Wedding Ceremony for Ellen & Richard
Processional:
Officiant and best man, Rob will wait up front. Richard (groom) will escort his mother, Mary to her seat. Richard will join Officiant at the front. Groomsman, Ermin will escort, Ellen's mother, Susan to her seat and then go back to the bridal party.
Bridal party will enter as couples:
Dan & Jena
Chris & Linda
Sam & Katie
Branson & Hillary
James & Kim
Maid of honor Anne will enter, unescorted.
Ring bearer, Alen (2) will enter with his dad.
Flower girls, Natasha (6) and Natalie (3
) will enter next.
Music will change. Officiant will have everyone stand. Ellen will enter, escorted by her father, Frank. When they arrive at the front row, Susan (Bride's mother) will step forward and join them.
We will wait for music to stop.
Officiant: Who gives Ellen in marriage?
Parents: We do
Mom and Dad will kiss Ellen good-bye and go to their seats.
Richard and Ellen will turn to face Officiant.
Officiant will ask guests to be seated and informally welcome everyone on behalf of Ellen and Richard.
Greeting
(Officiant)
We are gathered here today in the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite Richard and Ellen in marriage.
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.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.
Richard and Ellen, if you would have the foundation of your marriage be the devotion you have for one another, not just at this moment, but for all the days to come, then treasure the hopes and dreams that you bring here today. Establish that your love will never be blotted out by the common nor obscured by the ordinary in life. 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.
Statement of Intention
(Officiant)
Do you, Richard, take Ellen as your wife, joining with her today in spirit, offering your friendship and loving care? Do you promise to honor her growth and freedom as well as your own, to cherish and protect her, to love and embrace her in times of challenge, as well as times of joy?
Richard: I do
Do you, Ellen, take Richard 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?
Ellen: I do
Vows
Officiant: Having stated your intentions to live together in marriage, I now ask that you repeat after me:
Richard: Today, I give myself to you, and ask for your tomorrows. I choose you above all others to share my life with me. I promise to love and respect you, to honor and tenderly care for you, in sorrow and in joy, in hardship and in ease. I give you all of my love and trust, and ask that you accept me through all the changes of our lives.
Ellen: Today, I give myself to you, and ask for your tomorrows. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard. These things I give to you today, and all the days of our lives.
Exchange of Rings
Officiant will get the rings from Rob
(Officiant) These rings mark the beginning of a long journey filled with wonder, surprises, laughter, tears, celebration, grief & joy. May these rings glow in reflection of the warmth and love which flow through both of you today.
Ellen, please extend your left hand. Richard please take Ellen's ring and place it on her finger, repeating after me:
Richard: I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body and soul I honor you. All that I am I give to you. And all that I have, I share with you.
(Officiant) Ellen, please take Richard's ring, place it on his finger, and repeat after me:
Ellen: May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love.
Signing of the license witnessed by Rob & Anne (accompanied by song from Dan and Kim)
Rose Ceremony
Officiant: Richard & Ellen, your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect; and a public showing of your commitment to each other. You now have the most intimate relationship that can exist between a man and a woman-that of husband and wife. For your first gift as husband and wife, that gift will be a single rose.
The rose is a symbol of love and a single rose given between lovers means "I love you." So it is appropriate that for your first gift - as husband and wife - that gift would be a single rose.
Please exchange your first gift as husband and wife.
Ellen and Richard will slowly exchange their roses.
In some ways it seems like you have not done anything significant at all. Just a moment ago you were holding one red rose - and now you stand before us--still holding one red rose. In some ways, a marriage ceremony is like this. Your lives will go on and perhaps your tomorrows will not seem all that different from your yesterdays.
But your lives from this day forward will be forever changed-there
will be a difference-perhaps not one that you can touch or see, but a difference nonetheless, just as the rose you've received, while similar to the one you gave, is not exactly the same. Today you have publicly and legally declared your intention to live together as husband and wife. You have pledged without reservation and of your own free will to give each other the gift of true and unconditional love. You have made a promise that says, "I love you. I trust you. I will be here for you when you are hurting, and when I am hurting. I will not leave. "
Richard & Ellen, I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future that you both pick a special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of your wedding day you both may take a rose to that spot as a recommitment that yours will be a marriage based upon unconditional love.
In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words. It is easiest to hurt and be hurt by those whom we most love. It is often difficult to find the words to express sorry, hurt, forgiveness or pain. If this should happen, if you simply cannot find the right words, then leave a rose at that spot which you have selected - for that rose will say what matters most of all and should overpower all other things and all other words.
That rose says the words: "I still love you."
The other should accept this rose for the words which can not be found, and help you to remember the love and hope that you both share today for is that love which will allow your marriage to endure.
Words of thanks to the parents
(Officiant) Richard & Ellen would like to extend some words of thanks to their parents:
To the parents of Richard and Ellen, 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, Susan and Frank, to take this man Richard into your hearts as your son. I ask your family to take him into their hearts as a son, a brother and a grandson, and beloved to Ellen. May the light from this marriage shine throughout your entire family.
And of you, Harvey and Mary I ask that you take this woman, Ellen 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 and granddaughter, for she is dear and beloved to Richard. May the joy of this marriage extend throughout your family.
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 (Parents) kisses and hand shakes if they wish.)
Reading by Uncle Dan
Marriage is:
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is at no time taking the other for granted.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing life.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which independence is equal, dependence is mutual, and obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Final Blessing
Richard & Ellen, as you pledge to each other to be loving friends and partners in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate one another; to respect and cherish each other's uniqueness; and to support, comfortand strengthen each other through life's joys and sorrows. You have promised to share hopes, thoughts and dreams as youbuild your lives together. May your lives be ever intertwined, your love keeping you together. Remember to build a home that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honor for others and each other. May your home be forever filled with peace, happiness and love.
Pronouncement
(Officiant)
Richard & Ellen, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in marriage, 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.
Richard you may kiss your bride.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the newlyweds, Richard & Ellen
Recessional
Everyone walks out as couples.