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The Wedding Ceremony
Order of Service
Seating of Parents, Grandparents, and Others This will take place when all attendants are ready. You may wish to select special music for this seating.
Processional Music to be selected by you and the organist or musician(s)
When the minister and attendants are in place, the congregation rises and the bride proceeds to the front, accompanied by her father or other escort. They stop before the minister.
Invocation
Loving God, we thank you for your presence among us on this joyous occasion. As N. and N. give themselves to each other, we pray that they might also give themselves to you, offering their shared life in service to your will. In the quietness of these sacred moments, we remember that you planted the seeds of love in the human heart. Now, as N., and N., stand before you, their family, and friends, we affirm the love that has brought them together. Amen.
Welcome and Greeting The congregation sits.
Dearly beloved, we are assembled here in the presence of God, to join this man and this woman in holy marriage. Marriage is an honorable institution ordained by the church, blessed by Jesus with his presence at the marriage at Cana in Galilee, and held in honor among all people throughout the ages. This simple ceremony, this celebration, is the outward token of a sacred and inward union of hearts, a union created by God's loving purpose and kept by God's abiding will.
Address to the Bride and Groom
N. and N., nothing is greater for two human souls than to feel they are joined together in the presence of their Creator to strengthen each other in all gladness; to cherish a mutual esteem and love; to bear with each other’s infirmities and weaknesses; to comfort each other in sickness, trouble, and sorrow; to provide for one another in earthly matters; to pray for and encourage each other in the things which pertain to God; and to let their happiness and grace lead them into decisions and deeds that contribute to the lives of others and to the betterment of our world.
Address to the Congregation (Guests)
N. and N. welcome you, their families and friends. Each of you has given something of yourself into their lives. They want you to know that your love, guidance and encouragement will forever be appreciated. It is fitting, then, that you should share this celebration of their commitment to each other.
N. and N., it is in this spirit of love and support that you have come to be married.
Choose A or B below. Or both questions may be asked.
A. Question to the Families of the Bride and Groom (to be answered by parents in attendance)
Do the families of N. and N. give their blessing and support to this marriage?
Answer: We do.
or
B. Question to the Bride’s Father or Family
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
The father answers: I do, or We do, or Her mother and I, or Her family and I.
(The groom steps to the bride's side. The father or escort is seated.)
Scripture Reading(s) To be selected by you. The reading(s) may be offered by a friend or family member.
The Old Testament : Genesis 1:26-28,31; Genesis 2:18-24 ; Ruth 1:16-17; Psalm 33:1-5 ; Psalm 37:3-7; Pslam 67; Psalm 100; Psalm 103; Psalm 121; Psalm 127; Psalm 128; Psalm 150; Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Song of Solomon 8:6-7/
New Testament: Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 7:24-27; Matthew 19:4-6; John 15: 9-17; Romans 8:31-39; Romans 12:1-2, 9-18; 1 Corinthians 13 ; Ephesians 3:14-21; Ephesians 5:2, 21-33; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Peter3:1-9; 1 John 3:18-24; 1 John 4:7-16
Minister's Remarks Optional
Declaration of Intention
Before God and this congregation, I ask you to affirm your willingness to enter this covenant of marriage and to share all the joys and sorrows of this new relationship, whatever the future may hold.
Addressing the groom: N., do you take N. to be your wife, and do you promise to love her faithfully as long as you both shall live?
The groom says: I do. or I do, with the help of God.
Addressing the bride: N., do you take N. to be your husband, and do you promise to love him faithfully as long as you both shall live?
The bride says: I do or I do, with the help of God.
At this point in the service, the bride & groom and possibly the maid/matron of honor and best man may move up the steps into the chancel area for the vows.
Flowers may be given to the maid/matron of honor at this point in the service.
Vows
May be written by the bride and groom or substituted with more personal vows.
Groom: I, N., take you, N.; to be my wedded wife; and I do promise and covenant; before God and these witnesses; to be your loving and faithful husband; in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; as long as we both shall live.
Bride: I, N., take you, N.; to be my wedded husband; and I do promise and covenant; before God and these witnesses; to be your loving and faithful wife; in plenty and in want; in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; as long as we both shall live.
Exchange of Rings
May I have the rings? The minister takes them from the best man or maid or matron of honor, or both, or unties them from the ring bearer's pillow. Holding the rings aloft, the minister says: These rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace, which unites two hearts in love. They are especially significant because the circle of these rings is a symbol of the unending and enduring quality of the love which N. and N. are sharing today.
Prayer
Let us pray: Bless, O God, these rings, that they who give and wear them may abide in Your peace, and continue in Your favor, unto their life’s end; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The groom places the ring on the fourth finger of the bride's left hand and repeats these words after the minister: This ring I give you; as a sign of our constant faith; and abiding love.
The bride places the ring on the fourth finger of the groom's left hand and repeats these words after the minister: This ring I give you; as a sign of our constant faith; and abiding love.
Prayer of Dedication
The couple may kneel or remain standing. The minister says: Let us pray. Our loving God, Creator and Preserver of us all, bless N., that he might share his love, strength and protection with N., so that she might find in him character, patience, understanding and faithfulness. Bless N. with tenderness and an inner beauty of soul that never fades and a holding fast to those Godlike qualities which make marriage right and beautiful. Teach them, Lord, not only to live for each other, but to live for you and for others. Give them a living faith which also sends them into life with a purpose to do your will. Allow them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them human, enough failure to keep their hands firmly held in yours, and enough success to make them sure they walk with you. Lord, may they never take each other's love for granted -- bless them in their work, in their companionship, in their sleeping, and in their waking. Let your Holy Spirit be upon them to keep them faithful to each other and to you, that they may know the fullness of life as you intended for your human family. In Christ we pray, Amen.
Declaration of Marriage
N. and N., inasmuch as you have declared your willingness and intention to enter the state of marriage with each other, and have declared the same in the company of God and these witnesses, and have given to each other as a symbol of this commitment these rings, by virtue of the authority vested in me as a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ, and according to the laws of this state, I pronounce you husband and wife, united in the holy bonds of marriage. What God has joined, let no one put asunder.
Benediction
May God bless, preserve, and keep you; may God look mercifully and with favor look upon you; and may God fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that you may so live together in this life, that in the world to come, you may have life everlasting. Amen.
Flowers may be returned to the bride at this point in the service.
Embrace and Kiss
Recessional Music to be selected by you and the organist or musician(s).
The couple recesses followed by attendants and the minister.
The End.
Optional Additional Parts of the Wedding
1. Giving of Roses by the Groom to the Bride’s mother and the Bride to the Groom’s mother. (This often happens immediately following the question to the families or to the Bride’s father).
2. Lighting of a Unity Candle from two separate tapers. This usually happens immediately following the vows. You would be responsible for bringing these candles to the rehearsal.
3. Special Music. This music should be appropriate for a service of worship. Please save romantic love songs for the reception. Special music is often placed after the reading of scripture, after the vows are spoken or after the exchange of rings.
4. Introduction of the Couple After the embrace and kiss and before the recessional music begins, the minister may say: “It is my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. N”. or, “It is my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time, N. and N., husband and wife.”
5. Receiving Line Please think about whether or not you would like to have a receiving line and who would be in it. This can take place inside or outside the main doors of the sanctuary (weather permitting) or inside the vestry (to the side of the sanctuary). You are responsible for organizing the receiving line and for letting those in it know where they should stand.
6. The Lord's Prayer May be added following the Prayer of Dedication. Please decide whether you feel more comfortable with "Debts" or "Trespasses".
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