______________ and _________________,
you have consented together
to marriage before this company, pledged your faith and declared your
unity by each giving and receiving a ring, and, as you are now joined
together in mutual esteem and devotion, it is my privilege as an ordained
minister to pronounce that you are married, and to offer you this
Benediction of the Apaches:
``Now you will feel no rain, for each
of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for
each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness
for you, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling
place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days
be good, and long upon, the earth.''
Congratulations, you may
now kiss the bride!
Alternative: Congratulations,
you may now kiss one another.
(Optional:) Ladies and
gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. (or first names of bride and
groom)_______________________________.
Alternative Declarations
of Marriage & Benedictions
Declaration: Because
_________ and __________ have exchanged these vows of love in our
presence, we now recognize them as husband and wife.
Benediction:
Give to one another new experiences of joy. Challenge one another
so that you may grow. May the love you hold for each other, now sealed
in marriage, continue to mature with the passing years. May you never
take each other for granted, but always experience the wonder of your
union. Be slow to anger, quick to forgive, leaving no tracks of resentment
behind each day. May your love consist not only in gazing into each
other's eyes, but in looking outward in the same direction. May your
life together be a source of strength and inspiration to yourselves,
your families, your friends, and to all whose lives you touch.
Declaration and
Benediction From the Book of Common Worship
For as much as _______________
and ______________ have consented together to holy wedlock, and have
witnessed the same before God and before this company, I pronounce
that they are Husband and Wife, in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, Amen. What God has joined together, let not man
put asunder. Let us pray. May God the Father, God the Son, God the
Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you; the Lord mercifully with
His favor look upon you, and 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.
Alternative Benediction
May the Lord bless you
and keep you. And may the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and
be gracious unto you. May God give you His peace in your going out
and in your coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in
your labor and in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears,
until that day when you come to stand before Jesus in that day in
which there is no sunset and no dawning. Amen.
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Sample Ceremonies