The good love is given and reciprocated. It is present every day in the life shared together, even when it goes unmentioned. It is time spent together and time apart. It is present in the everyday aspects of home. It will be there when you leave the front door and there when you return. For love in marriage is ongoing and grows with time.
It is difficult to speak honestly of love in the world today. Committed love is something rarely seen, rarely spoken of. When two people come together to share the reality of their love before a community of friends and family, as Amy and David have today, we are privileged to know that their experience is greater than each is alone.
Affirmations
And so I ask you to declare yourselves willing to be wed to one another.
David, are you prepared to enter into this covenant willingly before these witnesses, in joyful anticipation of the gifts that you will share, with full awareness of the limitations of yourself and of Amy, and with steadfast commitment to your future together?
I am.
Amy, are you prepared to enter into this covenant willingly before these witnesses, in joyful anticipation of the gifts that you will share, with full awareness of the limitations of yourself and of David, and with steadfast commitment to your future together?
I am.
Readings (if any are desired)
Homily
Vows
Now if you both have carefully considered the obligations assumed when lives are joined, and you both are assured that you are prepared to enter into this covenant—would you face one another and clasp hands.
I David take you, Amy to be my wife, to have and to hold for this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow.
I Amy take you, David to be my husband, to have and to hold for this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow.
Musical Interlude (and Candle ritual, if so desired)
Blessing of the Rings
As symbols of your vows you have brought rings to give and receive.
Let us pray:
Bless these rings, so that what they represent becomes more beautiful in the passing of time. Further we pray that these tokens be a constant reminder of the faith, hope and love shared and known here today.
Amen.
May these rings always be reminders of this day and the covenant you have made with one another, with this community, and with all that is sacred. David, as you place the ring on Amy’s finger, I invite you to say these words:
I give this ring as a token of my love for you and of my faithfulness to our holy covenant, pledging my love, respect and commitment to you.
Amy, as you place the ring on David's finger, I invite you to say these words:
I give this ring as a token of my love for you and of my faithfulness to our holy covenant, pledging my love, respect and commitment to you.
Prayer
Let us pray:
May these two know concord and creativity as well as love and laughter in their life together; and where there is pain, may there also be a peace that passes not away. We pray for joy that they will share with other people; and for their home; may it be a temple of what is good and true. As they share the richer experiences of life, so may their hearts and minds and souls be ever knit more closely together. And yet may their bonds of sympathy strengthen their separate personalities. We pray for courage for them when the road is rough, and for humility when fortune favors them. May they carry the past gratefully with them in all the years of their sojourn, and with an equal measure of hope ever face the future unafraid. Amen.
Pronouncement
Amy and David, you have expressed your deep love for each other; you have vowed to be always loving and loyal to each other; and you have exchanged rings to symbolize your love, thus formalizing in our presence the loving bond between you. On behalf of your family, friends, and the whole human community, I pronounce you husband and wife.
Admonition
Those who by this sacred covenant are joined, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
May you find happiness in your marriage. May you live faithfully together, performing the vows and covenant that you have here made, and may you ever remain in sympathy and understanding, that your hearts may be rich in the joys of life, and your days good, and long upon the earth. Bless you both.
In faith, in hope, in love, AMEN.
All rise for Amy and David!
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