Wedding Ceremony of

Wedding Ceremony of

"This is the day that he Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118

Welcome friends. & are delighted that you are here with them to celebrate their marriage and to witness the saying of their vows to one another, for you, their families and friends, have loved them and cared for them, and thereby have helped shape their lives.

When we gather to witness a marriage, we not only celebrate the love that the couple have for each other. We also celebrate the love of our families and the bonds of our communities. Love is the most important aspect of life.

(1 Corinthians 13 NRSV) If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. {2} 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 do not have love, I am nothing. {3} If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. {4} Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant {5} or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; {6} it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. {7} It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. {8} Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. {9} For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; {10} but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. {11} When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. {12} For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. {13} And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

We are gathered here in the sight of God to witness and to celebrate the coming together of _____________&___________in marriage. It is not to be entered into lightly, but with certainty, with mutual respect, and with a sense of reverence which includes beauty, honor and joy.

Marriage is a sacred and a joyous covenant, ordained of God from the beginning of creation.

A covenant is a relationship in which a person gives himself to another without condition and is received by the other in a similar manner. This environment of mutual service and mutual acceptance is one in which love - in the noblest sense, can flourish and mature.

(Words from Pastor)

Into this covenant of marriage, this covenant of love, ____________________ desire to enter. Let us therefore ask God's blessing on this marriage.

Almighty and merciful God, we your children praise and thank you for the many gifts of your grace; and this day we especially thank you for the gift of family and friends, and for the relationship of marriage which you have ordained to guard, to hallow and to perfect the gift of love. We thank you for the joy which _____________&___________find in each other, and for the love and trust in which they enter this covenant. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who reveals your love and grace to us, Amen.

__________________, do you take ______________ as your husband/wife?

I do

__________________, do you take ______________ as your husband/wife?

I do

Will the parents please stand?

You, the parents/families of __________________ and ___________________ have a special joy in this occasion, for you more than anyone have bestowed love on them; and your joy is full because you and we are also witnessing the coming together of two families to form new ties. Do you, the parents of _______________ and _________________ promise to love and uphold them in the future as you have in the past?

We do!

I, ________________________, take you, _____________________, to be my husband/wife, and I promise to love you in the covenant of marriage from this day forward, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as life shall last.

(quietly request rings from attendants)

O God, bless these rings, symbols of the covenant that _____________&___________have made in your presence. May their rings remind them of their love for each other and unending trust so that they may always find joy and peace in one another. Amen.

This ring I give you as a symbol of my respect and love, and as a pledge to honor you with my whole being.

Now that you have spoken your vows of love and trust to one another in the presence of God and in the presence of your friends and family, I pronounce you husband and wife/married for life. You may seal the marriage with a kiss.

As the flames of your two souls have burned alone during your childhood and adolescence, lighting your way to this moment, now they have begun to burn together and become one flame. To symbolize this new unity and togetherness, I invite you to light the unity candle.

(Solo sung during unity candle lighting. If desired – couple may present a rose to the parents at this time)

May you live in gentleness and peace with all people, knowing always the riches of friendship. May the love which you share today grow throughout your lives. And may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, so that your love for each other will flourish and deepen, illuminating your lives and those about you. Amen.

Presentation of newly married couple

Rev. Kirk Moore

Wheaton IL 60189

(630) 204-1436

revkirk.com