Welcome:

We have come together in this beautiful setting to celebrate the marriage of _________

and _________. As we stand here surrounded by such splendor, we are reminded of God’s great love for us. Not only does he take great delight in surrounding us with beauty and nature, He’s also given us many other gifts to enable us to enjoy life.

Challenge to the Couple:

_________ and _________ you are standing here filled with anticipation, excitement, joy, and perhaps some uncertainty and fears. You each have your own visions and dreams of what your life together will hold. Each of you is looking to the other to help fulfill your needs and help realize your dreams. Marriage is God’s design for us to find happiness and fulfillment in our union with each other and with Him. This commitment is being made in His presence, and we look to Him for his blessing. Let us pray.

Prayer:

Our heavenly Father, as we have gathered to celebrate the marriage of _________

and _________, we thank you for your divine presence with us. We ask that you will bless this ceremony and make it a very special time for each one present. And as _________ and _________ commit themselves and their lives to each other, may your divine love fill their hearts, and may they come to know the One who is the source of all love.

Charge to the Couple:

As you look forward to your lives together, you will share many times of joy and happiness, but there will be also struggles and sorrows. Each marriage has its share of sunshine and storm. But if you will hold each other fast during the dark times, and draw from each other’s strength, your marriage will grow stronger, your love will grow deeper, and your joy will reach new heights.

If you will honor and respect each other, if you will accept, not only the strengths, but also weaknesses and flaws in each other, then each of you will experience the true freedom to be yourself, knowing that you too are loved and accepted just as you are. Are you willing to make this commitment, and do you desire now to be joined in marriage? If so answer, “I do.”

Vows:

Do you _________ take _________ to be your wife/husband; to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live? If so answer, “I do.”

Exchange of Rings:

The ring is a symbol of the love you share together. The gold is symbolic of how precious and pure your love is; and the circle is never ending, showing that your love will last forever. Repeat after me, “I give you, this ring, to show my love, for you.”

Prayer of Dedication:

We thank you for your blessings on this day and on this union. We ask that _________ and _________ will continue to enjoy your peace and your love as they walk down the road of life together. We pray that as they live out the vows they have made today, that you will touch their lives with your blessing so that their home maybe filled with your presence.

Blessing  pronouncement:

_________ and _________, you entered the chapel today as two, and as you have made your vows to each other, God has made you one. May love be your constant companion, and may your home be filled with peace. Now in the presence of God, and those in this gathering, I pray God’s blessing on your marriage, and pronounce you husband and wife.

“You may kiss the bride.”