Example Ceremony #1

Rev and Joe are at the front
Seating of the Parents & Lighting of the Candles
Precession of the Wedding Party
(Jane and her Father stop at the end of the aisle and remain standing)

Introduction

Dearly Beloved, we are assembled here in the presence of God to join Joe and Jane in holy matrimony; which is instituted of God, regulated by His commandments, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and to be held in honor among all men. Let us therefore reverently remember that God has established and sanctified marriage, for the welfare and happiness of mankind. No other human ties are more tender, no other vows are more sacred than these Joe and Jane are about to assume.

Presentation of the Bride

Rev: Who gives Jane to be married to Joe?
Bride's Father: Her Mother and I do. (Jane is given to Joe by her Father)
Rev: (to congregation) You may be seated.

Reading 1

Optional: Bible verse, poem, romantic reading, etc.

Opening Prayer and Ceremony

Rev: God of Love, who gives us the longing for, and capability of loving, we give you thanks for Joe and Jane, for their open hearts and willing spirits, and for the example of love that they embody here in our presence. Be with them on this joyous occasion of showing their love and making their vows; and be with us, their witnesses, that we may all be changed by what is said and witnessed here.

Rev: 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 living 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.

Rev: My friends, real love is something beyond the warmth and glow, the excitement and romance of being deeply in love. It is caring as much about the welfare and happiness of your marriage partner as about yourself. But real love is not total absorption in each other; it is looking outward in the same direction together. Love makes burdens lighter because you divide them. It makes joys more intense because you share them. It makes you stronger so you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone. 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; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails."

Reading 2

Optional: Bible verse, poem, romantic reading, etc.

Charge to the couple

Rev: It is your duty, Joe, to be to Jane 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. For God has ordained the man as the spiritual head, as the responsible provider, and as the initiator of love in this human relationship. By His enablement, your strength must be Jane's protection, your character her boast and pride, and you must so live that she will find in you the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Rev: It is your duty, Jane, to be to Joe 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 ensure that as time passes you 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 worth. His Word commands that wives be subject unto their own husbands even as the church is subject unto Christ, and forsaking all others to cling to him with a love which shall not fail as long as you both shall live. For it is God's purpose that you be a loving wife, that you respond to Joe's love in tenderness with a deep sense of understanding, through a great faith in Christ who brought you together. It is His desire that you have that inner beauty of soul that never fades.

Rings & Vows

Rev: Joe, what token do you have for Jane as a symbol of your lasting union?
Joe: This ring.
Rev: (Joe holds the ring in his hand before Rev) O Lord, Bless this ring, that he who gives it and she who wears it may abide in Thy peace, and continue in Thy favor, unto their life's end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. May it be a symbol of true faith and a reminder of true love. Amen.
Rev (to Joe): Please take Jane’s left hand. Joe, this woman whom you hold by the hand is to be your wife. She has given you one of the most sacred things under heaven: a woman's life and a woman's love. You may bring her great joy or cause her deep sorrow. It is not what you bring her in a material way that will make true happiness for riches without love are nothing. The practice of those virtues as husband that you have shown as her lover will keep her heart won to your heart. Please place the ring on her finger and repeat after me.
Rev & Joe: I, Joe, give you, Jane, this ring. Wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live. I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one.

Rev: Jane, what token do you have for Joe as a symbol of your lasting union?
Jane: This ring.
Rev: (Jane holds the ring in her hand before Rev) O Lord, Bless this ring, that she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in Thy peace, and continue in Thy favor, unto their life's end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. May it be a symbol of true faith and a reminder of true love. Amen.
Rev (to Jane): Please take Joe’s left hand. Jane, this man whom you hold by the hand is to be your husband. On your life, your love and devotion he will lean for strength and inspiration. He is going to look to you for encouragement, for cheerfulness and confidence. No matter what the world may say or think, people may forget him, lose confidence in him, and turn their backs upon him, but you must always remain true. Your life and your love will be the inspiration that will constantly lead him to be the man our Lord Jesus Christ intended. Please place the ring on his finger and repeat after me.
Rev & Jane: I, Jane, give you, Joe, this ring. Wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my husband: to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health; to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one.

Rev: The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. The circle is an emblem of eternity. Let these rings be fit tokens 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 seals of the vows in which you have both pledged your most solemn and sacred honor.

Lighting of the Unity Candle and Presentation of Roses

Prayer of Dedication

Rev: Whom therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder. (to congregation) Please stand and pray with us.
Rev: Gracious God, richly bless Joe and Jane in the promises that they have made to each other. Grant that the courtesies, the thoughtfulness, and the self giving which already have laid the foundation for their love, build the home which is raised upon it. May they be loyal and engaging companions to each other and may they be loving and wise parents. And in this world where there is much disillusion and disappointment, where love brings delight and also wounding in the frailty of our ways, make them a visible symbol of the love that does not wane when the evening comes but is fresh with each new day. Perfect their love with the joy that comes from above, and may they grow themselves and grow in affirmation of each other. May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May the Lord be kind and gracious to you. And may the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace both now and in the life everlasting. Amen.

Pronouncement

Rev: (Joe and Jane turn to face the congregation) Forasmuch as Joe and Jane have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, according to the ordinance of God, and the laws of the State of Louisiana, its is my happy privilege to congratulate and introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Joe Lastname. You may kiss your bride.

Recession of the Wedding Party