Wedding Ceremony for Alison and John
Prior to ceremony, Officiant will obtain rings and marriage license from John. An open bottle of wine and a wine glass should be placed near Officiant.
Processional:
John alone waits up front with Officiant.
Alison will be escorted by her son Luke
Luke will go sit with grandparents
John and Alison will face Officiant when ready to begin
Opening Words
Officiant will informally welcome everyone on behalf of John & Alison
(Officiant): Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today John and Alison proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together.
Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.
Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and cheerleader.
Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.
Officiant will have John and Alison turn to one another and hold hands.
Statement of Intention
(Officiant)
Do you, John, take Alison as your wife, joining with her today in spirit? Do you promise to care for her and share with her, to love her and learn with her, to laugh with her and listen to her? To grow with her in times of challenge as well as times of joy?
John: I do
Do you, Alison, take John as your husband, joining with him today in spirit? Do you promise to care for him and share with him, to love him and learn with him, to laugh with him and listen to him? To grow with him in times of challenge as well as times of joy?
Alison: I do
Vows:
Officiant: Having declared your intentions to live together in marriage, I ask you to repeat after me:
John: You, Alison, are the love of my life, my reason for living. I love you with all of my heart and know that as long as you are next to me I will be willing to give my life to you. I, John, take your hand in marriage and hold you to be, from this day on, an integral part of me, promising to look upon you forever as I would look upon myself, with dedication, understanding, and unconditional love.
Alison: From this moment, I, Alison, take you, John, as my best friend for life. I want to grow old alongside you; I want to share the blessings of children and family with you. I pledge to honor, encourage, and support you through our walk together. When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that through our union we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise to work at our love and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of my heart, I will love you.
Exchange of Rings
(Officiant) The circle is the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe. It is a symbol of holiness and of perfection and of peace. This ring is a symbol of unity, in which your two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle.
Alison, please extend your left hand. John, please take Alison's ring and place it on her finger, repeating after me:
John: Let this ring be a symbol of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you. I am honored to call you my wife.
(Officiant) Alison, please take John's ring, place it on his finger, and repeat after me:
Alison: Let this ring be a symbol of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you. I am honored to call you my husband.
Words of Thanks to Parents
Officiant: John and Alison would like me to extend some special words to their parents.
(Officiant will have John and Alison turn around to face their parents.)
To the parents of John and Alison, congratulations on the part you have played in raising a son and daughter-now this man and this woman who stand before you-of such loving hearts They accept a very mature and meaningful task in taking on this marriage. On their behalf, I thank you for all you have done to bring them to this place. I remind you that it is more than they who joining their hearts here today, for you are as well. With this marriage, your two families are irrevocably linked through a common bond -that of the love you have for your children.
With this in mind, I ask you, Devon, Don, Paul and Kristen to take this man John into your hearts as your son. I ask your family to take him into their hearts as a son, and a brother and beloved to Alison. May the light from this marriage shine throughout your entire family.
And of you, Julie, Billy and John, I ask that you take this woman, Alison into your hearts, that she might live from this day as your daughter. I ask your family to take her into their hearts as a daughter and sister for she is dear and beloved to John.. May the joy of this marriage extend throughout your family.
Wine Ceremony
Officiant will pour a small amount of wine into the glass and hold it up.
Officiant: The years of our lives are as a cup of wine, poured out for us to drink. As grapes when they are pressed give forth their juices for the wine, so under the winepress of time, our lives give forth their labor, their honor, their love.
John and Alison, often in the days to come you will sit at the same table and break bread together. Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to running over.
John will take a sip of the wine and pass the glass to Alison, who will take a sip and return the glass to Officiant.
Officiant: As you have shared from this one cup of wine, so may you draw contentment, comfort, and delight from the cup of life. May you find life's joys heightened, its bitterness sweetened, and all things hallowed, by your companionship and love.
Blessing:
(Officiant) Please join me as I extend a final blessing for the couple:
Now you feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no loneliness,
for each of you will be a companion to the other.
You are two bodies,
but there is one life before you and one home.
When evening falls,
You look up and there the other will be.
You will take hands
and you'll turn together
To look at the road you traveled to reach this - the hour of your happiness.
It stretches behind you,
even as the future lies ahead.
A long and winding road,
whose every turn means discovery.
Old hopes, new laughter, shared fears.
The adventure has just begun.
Pronouncement
(Officiant): John and Alison, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife.
John, you may kiss your bride.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present "Mr. and Mrs. John and Alison Smith"
Recessional
Alison and John will walk back up the aisle to the reception area.