CIVIL CEREMONY #16
FILLED WITH WONDER
PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE
Who gives this woman to be married to this man? / I do.
IMPEDIMENT DECLARATION
_(Groom)_, _(Bride)_, if you know of any reason why you may not be lawfully married I ask you to declare it now.
OPENING REMARKS
We, as a community of friends and family, are gathered here to witness the marriage of _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ and to express by our presence our support for the decision they have made to become one this day. We are thankful for the gift of life, its meaning and purpose. Many voices counsel us; many faces pressure us; many things tempt us. It is only in firm commitments that we are able to keep ourselves on target to the development of higher goods, such as are found in personal relationships such as friendship and courtship, both of which have contributed to preparations for this celebration of marriage.
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, endures all things. Love never ends.
I Corinthians 13:4-8a
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to he wife, and the two shall become one”?
REMARKS TO GUESTS
We are the guests of _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ in their wedding. If any knows just cause why _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ may not be wed this day, let them now declare it for by our presence here we accept responsibility for helping _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ and encouraging them in the new relationship into which they are about to enter. We are called to rejoice in their happiness, to help them when they have trouble, and to be ever mindful of ways we might be able to assist them in the development of their life together that they might love each other throughout their life; and that the children born to them should enjoy the security of family and home.
REMARKS TO COUPLE
_(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ , your marriage is intended to join you for life in a relationship so intimate and personal that it will change your whole being. It offers you the hope, and indeed the promise, of a love that is true and mature. To attain such love you will have to commit yourselves to each other freely and gladly for the sake of a richer and deeper life together.
DECLARATION
_(Groom)_ will you have _(Bride)_ to be your wife ? / I will.
_(Bride)_ will you have _(Groom)_ to be your husband? / I will.
VOWS
_(Bride)_ , please pass you bouquet to your maid of honour?
Please face each other and join hands in preparation for the sharing of your vows?
_(Groom)_ , please repeat after me you vows to _(Bride)_ ?
I take you to be my wife;
To laugh with you in joy,
To grieve with you in sorrow,
To grow with you in love,
To be faithful to you alone,
As long as we both shall live.
_(Bride)_ , please repeat after me you vows to _(Groom)_ ?
I take you to be my husband;
To laugh with you in joy,
To grieve with you in sorrow,
To grow with you in love,
To be faithful to you alone,
As long as we both shall live.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
May I have the rings please?
As you place your ring on _(Bride)_ ‘s finger repeat after me your commitment to you bride?
_(Bride)_ , I place this ring
on your finger
as a perpetual sign
of my unending love.
As you place your ring on _(Groom)_ ‘s finger repeat after me your commitment to you groom ?
_(Groom)_ , I place this ring
on your finger
as a perpetual sign
of my unending love.
DECLARATION
Forasmuch as _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ have made this solemn covenant of marriage before all of us here, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Province of Ontario, I declare them to be husband and wife. May all honor their life commitment.
KISS
BLESSING
May you always be filled with wonder by the joys that come your way as husband and wife and by the blessings of home and family. May you grow in patience, understanding and honesty. May you be wise and loving parents of any children you may have. May you stand firmly together against every of evil that may threaten your union, from outside or within. And may we each look to the good of others in word and deed, and grow richer in positive virtues as we advance in years.
DOCUMENTS
PRESENTATION OF THE COUPLE
It is my delight to introduce to you the newly married couple, Mr. And Mrs. ———- .
RECESSIONAL
Return to Civil Ceremonies page
Copyright protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Canada License.