Processional
Opening Words
Welcome! We are gathered here on this wonderful winter day in the presence of God and of this company to join in holy marriage Bride's Full Name and Groom's Full Name. Some words associated with Winter are 'dreary', 'cold', 'bleak'. And, although winter may be overhead, Bride and Groom's love brings spring to the heart! It is said that one love can warm three winter months. But today, Groom and Bride engage in a marriage that will bring a warmth to the rest of their lives. Groom & Bride have brought life to this season with their wedding! And we who are here today, appreciate the chance to celebrate with them!
Opening Prayer
{Let us bless this joyous union with a Cherokee Indian prayer. Please bow your heads}
God in heaven above, please protect Bride & Groom as they pledge their hearts and lives together. We honor all you created. We honor mother-earth, and ask for this marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honor fire, and ask that this union be warm and glowing with love in their hearts. We honor wind, and ask that they will sail through life safe and calm as in our father's arms. We honor water, to clean and soothe their relationship that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness as they forever grow young together. Amen.
Expression of Intent
{Now, Groom & Bride will make public their intention to marry.}
Groom, do you here in the presence of God and these witnesses declare your commitment to Bride and choose her as the one with whom you wish to spend your life? Do you give yourself to her and accept the gift of self which she gives to you? Do you pledge to endure all of the difficulties which life may offer, even as you look forward to sharing the joys to be experienced together?
Groom: I do!
Bride, do you here in the presence of God and these witnesses declare your commitment to Groom and choose him as the one with whom you wish to spend your life? Do you give yourself to him and accept the gift of self which he gives to you? Do you pledge to endure all of the difficulties which life may offer, even as you look forward to sharing the joys to be experienced together?
Bride: I do!
Vows
{And now Groom and Bride will recite their wedding vows}
Groom, please repeat after me...
Bride, I promise before God, family, and friends to be your husband from this day forward. Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. Let us make of our two lives, one life, and let us always love and respect each other.
Bride, please repeat after me...
Groom, I promise before God, family, and friends to be your wife from this day forward. Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. Let us make of our two lives, one life, and let us always love and respect each other.
Blessing of the Rings
As God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere, so let the seemless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love.
Exchange Of The Rings
{And now, Groom & Bride will exchange their wedding rings}
Groom, please repeat after me...
With this ring, I pledge myself to you, to our marriage, and to our everlasting love.
Bride, please repeat after me...
With this ring, I pledge myself to you, to our marriage, and to our everlasting love.
Unity Candle Ritual
{And now, Groom and Bride will light a Unity Candle as a symbol of their love.}
Bride and Groom, your relationship was just sealed by the giving and receiving of rings. This beautiful union is symbolized through the lighting of the Unity Candle. The two distinct flames represent your lives to this moment; individual and unique. The center candle you are about to light is a candle of Marriage. Its fire is magical because it represents the light of two people in love. It is a candle of unity because both must come together, giving a spark of themselves, to create the new light. This candle is also a candle of commitment because it takes two people working together to keep it aflame. Groom and Bride, please light the center candle to symbolize the union of your lives.
[Bride and Groom light Unity Candle]
As you have lit this candle today, may the brightness of the flame shine throughout your lives. May the radiance of this one light be a testimony of your unity. May this candle burn brightly as a symbol of your commitment to each other. May it give you courage and reassurance in darkness. Warmth and safety in the cold.
Reading
This reading comes from the words of an Eskimo love song.
You are my spouse.
My feet shall run because of you.
My feet dance because of you.
My heart shall beat because of you.
My eyes see because of you.
My mind thinks because of you.
And I shall love because of you.
Pronouncement of Marriage
{At this time we come to the Pronouncement of Marriage. The Pronouncement is my public, and legal, proclamation that Bride and Groom are married. It is the exact moment of Marriage...}
Groom and Bride, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Holy Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by your vows, the giving of your rings, and the lighting of your Unity Candle, I now declare you to be husband and wife and offer you the Benediction of the Apaches...
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 is no more loneliness. You are two bodies, but there is one life before you, and one home. You will take each others hand and you'll turn together to look at the road you traveled to reach this---the hour of your happiness. It stretches behind you and the future lies ahead. A long and winding road, whose every turn means discovery, old hopes, new laughter and shared tears. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and may your days together be good and long upon the earth. The adventure has just begun!
Permission to Kiss
Congratulations, you may kiss!
Benediction
Beloved God, source of warmth, light, and love, pour your grace down upon Bride and Groom, that they may fulfill the vows that they have made today. Groom and Bride, may you endlessly delight one another. May you love and fulfill each other always. May you always see in each other the face of God. Go in peace. Live in joy.
Presentation of the New Couple
Ladies and gentlemen, It is my pleasure to present to you...
Mr. & Mrs. _________________________
Recessional
