Dear Family and Friends,

Love and relationships are what life is about. (Today or Tonight) we come joyfully to acknowledge the decisions of these two people _______ and _______ to share their love in the relationship of marriage.

Therefore...

Dearly beloved,

We are gathered together here in the sight of God and in the presence of these witnesses to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate instituted by love. It is therefore not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly and in the eyes of God.

Into this holy estate these two persons come now to joined. If any man can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.

Optional: Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Groom:

Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, keeping thee only unto her so long as you both shall live?

Bride:

Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, keeping thee unto him so long as you both shall live?

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way it is not irritable or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never ends.

(Have couple face and look at each other and hold hands.)

(Groom) look into (Bride) eyes and into her heart and repeat after me.

The groom repeats after me:

I _______ take _______ to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.

(Bride) look into (Groom) eyes and into her heart and repeat after me.

The bride repeats after me:

I_______ take _______ to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.

You have chosen these rings as the symbol of your marriage covenant. They are made of gold, a metal that does not tarnish and is enduring. These represent the ties that bind you together as husband and wife. They are an endless circle representing your marriage union which shall be eternal and pure as these rings.

(Ask the groom to place the ring on the bride’s left third finger.) The groom repeats after me:

With this ring, I wed you ______ for today, for tomorrow, and for all the years to come. Please wear it as a sign of my love and a notice to all the world that you have chosen me to be your husband.

(Ask the bride to place the ring on the groom’s left third finger.) The bride repeats after me:

With this ring, I wed you ______ for today, for tomorrow, and for all the years to come. Please wear it as a sign of my love and a notice to all the world that you have chosen me to be your wife.

For as much as _______ and _______ have consented together in holy wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company and there to have pledged their faiths each to the other, and have declared the same by joining hands and by giving or receiving rings; And now by the authority vested in me, but most of all by the power of your own love, I pronounce you are married. You may now call yourself those cherished names: Husband and Wife.

You may seal your promise with a kiss.

In just a moment _____and _____ will light one central candle from the two candles you see burning. This ceremony will symbolize the merging of their lives into one relationship.

(During candlelighting I will read)

One of mankind’s first and greatest gifts was the power of fire. Fire whose heat could provide warmth, healing, and nourishment. Fire whose brilliance could light the way. Fire whose wrath could destroy enemies. Yet other fires exist for man that share these same benefits. These fires are inner fires… passionate fires which drive us toward our destiny. Let the lighting of these candles symbolize that inner flame; the unending faith, love, and devotion that has brought these two here today. And like this flame, may their love burn brightly throughout a lifetime of joy and happiness.

The Jewish faith the breaking of the glass signifies the destruction of the great temple in Jerusalem. Its spiritual significance is our reaffirmation of our faith in God. Our prayer today is that their lives together would be longer than it would take to fit these broken pieces of glass back together again. (Groom breaks glass with right foot, he does not step on it until after the pronouncement).