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Beloved friends: We have come here in the presence of God and these witnesses to unite this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. Marriage is an honorable state and the institution of the home is one of the important bases of civilization.
Our friends have made their choice of life partner and now stand before us that we may witness this holy covenant.
Therefore, if any can show just cause why the should not be joined together, let him speak now, or hereafter hold his peace.
Marriage is the most momentous event in the life of both man and woman. On it depends the happiness or misery of their future. It is a union of souls. Carefully then should the inducements be weighed that impel to so important astep, that the contracting paries may be sure that love and love alone has prompted them to act. It is the union of hearts, not of hands, that constitutes a true marriage.
Marital love is natural and necessary to the perfecton of life, and the love of children springing therefrom, is the puret emotion known to humanity. In the domestic affections is found the highest happiness, and those who fail to cultivate them lose half the joys of existence.
You, who are about to take up the responsibilites of married life, must not forget that it has its duties as well as its pleasures. New responsibilites will devolve upon you, and the fittest preparation you can make to meet them is to so order your lives that your minds may be free from the bickerings and irritations that so commonly await ill-assorted and ill-regulated unions. The golden rule in married life is Mututal Forebearance. We must never forget that no alliance, however well designed, can ever secure perfect contentment, for it so happens that no humans are perfect or without fault and where people love most they are apt to be most exacting one of the other.
With a people, the aggregate of individual virtues makes up the sum of national greatness, so in domestic life, the multifarious duties devloving upon each, faithfully fulfilled, makes up the measure of human bliss.
We urge each not to be the first by whom the harsh word is spoken, nor the last to offer the hand of reconciliation.
It is fervently to be hoped that you will prove to each other suitable companions through life, and be knit togethere, not only with the silken cords of affection, but with a bond that strengthens with years and brightens with age, the bond of congenial tastes, intellectual and spiritual attachment one for the other.
Groom, conserve and cherish the sacredness of the home. Make it the altar at which you worship, and be sure that domestic bliss is within the reach of all who intelligently strive to attain it. it is won alone by a manly yet considerate treatment of the one to whom you will return your affection withh boundless interest.
Bride, now that you have won a woman's greatest prize, a loving heart, guard it with zealous care, nor ever let the storms of anger arise to wither true affection with its fiery breath. Never forget that love, unaccompanied by true companionship, soon droops under the chilling influence of uncongeniality of mind.
To both of you, so live that when the evening of life arrives you may exclaim with the poet, "Not another joy like this in all the world".
I charge you both, as you shall answer to God, that if either of you know any reason why you may not lawfully be joined together in matrimony, you acknowledge it now.
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
Groom, take the right hand of Bride and repeat after me:
I, Groom, take thee, Bride to be my lawful wedded wife, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love honor and cherish from this day forth.
Groom, take the right hand of Bride and repeat after me:
I, Bride, take thee, Groom to be my lawful wedded husband, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love honor and cherish from this day forth.
Minister holds the rings and says: The ring is the symbol of conjugal union. It is endless as eternity. May this circle ever remind you of your sacred union from this day forward.
Let us pray. Eternal Spirit, we pray that these rings shall bless the wearer and honor the giver, that these two shall become one, in flesh and in spirit, shall live together in perfect peace. Amen.
Groom, place the ring on Bride's finger and repeat after me:
With this ring, I thee wed.
Bride, place the ring on Groom's finger and repeat after me:
With this ring, I thee wed.
For as much as Groom and Bride have pledged their mutual vows, and have given and receive a ring in token of the same, I, by the authority vested in me as a Minister of the Gospel, and in accordance with the laws of this State, do pronounce you Husband and Wife.
My goal is to help all couples, regardless of their religious affiliation or non-affiliation. I respect all cultures and creeds and deliver a ceremony with dignity and respect, regardless of whether or not I share the same beliefs. Click here for a brief explanation of my beliefs.