Spiritual Ceremony
Presentation of the Bride(s) or Groom(s)
Who presents the ______ in marriage? (I do / We do / ___r mother and I do)
Opening Poem
Where Your Treasure is
There shall your heart go
Where your desire is
There do your energy flow;
When you hitch your wagon to a star,
You find out who you really are.
The Convocation
We are gathered here in the presence of Spirit and of this company to join in marriage ________ & ______ and to bear witness to the transforming power of love. Love is a quality of Spirit and an attribute of the emotions, but a marriage is a life’s work, a spiritual art form. Therefore, this is an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility, and we who partake in it bind ourselves as witnesses to the labor of love that ____ & ____ are undertaking here.
In acknowledgement of this great purpose and the power of this occasion, let us pray.
The Invocation
God, creator of all things, in bringing _____ & _____ together, you invite us to comprehend that love is a profound and mysterious process. It is the unfolding, honing, grinding, and preparing of ourselves that enables us to stand in the presence of another human being and embrace that person with the love we have been waiting a lifetime to experience. We thank you for this miraculous day, for the fulfillment of love we see before us and for the joy of sharing this happy occasion.
Sermon
_______ & ______, as you enter into this marriage to one another, remember that marriage is a progression. There’s an old Chinese proverb that say, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” For the two of you, your wedding today is an exquisite and beautifully choreographed first step. With it, you are passing through a portal that will lead you to many places, including ones you can’t possibly imagine. Wherever it takes you there will be surprises.
There is great joy to be found in such a surprising journey, with twists and turns. Instead of resisting the changes, allow them to flower in you and know that they are leading you somewhere that, separately and together, you are becoming more than you were. Don’t’ expect every day to have a fanciful mood or an exuberant high spirits of this, your wedding day, but be excited, open minded, curious, available and inquiring about who you are becoming.
Know that your composite experiences are turning you into the highest form of yourselves that you are becoming the best and the most that only you two together could possibly be. Above all, remember that love is what matters. Love will prevail. It is the love you feel for one another that will be the answer to all your difficulties.
If in marrying you have chosen well and promised wisely, love will be stronger than conflicts, bigger than the changes. Love will be the miracle always inviting you to learn, to blossom, and to expand. And it is love to the love you are celebrating, embodying and radiating on this special day – which you must always return.
The Expression of Intent
Do you ____ choose ___ to be your honored and cherished (husband, wife) to live with (him/her) and to love (him/her) for the rest of your day? (I do).
The Consecration
May the promises you make to one another be lived out to the end of your lives in an atmosphere of profoundest joy.
The Vows
_____, I take you to be my beloved (wife / husband). To stand with you in the great love that binds us, to honor you, to change with you, to behold the highest meaning of our being, to learn compassion with you, to suffer with you, to rejoice, to be kind. I promise you this from my heart, with my soul, till death do us part.
The Ring Blessing
Rings are objects of adornment, and while, in a single lifetime, we may have many objects of adornment, we have among them always the one that is most precious to us. May these rings, from this day forward, be your most treasured adornment; and may the love they symbolize be, to the end of your days, your most precious possession.
Exchange of Rings
________, as a sign of my love for you and my desire to share my whole life’s journey with you, I give you this ring with the pledge that I shall cherish and care for you with all my heart and soul from this day forward.
Pronouncement of Marriage
____ & ____, because you have pledged your love and commitment to each other before these witnesses, by the power vested in me by the _________, I now pronounce you (husband & wife, wife & wife, husband & husband, legally married).
The Benediction
May the blessing of God rest upon you,
May God’s peace abide with you,
May God’s presence illuminate your hearts
Now and forever. Amen
The Kiss
Seal a promise,
Make a wish,
Then bind your hearts
With a wedding kiss.
Presentation of the Newlyweds to the Guest
Friends and family, I present to you _____ and ______ the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. ____ Mrs & Mrs ___, Mr. & Mr. ____.