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It's the realization that there is no one else in this world that you’d rather be with than the one you're married to. It's thinking of new things to do together; It's growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.”

 

By entering into this marriage, XXX and XXX are stating publicly, the feelings, and commitments they have held privately between them. They are proclaiming their love for, their trust in, and their loyalty to the one, they cherish above all others.

 

Marriage has been described as living in love with your best friend. Love is one of the few constants in the universe. It is reality, affinity, and communication. Only love is capable of joining living beings by their deepest essence, uniting, completing, and fulfilling them.

 

XXX and XXX may this be the love that you bring into this relationship and may its essence touch all those with whom you come in contact. Just as the waters touch and nourish the many shores of the earth, may your love be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. As you come this day to affirm your love and commitment, may you always remember to value each other as special and unique individuals, and that you respect each others thoughts, ideas and feelings. May you be able to forgive and to forget when wronged - as from this day forward you will be each other's home, comfort and sanctuary.

 

Now, I would like to invite XXX XXX to read Robert Fulghum’s “Union”.

 

"You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way.

 

All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.

 

All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time.

 

Before this moment you have been many things to one another- best friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife."

 

XXX and XXX would you please face each other and join your hands.

 

XXX, do you take XXX, to be your wife? Do you promise love to her, respect her and care for her, under all conditions and circumstances of life to be a faithful husband to her for the rest of your lives together? [i do]

 

Please repeat after me:

 

XXX I love you. You are my best friend. Today I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems difficult. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in highest regard. I promise to support you and to be there for you no matter what. These things I give to you today, and for all the days of our life.

 

XXX, do you take XXX, to be your husband? Do you promise love to him, respect him and care for him, under all conditions and circumstances of life to be a faithful wife to him for the rest of your lives together? [i do]

 

Please repeat after me:

 

XXX I love you. You are my best friend. Today I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems difficult. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in highest regard. I promise to support you and to be there for you no matter what. These things I give to you today, and for all the days of our life.

 

May I please have the rings?

 

The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.

 

XXX as you place this ring on XXX’s finger please repeat after me:

 

I give you this ring as a sign of my devotion and love and with my all my heart I promise to you all that I am. With this ring I marry you and join my life to yours.

 

XXX as you place this ring on XXX’s finger please repeat after me:

 

I give you this ring as a sign of my devotion and love and with my all my heart I promise to you all that I am. With this ring I marry you and join my life to yours.

 

May the sacredness of this moment and the vows and rings you have exchanged ever remain as a priceless memory in the heart of each of you and may you have perfect love and peace together.

 

XXX and XXX, having pledged, and sealed your vows by the giving and receiving of rings, you have made a promise to share the rest of your lives with one another. The unity and strength of your marital bond is symbolized through the pouring of these individual colored sands into one beautiful and unique blend.

 

The separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends. They represent all that you are and all that you’ll ever be as an individual. They also represent your lives before today. As these containers of sand are poured into the empty container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist but will be joined together as one.

 

I now ask that the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom step forward for the sand ceremony. The sand poured by your mothers is the foundation of your lives and marriage. Will each mother please pour a layer of sand into the empty container?

 

[mothers pour sand] Please have a seat.

 

XXX and XXX please pour your individual sands, as your lives will now be joined as one.

 

This newly formed union and joining of families is represented by the intertwined pattern of sand created by you and your families. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage and families be.

 

XXX and XXX if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, may it be the love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and by love which your marriage shall endure. Today your separate lives with your individual memories, desires, and hopes merge into one. You are now taking into your care and keeping the happiness of the one person in the entire world whom you love above all others. You are adding to your life not only the affection of each other, but also the companionship and blessing of a deep trust as well. You are agreeing to share strength, responsibilities and to share love. May you be a blessing and comfort to each other, sharers of each others dreams, consolers of each others sorrows, helpers to each other in all of life's challenges. May you encourage each other in whatever you set out to achieve. May you trust each other, trust life and be unafraid. May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you patience, tolerance, and understanding.

 

With friends and family, along with the sun, the sand, and the sea, I have the pleasure of announcing you as husband and wife.

 

You may now kiss your bride!

[chevy14]

Thanks everyone for posting, this thread has been so helpful in putting our own vows together!

[nicitica]

You ladies just saved me a lot of stress, yet again. Since we are getting married on a private estate and having a friend officiate we had NO idea where to begin!! this is fabulous... i can combine and tweak a few of these. big hugs ladies, nicole

[jackobelle]

Thanks for sharing these. I was told that the Cuban legal part of the wedding is very "legal" sounding, so these are some great ideas to make it more personalized and romantic!

[*Krista*]

These ideas are all so great! Thank you to everyone who has contributed - I really appreciate it!!