Contemporary w/candle and Personal Vows
Sample 23

The Wedding Celebration of _______ & _________

To Our Family & Friends

Spoken by Bride and/or Groom:

Today you stand by us
as we exchange our vows
that will join us for eternity.
Thank you
for being a part of our day,
our friendship,
our lives.


Officiant:
All of us have been invited here for a very special purpose; not just to witness but to participate fully with our thoughts, asking for blessings upon this couple and their married life.

You are here because this couple feels close to you and asks that you join with them in this dedication of sacred purpose. You represent symbolically all the people in the world who will be touched in any way by the life of this couple. Together we thank the Spirit for bringing them together and ask that they always be guided.

And with this journey, ________ and __________ each bring their own individual qualities to form into a unique new synergy.

The essence of synergy is to value differences - to respect them, to build on strength, to compensate for weakness. Synergy is everywhere in nature. If you sow two plants close together the roots commingle and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than if they were separated. If you bond two pieces of wood together they will hold much more than the total of the weight held by each separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals three ... or more.

This day we celebrate a sacred agreement between the two of you.

Who gives _________ to be the wedded wife of ____________ .

I congratulate you on the journey of your lives, on the strength and the courage it has taken for each of you to make your way to this place.

_________, _________ is the Spirit's gift to you, but he is not a gift for you alone. It is your highest will that in your love, this man might find within himself a greater sense of who he is meant to be. You are asked to see the good in this man, to accept him for who he is and who he shall be, that thus he might be healed and made strong. In this way, your own highest purpose shall be accomplished in this relationship. May this man find eternal happiness in the love you share.

And so it is with you also, _______, that although _________ is the Spirit's gift to you, she is not a gift intended for you alone. You are asked to so love this woman, that in your love she might find herself as she is created, so beautiful and strong and brave and true, that the entire world might be blessed by the presence of a woman who shines so. May she relax in your arms as she has never relaxed before. May she know, from now on, that there is one on whose love she can depend forever.

Groom: We are soul-mates. A love this strong cannot be bound by the limitations of our physical bodies and will endure even separation by death.

Bride: I pledge my love until death do us part and for all eternity because I believe that you and I will be together always.

Groom: I make this vow gladly, confident that our love is strong enough to bind us together even if we should be separated physically.

Bride: I pledge my love for you throughout this lifetime and for all the unknown, unseen lifetimes to come. Wherever or whomever we may be in the future, I will love you.

Groom: We have been together before - we are together now - we will be together always.

Officiant: from this point forward, __________ needs will carry the same priority as your own. Likewise, ________ needs will be seen to be as important as your own. You shall not be as two conflicting or competing forces, but rather the synergy of your lives shall blend into harmony and oneness.

To the families of _______ and ________, congratulations on the part you have played in their lives. I remind you that it is more than their blood that is joined here, it is yours as well.

With this in mind, I ask you, (Brides) family: will you take this man, ________, into your family and into your hearts? (Please respond "Yes")

And I ask you, (Groom) family: will you take this woman, ________, into your family and into your hearts? (Please respond "Yes") May the miracle of this marriage extend throughout your families forever.

___________ and __________ are going to light their Unity Candle, a symbol of their marriage relationship. The candles from which they light it have been lit by their mothers to represent their lives to this moment.

The lights, representing the faith, wisdom, and love they have received from their parents, are distinct, each burning alone. ________and _________will light the center candle to symbolize the union of their lives. As this one light burns undivided, so shall their love be one.

From now on, your thoughts shall be for each other rather than for your individual selves. Your joys and sorrows shall be shared alike. May the radiance of this one light be a testimony of your unity. May these candles burn brightly as symbols of your commitment to each other, and as a tribute to your parents' lasting and loving marriages.

Now we will have the blessing of the rings:

These rings symbolize your union. The ring has no beginning or end, a symbol of an unbroken circle of love to be worn all the days so long as you both shall live and love. The ring is also made of a precious metal which represents how precious your marriage is. May the spirit of love bless these rings and may they be a true symbol of the love of the one who gives it, and the one who wears it.

__________ would you please slide the ring onto _____________ finger and repeat after me “please accept this ring as a token of my love, and my pledge to love you forever, with this ring I thee wed.”

__________ would you please slide the ring onto _____________ finger and repeat after me “please accept this ring as a token of my love, and my pledge to love you forever, with this ring I thee wed.”

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. Go now to enter into the days of your life together. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

In as much as ________ and ________ have consented together in marriage before their family and friends, have pledged their love, and declared their unity by each giving and receiving a ring and are now joined in mutual esteem and devotion; by the powers vested in my by the State of Illinois/Wisconsin, I pronounce that they are husband and wife together forever.

___________ , you may kiss the bride.

Ladies and Gentlemen: May I introduce Mr. and Mrs. ________________ and ____________________ _____________________