Christian Wedding Ceremony
Sample 2
Opening Remarks
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the
presence of this company, to unite ___________ and ___________ in holy
matrimony. Marriage was ordained by God in Eden and confirmed in Cana
of Galilee by the presence of the Lord Himself, and is declared by the
inspired Apostle Paul to be honorable among all men. It is therefore,
not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, soberly
and in the fear of God. It is fitting, therefore, that we should
on this occasion, begin by asking God's blessing on this marriage
service. Let us pray.
Presentation of Bride
Pastor -- Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
Bride's Father -- Her mother and I do.
To the Congregation
Marriage is a joyous occasion. It is connected in our thoughts with the
magic charm of home, and with all that is pleasant and attractive as
being one of the most important events of our lives. It its sacredness
and unity it is like the mystical relation between Christ and His
Church and is therefore the most significant and binding covenant
known in human relations.
From the Story of Creation in the book of Genesis: For God created man
in His own image . . . then the Lord formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a liv-ing being . . then the Lord God said, "It is not good that
the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him" . . .
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he
slept took one of his ribs, and closed up its place with flesh. And the
rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and
brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and his
mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Again, let us hear the Word of God from the New Testament, the writings
of Paul: "Live life then with a due sense of responsibility, not as men
who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do.
Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these
days. Don't be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of
our Lord. Thank God at all times for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And 'fit in with' each other, because of your common
reverence for Christ."
"You wives must remember to adapt yourselves to your husbands, as you
submit yourselves to the Lord, for the husband is the 'head' of the
wife in the same way that Christ is the Head of the Church and Savior
of His body . . . but remember, this means that the husband must give
his wife the same sort of love that Christ gave to the Church when He
sacrificed Himself for her . . .
In practice what I have said amounts to this: Let every one of you who
is a husband, love his wife as he loves himself, and let the wife honor
and love her husband."
To the Bride and Groom
It is your duty, ___________, to be to ___________ a considerate,
tender, faithful, loving husband: to support, guide and cherish her in
prosperity and trouble; to thoughtfully and carefully enlarge the place
she holds in your life; to constantly show to her the tokens of your
affection, to shelter her from danger, and to cherish for her a manly
and unalterable affection, it being the command of God's Word, that
husbands love their wives, even as Christ loved the Church and gave His
own life for her.
It is your duty, ___________, to be to ___________ a considerate,
tender, faithful, loving wife; to counsel, comfort and cherish him in
prosperity and trouble; to give to him the unfailing evidences of your
affection; to study, as time passes to make the place he holds in your
heart, broader and deeper; to reverence and obey him, and to put on the
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in God's sight, an
ornament of great price. His Word commanding that wives be subject unto
their own husbands even as the church is subject unto Christ, and
forsak-ing all others to cling to him with a love which fails not as
long as you both shall live.
Let me charge you both to remember, that your future happiness is to be
found in mutual consideration, patience, kindness, confidence, and
affection. It is the duty of each to find the greatest joy in the
company of the other; to remember that in interest as in affection you
are to be henceforth one and undivided.
Wedding Vows
If you are ready to assume the obligations and duties before God, as I
have defined them, you will unite your hands and pledge your love and
your lives to each other.
Pastor -- Do you, ___________, standing in the presence of God and
these witnesses, solemnly pledge your faith to ___________ . Do you
promise to live with her according to God's ordinance in the holy
estate of matrimony; do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor,
and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep
yourself only unto her, and through God's grace to promise to be to her
a faithful and devoted hus-band as long as you both shall live?
Groom -- I do.
Ring Vows
Pastor to Groom -- ________ , have you a token of your love for ___________ ?
(The best man hands the ring to the Minister.)
Pastor to Bride -- ________ , do you receive this ring in pledge of the same on your part?
Bride -- I do. (Groom puts ring on bride's finger.)
Pastor to Bride -- ________ , have you a token of your love for ___________ ?
(The maid of honor hands the ring to the minister.)
Pastor to Groom -- ________, do you receive this ring in pledge of the same on your part?
Groom -- I do. (Bride puts ring on groom's finger.)
The wedding ring is the outward and the visible sign of an inward and
spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. The circle, the
emblem of eternity; the gold, the type of what is least tarnished and
most enduring--it is to show how lasting and imperishable is the faith
now pledged. Let the ring, a fit token of that which is unending,
continue to be to you both a symbol of the value, the purity, and the
constancy of true wedded love, and the seal of the vows in which you
have both pledged your most solemn and sacred honor.
Pronouncement
By the authority committed unto me as a Minister of the Gospel of the
Church of Christ, I declare that ___________ and ___________ are now
husband and wife, according to the ordinance of God and the law of the
State of ___________ , in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Charge to newlyweds
Dear Ones, I strongly charge you both as husband and wife, to preserve
sacredly the privacies of your own home, your marriage state, and your
heart. Remember our Lord's urgent counsel: "What God hath joined
together let not man put assunder". Therefore, let no one ever presume
to come between you, or to share the joys or the sor-rows that belong
to you two alone.