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 and
endures all things.  Love never
ends.  So faith, hope, and
love abide, these three;
but the greatest of
these is love."

Declaration of Intention

Marriage has great possibilities of success and failure as
well as joy and pain.  The person who has not made the
wager of devotion cannot be hurt by another as can
the person who puts his faith in another, nor
can he know joy as the one who shares all
with a trusted, loving companion.

George Eliot said:

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to
feel 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."

Kahlil Gibran in his book "The Prophet" reflects
on marriage.  He says:

"Love one another but make not a bond of love; let it rather
be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.  Fill
each other's cup but drink not from one cup.  Give one
another of your bread but eat not from the same
loaf.  Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone.  Even
as the strings of the lute are alone
though they quiver with the
same music.

When two people marry, they bring with them all their
experiences of their pasts.  Each has strengths
and knowledge to share with the other.  Each
is unique and thus their particular marriage will be unique. 
Each partner must respect the other's individualism.
More than likely, this individualism is
what attracted each to the other."

To the Groom:

{Grooms name}, will you take {Bride's name} as
your wife; will you be faithful to her in tender love and
honor, offering her strength, encouragement and
companionship; and will you live with her, and
cherish her, as love and respect would lead you,
in the bonds of marriage?

Answer:  I will

To the Bride:

{Bride's name}, will you take {Grooms name} as
your husband; will you be faithful to him in tender love
and honor, offering him strength, encouragement and
companionship; and will you live with him, and
cherish him, as love and respect would lead you,
in the bonds of marriage?

Answer:  I will

{Grooms name} and {Bride's name}, will you join your right hands, face each other and repeat individually after me.

 To the Groom:

{Grooms name}, I take you to be my wife, from this moment
on.  I vow to give and to receive, to speak and to listen,
to inspire and to respond, to respect and to cherish,
and to work with you to achieve the goals and
dreams of our lives.

To the Bride:

{Bride's name}, I take you to be my husband, from this moment
dreams of our lives.

To the Bride:

{Bride's name}, I take you to be my husband, from this moment
on.  I vow to give and to receive, to speak and to listen,
to inspire and to respond, to respect and to cherish,
and to work with you to achieve the goals and
dreams of our lives.

SERVICE OF RINGS

From the earliest time, the golden circle has been a symbol
of wedded love.  (Minister receives rings.)
The ring, an endless circle, is a symbol
of unbroken marriage union.

To the Groom:

Take this ring which you have selected, place it upon
the finger of {Bride's name} and say to
her these words:

"This ring I give you in token and in pledge of my
constant faith and abiding love."

To the Bride:

Take this ring which you have selected, place it upon
the finger of {Grooms name} and say to him these words:

"This ring I give you in token and in pledge of my
constant faith and abiding love."

Marriage requires much generosity, unselfishness, flexibility,
patience and love from both husband and wife.

Two people are not just married in the ceremony; you only begin to be married.  What is begun here today, by the two of you together before God,
family and friends, must continue with increasing meaning.

(OPTIONAL)

Meditation Concerning Marriage

Most gracious God, We give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life.  We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of man and woman in His name. By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon this man and woman in His name.  Defend them from every enemy.  Lead them into all peace.  Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads.

Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death.  Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast  forever in your Heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit  lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

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.

To the Groom:

{Grooms name}, guard well this your bride who now
commits herself to you, and strive so in life that
no word or deed of yours shall cloud her brow
with grief, or dim her eyes with tears.

To the Bride:

{Bride's name}, it will be your part to strive to
retain by your virtues the heart you have won by your graces.

As to you both, I would say, let not your voices lose
the tender tone of affection, nor your eyes forget
the tender ray with which they shine on this day.

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 with the laws of God and the
State of Arizona, pronounce
you husband and wife.

DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING AND THE PEACE

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.

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.

Pastor:  And may Almighty God bless you all, the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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

You may now kiss the bride.

PRESENTATION