We are familiar with
two wedding traditions in which roses are used. In one, the mothers
are given roses as tokens of the bride and groom's love for family.
This is often kept a secret from the family until the roses are presented.
In another, roses are exchanged as the bride and groom's first gifts
to one another as a married couple. Please let us know if you would
like roses incorporated into your ceremony, and we will discuss further
how you want them included.
First Rose Ceremony
Marriage is a coming together
of two lives, and a celebration of the love of two people. But it is
more. The love that you feel for one another is the flowering of a seed
your mothers planted in your hearts many years ago. When you were first
born, you were a bundle of diapers and tears, and your mothers lost
sleep caring for you. Their love for you has brought them great happiness
and great challenges, and their love did not diminish as they met these
challenges. That is the great lesson you can bring into your marriage.
As you embrace one another in your love, so too do you embrace the families
which have been brought together on this happy occasion. As a token
of your gratitude for your families, I would like to ask you to offer
these symbols of eternal love, these roses, to your mothers. (Both bride
and groom can hand the roses to each mother together, offering the mothers
kisses if they wish.)
Second Rose Ceremony
___________
and __________, you will remember this day for the rest of your lives.
Those of us who are already married know that marriage, like life, brings
with it many joys and also many challenges. We also know that love,
while beautiful, does not always show its prettiest face. There are
days when we may find it hard to express the depth of our love for one
another. It is my hope and prayer that the two of you will set aside
a special place in your home for roses, ancient symbols of love.
When
words fail you, or when the challenges of life or marriage begin to
weigh on you, go out and get a rose, and put it in that special place
in your home, so that the other will be reminded of this moment, and
of the love you feel for one another. As a token of that love, I would
like to ask you to make these roses your first gifts to one another
as a married couple.
[Unity
Candle] [To The Children]
[Declaration of
Marriage]
More
Sample Ceremonies