I thought this might be the easiest way to share a starting point for your wedding ceremony. Below is two versions of my wedding ceremony. Feel free to read through it add or omit anything you wish. I’ve never had two ceremonies exactly the same! And it shouldn’t be. This is your wedding.
This is it!
This is the moment that you have chosen to begin your new journey together.
Now that you’re here, take a breath.
Take a look around.
This is the official creation of a new family, your family.
Declaration of Intent:
With the license for marriage being present, in accordance with the State of Vermont,
I must now ask each of you if you have come of your own free will and accord.
{YOUR NAME}, only you have the power to marry this incredible person next to you. Do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with {PARTNER NAME} ?
YOU
I do.
{PARTNER NAME}, only you have the power to marry this extraordinary person next to you. Do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with {YOUR NAME}?
PARTNER
I do.
THIS IS WHEN YOU WILL SAY VOWS, EXCHANGE RINGS, OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE DECIDED FOR YOUR CEREMONY MOMENT HERE
PRONOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
And now…. the moment we’ve all waited for!
Up on the Mountain,
along with the sun,
the moon,
the lake,
&
the pines,
I have the pleasure of announcing you as
Married…
May you have a great big kiss!
:: GO FORTH AND BE MARRIED ::
Declaration of Intent and Pronouncement must be said
This is it! This is the moment that you have
chosen to begin your new journey together.
Now that you’re here,
take a breath.
Take a look around.
This is the official creation of a new family, your family.
{YOUR NAME}. {PARTNER NAME}
you have known each other for [NUMBER] wonderful years,
from the first glance {[SPOT FIRST MET} to the
glances you share now at this point of commitment.
At some point,
you decided to marry.
From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed,
you have been making promises and agreements in an
informal way.
You know all those conversations that were held riding
in a car , or during long walks, ( add more favorite spots or other personal moments)
-Remember all those sentences that began with
“When we’re married”
and continued with
“I will and you will and we will”
– and those late night talks that included
“someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”
– and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the
heart.
All these common things,
are the real process of a wedding.
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way
of saying to
one another,
“You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped
and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in
time.
With the words of William Shakespeare,
“Now join your hands, & with your hands your hearts”
( hold hands here)
Declaration of Intent:
With the license for marriage being present, in accordance with the State of Vermont,
I must now ask each of you if you have come of your own free will and accord.
{YOUR NAME}, only you have the power to marry this incredible person next to you. Do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with {PARTNER NAME} ?
YOU
I do.
{PARTNER NAME}, only you have the power to marry this extraordinary person next to you. Do you come of your own free will and with a conscious desire to be united in marriage with {YOUR NAME}?
PARTNER
I do.
VOWS:
Marriage begins in the giving of words –
expressions of love,
exchanges of intent,
We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our word.
And we are given words as gifts –
the beauty of language opening our hearts to the power of this moment.
And now we come to the heart of the matter,
the words at the center of the words:
THIS IS WHEN YOU WILL SAY VOWS, EXCHANGE RINGS, OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE DECIDED FOR YOUR CEREMONY MOMENT HERE
PRONOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
And now…. the moment we’ve all waited for!
Up on the Mountain,
along with the sun,
the moon,
the lake,
&
the pines,
I have the pleasure of announcing you as
Married…
May you have a great big kiss!
:: GO FORTH AND BE MARRIED ::
Below is my idea board. I’ll add things here that might help spark some ideas to make your ceremony special.
I hear a lot that you don’t want your ceremony to be too long. I’m going to tell you, make it as long as it needs to be. Be in this moment. Stay here in this spot for as long as possible. Once you move, it will never happen again. Bask in it. This moment marks time in your life.
From the Buddhist Marriage Homily:
To say the words love and compassion is easy.
But to accept that love and compassion are built upon
patience and perseverance is not easy.
Your marriage will be firm and lasting if you
remember this.
May we now close our eyes for a moment and bring to
mind any loved ones who could not be here today.
Though they are absent physically,
they always have a place in our minds and in our hearts,
we invoke their loving presence through our thoughts and reflections.
moment of silent reflection
With the words of William Shakespeare,
“Now join your hands, & with your hands your hearts”
{Your Name} and {Partner} , please take hands.
And all of you who love each other,
please take each others’ hands as well.
To reach out to someone and be acknowledged and
loved is a human need.
Taking the hand of one who loves you is a powerful
symbol of that unspoken bond.
Your hands are also the part of you that you use the
most.
As you go about your daily work and play,
your ring is a tangible reminder of the promises you’ve made to each other.
It will always be with you,
visible,
worn openly with pride.
As you exchange rings,
declare your commitment to one another.
{YOU} holds {PARTNER’S} left hand and places the ring as far as the knuckle:
repeats after Lindsay:
{YOU} repeats LINDSAY
{PARTNER}, This ring I give to you as a token of my love and devotion to you.
I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be as
your {husband, wife, partner, spouse}.
With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to
yours.
And gently twists ring fully on.
{Partner} holds {YOUR} left hand and places the ring as far as the knuckle: {Partner} repeats LINDSAY
{YOUR NAME}, This ring I give to you as a token of my love and devotion to you.
I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be as
your {husband, wife, partner, spouse}
With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to
yours.
And gently twists ring fully on.
04
Most who reach out have no plan yet and that’s ok! Tell me what your must haves are in your package and we’ll make a plan together.
est. 2001 in VT
