Dearly Beloved:

We are gathered together here in the presence of this company, to join together this man and woman in holy matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted by God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is between Christ and His Church, which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with His presence and first miracle that He wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is commended of St. Paul to be honorable among all men; and therefore, is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly and in the fear of God.  Into this Holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined.

(OPTIONAL)

______________________________ welcome you, their families and their friends.  Each of you has given something of yourselves into their lives.  They want you to know that your love, guidance, and encouragement will forever be appreciated.  It is fitting, then, that you should share this celebration of their commitment to God and to each other to live their lives as one, and they are happy you are with them.

Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?

A reading from Paul to the Corinthians:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.  Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong, but rejoices in the right.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.  So faith, hope love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

And George Eliot said: "What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are  joined for life -- to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting."

TO THE GROOM:

You may now take the right hand of the Bride.

{Grooms name}, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance, in the Holy state of matrimony?  Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as you both shall live?

ANSWER:  "I will."

TO THE BRIDE:

{Bride's name}, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance, in the Holy state of matrimony?  Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as you both shall live?

ANSWER:  "I will."

THEN SHALL THE GROOM REPEAT AFTER THE PASTOR:

"I, {Grooms name}, take thee, {Bride's name}, to be my wedded wife,  to have and to hold from this day forth, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live, according to God's Holy ordinance, and thereto I give you my life."

THEN SHALL THE BRIDE REPEAT AFTER THE PASTOR:

"I, {Bride's name}, take thee, {Grooms name}, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth,  for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live, according to God's Holy ordinance, and thereto I give you my life."

THE RING CEREMONY:

When God made a covenant with Noah, He set His rainbow in the cloud as a reminder of that covenant, and said;

"I will look upon it that I may remember it was an everlasting covenant."

So from this we learn that it is well for us, when entering into solemn agreements, to set aside some token as a reminder.

You have, therefore, chosen these rings as a token of your marriage covenant.  They are made of gold, a type of material that is not easily tarnished or destroyed, fittingly representing the ties that bind husband and wife together.

The ring, an endless circle, until broken by some outside force, is a symbol of the unbroken marriage union which God has ordained shall continue until broken only by death.

BLESSING AND PRESENTATION OF RINGS

Bless, O Lord, the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may abide in thy peace, and continue in thy favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

TO THE GROOM:

{Grooms name}, take this ring and place it upon {Bride's name}, finger and let it be the seal of your mutual love and fidelity, and a memorial of this sacred service.
You will repeat after me:

"With this ring, I thee wed and with all my love and honor I thee endow, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

TO THE BRIDE:

{Bride's name}, take this ring and place it upon {Grooms name}, finger, and repeat after me.

"With this ring, I thee wed and with all my love and honor I thee endow, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Optional: (The Lord's Prayer)

THE MINISTER'S CHARGE:

Now let me speak to your hearts, I charge you both as you hope for happiness in your marriage, to be true to these vows you have made to each other.  With your marriage, from this day, you begin life anew, with larger responsibilities.

Let not your voices lose the tender tones of affection, nor your eyes forget the tender ray with which they shine on this day.  And greatest of all -- let God be enthroned above all else at all times.

And now having heard you make these pledges of your affection, and take these vows of fidelity, I do by virtue of the authority vested in me, as a minister of the Gospel and in accordance to the laws of God and the State of Arizona, pronounce you husband and wife, no longer two, but now one, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.

Pastor:  May God the eternal Father keep you in love with each other, so that the peace of Christ may stay with you and be always in your home.

ALL:  Amen

Pastor:  May you always bear witness to the love of God in this world so that the afflicted and the needy will find in you generous friends, and welcome you into the joys of heaven.

ALL:  Amen

Pastor:  Any may almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

ALL:  Amen

Now go in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have -- the gifts of your lives.  May the blessings of God the Creator, God the Redeemer and God the Renewer be with you to guide you this day and forevermore.

ALL:  Amen

You may now kiss the bride.

 

PRESENTATION: