© Mary Spies 2014
Greeting
We are gathered here today, to witness not the beginning but the continuation of two lives already united by love and trust.
We celebrate with ____________ &_________and these witnesses, the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken place in their lives and brought them here today.
Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people whose friendship and mutual understanding have flourished in love and romance.
The Marriage Poem – Why Marriage
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person, with all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, who won’t hold them against me, who loves me when I’m unlikable, who sees the small child in me, and who looks for the divine potential of me...
Because I need to lie in the warmth of the night with someone who thanks God for me, and with someone whom I feel blessed to hold...
Because marriage means opportunity to grow in love in friendship...
And because marriage is a discipline to be added to a list of achievements...
Because marriages do not fail, people fail when they enter marriage expecting another to be responsible for their happiness...
And so I promise to take full responsibility for my own happiness. I create it and gladly share it with you without reservation, I take half of the responsibility but it is only together we create this marriage, create this family... and knowing this the possibilities for us are endless.
Vows
____________, will you have this woman / man to be your lawfully wedded wife / husband to live together in marriage? Will you love her / him, comfort and honor her / him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?
Rings
With this ring, I thee wed from this day forward, you shall not walk alone, my heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home.
Your rings are symbols and when freely given represent the unbroken circle of love and has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each will give and each will receive. May these rings always be a reminder of the promises you’ve made, the love that brought you here today and the vows you’ve just taken; .May you share in passion and spirit, compassion and understanding and patience and tolerance and from this day forward may you be known to all as husband and wife.
Pronouncement
And now, by the authority granted me by the State of Oregon, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. May your lives together be filled with abundance and joy, you may kiss the bride.
Introduction
Ladies & gentlemen, Mr. & Mrs.___
