Service #3

 

_______and ___________, in presenting yourselves here today to be joined in marriage, you perform an act of faith. This faith can grow and develop and last, but only if you both decide to make it so. A lasting and growing love is not guaranteed by any ritual.  If you would have the foundation of your marriage be the devotion you have for one another, not just at this moment, but for all the days to come, then treasure the hopes and dreams that you bring here today. Establish that your love will never be blotted out by the common nor obscured by the ordinary in life. Faults will surface where now you find comfort, and admiration can be shattered by the routine of daily life.

 

Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today. Only with this spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all the days of your lives.

 

Groom:

 

I, _______, take you _________, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

 

________, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

 

Bride:

 

I, _______, take you, _________, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

 

_________, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

 

With this statement made of love and trust, which I have just heard, I now present you as husband and wife.

 

May this day shine eternally in your lives.

May it add brilliance to every achievement and cast a divine light over any misfortune.

May you care for each other in all sadness.

May you give cheer to each other.

May you give vitality to each other in all undertakings.

May all that is virtuous, beautiful and honest, remain with you always.

 

__________, you may now kiss your Bride.

 

May I be the first to introduce Mr. & Mrs.________