Sample  Ceremony Page
A Ceremony of
Love
TRADITIONAL

We begin this ceremony by gathering together from all those present, cherished
friends and loving family, our sincerest wishes for happiness, our most precious
feelings of affection and our fondest hopes for the future, as we offer them to ___
and ___ on this, their special wedding day.
_____ and _____ join together so they may strengthen each other in all labor,
minister to each other in all sorrow and share with each other in all gladness.  
Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and
physical union.
Marriage has been described as the best and most important relationship that can
exist between two human beings; the foundation is made of love and trust, the
walls spring upward as a single growing energy of life, the top is open for the
inspiration that promotes such commitment.  This marriage shall be a life-long
declaration to the ideal of loving kindness, backed with the will to make it last.
___, Will you take ___, to be your wedded wife/husband, to love, cherish, and
continually bestow upon her/him your heart's deepest devotion?  If so, answer, "I
will".
[Repeat]
Please hold hands.
You are now joined together as husband and wife, from this day forward, to love
and to cherish, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in
sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to share your lives together as long
as you both shall love.
These rings shall be recognized as symbols of your affectionate union.  Your
lives are now joined in one unbroken circle.  Wherever you go, you will always
return to each other.  Your relationship will continue to grow in understanding
and compassion.  Your home longs to become such a place of peace that those who
visit there will feel only your quality friendship and love.  We all join in
declaring that these rings symbolize the spirit of love in your hearts.
___, In placing this ring on ___'s finger, repeat after me: "___, I give you this ring
as a pledge of my love and as a symbol of our unity".
[Repeat]
In as much as ___ and ___ have consented together in marriage before this
company; have pledged their faith and declared their unity by the giving and
receiving of rings, they are now joined in mutual devotion and lawful marriage.
By the authority vested in me, but most of all by the power of your own love, I
pronounce you husband and wife, together.
ZEN

We have come together for the marriage of ___ and ___.  
May they continue to deepen their life with each other
and with all sentient beings.

Marriage begins in the giving of words.  We cannot join
ourselves to one another without giving our word.  And
this must be an unconditional giving, for in joining
ourselves to one another we join ourselves to the
unknown.

May I extend my joy to you on this happy occasion.  ___
and ___, you are about to take a new step forward into
life.  This day is made possible not only because of your
love for each other, but through the grace of your
parents and of the whole society.  It is my hope that
your fulfillment and joy in each other and in
yourselves will increase with every passing year.

[Poem of your choosing]

Courtesy and consideration, even in anger and
adversity, are the seeds of compassion.  Love is the fruit
of compassion.   Trust, love, and respect are the
sustaining virtues of marriage.  They enable us to learn
from each situation, and help us to realize that
everywhere we turn we meet ourself.  We nourish
ourselves and each other in living by the following five
precepts:
    *In every way we can, we allow our deepest Self
    to appear.
    *We take full responsibility for our own life, in
    all its infinite dimensions.
    *We affirm our trust in the honesty and wisdom
    of our own body, which with our love and
    reverence always shows us the true way.
    *We are committed to embrace all parts of our self,
    including our deepest fears and shadows, so that
    they can be transformed into light.
    *We affirm our willingness to keep our heart
    open, even in the midst of great pain.

[Poem of your choosing]

Now ___ and ___ celebrate their love and proclaim their
union with rings of precious metal.  The precious nature
of their rings represents the subtle and wonderful
essence they find individually, through their mutual
love, respect, and support.  The metal itself represents
the long life they may cultivate together, not only in
years, but in all the infinite dimensions of each moment
they share.

Now ___ and ___ will take their marriage vows.

I, ___, take you, ___, to be my Wife, in equal love, as a
mirror for my true Self, as a partner on my path, to
honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, till death do
us part.

I, ___, take you, ___, to be my husband, in equal love, as
a mirror for my true Self, as a partner on my path, to
honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, till death do
us part.

[Poem of your choosing]
MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL

We are gathered in this beautiful place to
witness the joining of ___ and ___ in marriage.  
While walking quietly on mornings like this
looking at birds, at wildflowers, at the wind on
the bay, and the hills in the distance they
acknowledged their common sense of
spirituality, and the growth of their love.  It's
given them a feeling of timelessness and peace,
and a sense of the connectedness to life.  
They've learned here that falling in love with
another person and getting to know them is a
little like the exploration of a wild and lovely
place.  That loving another person can deepen
your sense of connectedness to all of life; and
the intimacy and surprise of these experiences
are a form of reverence and wholeness.  It is
this that they wanted to share with you, on the
day of their wedding.
To last, the marriage of these two must be a
consecration of each to the other, and of both to
the wider community of which they are a part.
For the first reading, ___  and ___ have chosen a
poem by ___.
Who presents/gives the bride in marriage?
Bride's Family: We do./She gives herself, and
we share her giving, joyfully.
[Repeat for Bridegroom]
___, will you have this woman/man to be your
wife/husband, to live together in the holy estate
of marriage?  Will you love her/him, comfort
her/him, honor and keep her/him, in sickness
and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and be
faithful to her/him, as long as you both shall
love?
I will.
[Second reading]
___ and ___, it's time to speak the pledges that
will marry you.  Please face each other.
I, ___, take you, ___, to be my wife/husband, to
be the mother/father of my children, to be the
companion of my heart, to have and to hold,
from this day forward, for better or for worse,
for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to
love and to cherish, till death do us part.
Will you who witness these pledges do the
utmost to support this marriage?
We will.
Rings are an ancient symbol, blessed and
simple.  Round like the sun, like an eye or like
arms that embrace.  Circles, for love that is
given coming back round again and again.  
Therefore, may these symbols remind you that
your love, like the sun, illumines; that your
love, like an eye, must see clearly; and that
your love, like embracing arms, is a grace upon
this world.
Groom/Bride: ___, with this ring, I thee wed.
[Third reading]
___ and ___ have chosen each other from the
many men and women of the Earth, have
declared their love and purpose before this
gathering, and have made their pledge to the
other, symbolized by the holding of hands and
the giving and receiving of rings.  Therefore, I
declare that they are husband and wife.
Let all others honor them and the threshold of
their home.  May they carry into their marriage
the beauty and the tranquility of this place, and
keep in it always, the sense of exploration and
the peace and intimacy they have shared here.
May they find here a good beginning for their
married life and the fruitfulness of many years
to come.
[The kiss]
CONVENTIONAL

Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Woman in
holy Matrimony; instituted of God in Paradise, and into which holy estate these two persons present come now to
be joined.
Who presents this Woman to be married to this Man?  Father answers, "I do", and then steps aside.
I read now from 1 Corinthians Chapter 13: Verses 4-8
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
[Bride gives her bouquet to Maid of Honor]
Will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love, now please join your hands.
___, do you take ___, to be your wedded wife/husband, to live together in marriage; do you promise to love
her/him, comfort her/him, honor and keep her/him for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in
health; and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her/him, so long as you both shall live?
Groom/Bride: "I do".
[Repeat]
[Best Man gives Minister the rings]
These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love.  The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an
inward and spiritual bond, which unites two loyal hearts in endless love.  It is a seal of the pledge you have made
to one another.  May you live together in unity, love, and happiness for the rest of your lives.
[Groom/Bride repeat after Minister]
"With this ring, I thee wed".
How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach,
when feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints.  I love with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life;
and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
[Groom recites personalized version]
Apache Wedding Prayer
Now you will feel no rain, for I will be shelter to you.
Now you will feel no cold, for I will be warmth to you.
Now we are two bodies, but there is only one life before us.
We go now to our dwelling place to enter into the days of our togetherness and may our days be good and long
upon this Earth.
For in as much as ___ and ___ have consented together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this
company, and thereto have engaged and pledged their love for each other, and have declared the same by the
giving and receiving of a ring and by joining hands, I pronounce that they are husband and wife.  What God has
joined together, let no man put usunder.
You may kiss the bride.
[Bride retrieves bouquet.  Bride and Groom face their guests]
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you ___ and ___, husband and wife.
Nancy Turner,
Wedding
Officiant for
A Ceremony of
Love

After creating the
perfect vows to
share before your
family and guests
I would be
honored to
perform your
wedding
ceremony
.
Nancy Turner
Wedding Officiant
415-235-4216
Contact By E-mail
Zales
SPIRITUAL

We meet by the sea, so that you may become one by the border of this constant and unlimited force. As these
waters are limitless, flowing and ever changing, so is your love.  Your love is as eternal as the sea, as all
encompassing as the wind and as solid as the earth beneath our feet.   Dear friends you are the sea and also the
land.  It is not your purpose to become each other, but rather to recognize each other and learn to see and honor
each other for what you are: each other’s opposite and complement!

The commitment you are about to make is an important one.   In human relations, to marry is one of the biggest
risks.  Each must ask themselves what they hope for as their love grows and deepens and how much risk they
are willing to take.  Because the nature of love is to create, the marriage itself is created, so that, together we
become greater.  When a life commitment is made it is not a rejection of freedom, but rather a demonstration of
how love instead of being ruled by possession, is rather one of participation and co-creation.  The essence of this
pledge is the taking of another person as lover, companion, and friend.

Marriage is at its best when we love and marry our best friend; when motivated by love, we seek the truth in
each event and act on that truth; when we grow in understanding and acceptance of ourselves and our partner.
This commitment begins in the giving of words.  We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our
word.  And this must be an unconditional giving, for in joining ourselves to one another we unite ourselves to
the unknown.  Marriage is founded on sincerity, trust, and a willingness to share and grow.  These qualities
have attracted you, each to the other, and can best be developed during a lifetime spent together.

Courtesy and consideration, even in anger and adversity, are the seeds of compassion.  Love is the fruit of that
compassion.  Trust, love and respect are the sustaining virtues of marriage.  They enable us to learn from each
situation, and help us to realize that everywhere we turn we meet ourselves.

To express the meaning of marriage is a reading by James Kavanaugh - To Love is Not to Possess:   “To love is
not to possess, to own or imprison, nor to lose one's self in another. Love is to join and separate, to walk alone and
together, to find a laughing freedom that lonely isolation does not permit.  It is finally to be able to be who we
really are no longer clinging in childish dependency nor docilely living separate lives in silence, it is to be
perfectly one's self and perfectly joined in permanent commitment to another–and to one's inner self.  Love only
endures when it moves like waves, receding and returning gently or passionately, or moving lovingly like the
tide in the moon's own predictable harmony, because finally, despite a child's scars or an adult's deepest wounds,
they are openly free to be who they really are–and always secretly were, in the very core of their being where
true and lasting love can alone abide.”

Please turn and face each other.  _____, will you love _____ without clutching, appreciate her without judging,
join with her without invading, invite her without demanding, criticize without blaming and help her without
insulting?  I will.  And do you _____, choose _____ to be your wife; Do you promise to share your life with her as
you love, honor and care for her with tenderness and affection, and to cherish and encourage her own fulfillment
through all the days and changes of your lives?  I do.
[repeat]

_____ and _____, together please repeat after me each of the following lines:
  •  May I fill you with loving kindness
  •  May I keep you safe from all danger
  •  May I always hold you in tender compassion
  •  May I help you be well in body and mind
  •  May we find peace
  •  May we be free

You choose to celebrate your love and proclaim your union with rings of precious metal.  The ring is also an
ancient symbol of wedding vows representing your unbroken circle of love because love freely given, has no
beginning, and no end.  These rings illustrate the long life you will cultivate together, not only in years, but in
all the infinite dimensions of each moment you share.

_____, as you place the ring on _____’s ring finger, repeat after me:
“Accept this ring as a constant reminder of the special bond that exists between us.”
[repeat]

May your rings always remind you of the power of your love and forever remain an outward demonstration of
the inward commitment to your vows while representing the subtle and wonderful essence of your
individuality, mutual love, respect, and support.  Forevermore, be full of kindness and understanding,
thoughtfulness and rejoicing.  May you enter into each other’s sorrow with sympathy, into each other’s joy with
gladness, into each other’s hope with faith and trust, and into each other’s need with a sure presence of love.

I encourage you both to preserve and renew this marriage, to keep it fully alive, to grow and change with one
another, to maintain your capacity for wonder and spontaneity, and to remain flexible, warm and sensitive to
each other.  _____ and _____, may you continue to love each other all of your lives as husband and wife
remembering always to be each other’s best friends.

In closing, I return to the essence of this ceremony by saying: May your love hold within it the essence of life
that is so plentiful here by the sea.  So, may your love touch and enrich all those with whom you come in
contact, just as these waters touch and nourish the many shores of the Earth!

_____ and _____, by the power vested in me, but most importantly by the power of your own love, I pronounce
you as husband and wife.  Congratulations, you may seal your vows with a kiss!










From A Love Symphony-By Arthur O’Shaughnessy
“And then I went down to the sea, and heard it murmuring too, part of an ancient mystery, all made of me and
you.  How many a thousand years ago I loved, and you were sweet--longer I could not stay, and so I fled back to
your feet.”
See the
Alternative
Elements Page   
for ideas on
including unique
references in your
ceremony.  Also
see the
Poetry Page
for more ideas.
CENTERING

Please take a moment, calm your thoughts.  Let go of
any anxieties and remember the truth: That this is a
world filled with beauty, that your lives are filled with
possibilities, while your dreams are being born,
nurtured and fulfilled.
Sometimes there are challenges and sorrow, but greater
is your love and joy. The future may be uncertain, but
that means that there is no limit as to how beautiful,
joyful and successful you can make it.  
Any anxiety you may have about the future is only an
illusion.  Let it go.  Let if fade away as the beauty and
perfection of right now washes over you. The best thing
you can do for the future is to live with everything you
have in the present.  What you have together, right
now, is completely as it should be.  It is your time to
live.  
Right now, you are creating real, lasting and positive
values for your world.  You are following your heart.  
Breathe in the beauty and love that is around you.  It is
your gift.  It is your good fortune.  It is yours to live, to
experience and to fulfill; right now.

Welcome, I am honored to perform this ceremony for
_____ and _____ in the presence of family and friends
and to share in the joy of this occasion.  No words of any
other person truly marry each of you to the other; this is
accomplished when you exchange your promises and
commit yourselves to this marriage and each other.   By
entering into this marriage you are pledging yourselves
to a lifetime in which each partner will enrich the life
of the other.  You will be partners standing together as
one to cushion the difficulties and enhance the
pleasures of your life experiences together.  
Love, Loyalty and understanding are the foundation of a
happy and enduring relationship.   No other human ties
are more tender and no other vows more important than
those you now assume.    Do you _____ choose to be
married to _____? Do you _____ choose to be married to
_____?
_____, please place the ring on _____’s ring finger and
repeat after me: “With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge
my constant love.  I will hold you in my heart forever.”
_____, please place the ring on _____’s ring finger and
repeat after me: “With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge
my constant love.  I will hold you in my heart
forever.”  Now that you have been joined in solemn
matrimony may you strive all your lives to meet this
commitment with the same love and affection you feel
today.  May you encourage each other in whatever you
set out to achieve and may you continue to love each
other all your lives remembering always to be each
other’s best friends.
In the glow of the forest, in the shadows of the trees, in
the fullness of nature, you have offered yourselves to
each other as husband and wife.  May you continue to
change, constantly grow and never cease to invigorate
the living thing that is your love while you reach for
the skies.
By the power vested in me, but most importantly by the
power of your own love, I now pronounce you husband
and wife.    Congratulations! You may seal your vows
with a kiss!

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for
another day of loving.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
Counter
PERSONAL

Here we stand in this glory that nature has provided, on this majestic point
where the hills meet the sea. This is where you are offering yourselves to each
other as husband and wife.
Your love is reflected in the sparkling of the light on the waves. As the waves
make their endless journey to the shore, may your union continually thrive,
until time separates you from the world.
At this time _____ and _____  wish to acknowledge their family and friends’ and
the significance of the life-giving relationships that they receive from them.  
Let us who share in this circle of celebration today, be renewed in our own
commitments to one another, so that we consciously participate in creating a
kinder and ever improving society.
Although you all have lives of your own, you are inseparably bound to each
other, especially to _____ and _____.  In the quiet of this very special moment,
we pause and give thanks for all the rich experiences of life that brought _____
and _____ to this high point in their lives.  We are grateful for the values that
they have found and forged with their own strivings.  We are grateful that
within each of them is the dream of a great love and the resources to use that
love to create a home that shall endure. We are especially grateful for the values
that have flowed into them from those who have loved them and nurtured
them and pointed them along life’s way.
The word ‘love’ is used in so many ways.  Within the context of a relationship,
you decide that love is first a choice, and then a decision made by both
individuals.  This decision is the foundation of why we are all here today.  We
both understand that making this choice to love one other is only the
beginning.  A human relationship is a duality that is both fragile and strong. In
a Jewish ceremony this fragility is sometimes symbolized by the breaking of a
glass.  Since the bride practices the tradition of breaking glasses frequently at
home it was decided that it was not necessary to sacrifice yet another during
this ceremony.  Drawing off this symbolism though reminds us that this union
is fragile and you must be gentle to one another, always.  Marriage, more than
any other relationship, incites us to try harder, to tolerate one another, and asks
that we express ourselves openly without judgment or fear.  Love inspires us to
live beyond our self, caring equally and wholly for the other.  There is
gratitude for the completely random way in which you found one another and
realized that you shared a similar awareness of the world in which we live.  
That you walk through life with a similar, indefinable awe and connectedness
to one another and to all life.  Most importantly, you fell in love with the
beauty you saw in one another, a beauty that goes deeper then the surface and
fused your souls. For all of your similarities there exist the same number of
differences and herein lies the real beauty of your love.  Ultimately you both
strive to find the humor in life, and try not to take yourselves too seriously.
You have proclaimed that the side effects of this marriage may include:
laughter, pleasure, pain, jealousy, fear, doubt, pride, sorrow, loyalty,
pregnancy, bliss, headache, irritation, itchy skin, and a compulsion to meditate.  
All of which you have chosen to unconditionally accept, come what may!
_____ and _____, no words of any other person truly marry each of you to the
other.  This is accomplished when you exchange your promises and commit
yourselves to each other and this marriage.  By entering into this marriage you
are pledging yourselves to a lifetime in which each partner will enrich the life
of the other.
_____, do you now choose _____ to be your wife/husband, to share your life
openly with her/him, to speak truthfully and lovingly to her/him, to accept
her/him fully as she/he is and delight in who she/he is becoming, to respect
her/his uniqueness, encourage her/his fulfillment and compassionately support
her/hism through all the changes of your years together?  
And, _____, will you have this woman/man to be your wife/husband, to live
together in marriage?  Will you love her/him and give her/him your respect?  
Will you comfort, honor and keep her/him in sickness and in health, in joy and
in sorrow, so long as love and life shall endure?
The ring is an ancient symbol of wedding vows as the circle is considered to be
the most perfect expression of all forms in nature.  May these rings be the
symbol of your unbroken circle of love, because love freely given, has no
beginning, and no end.  May your rings always remind you of the power of
your love and forever remain, an outward demonstration of your vows and
respect for each other and forever be a public showing of your commitment to
each other.
_____, in placing this ring on _____’s finger, repeat after me:
"I, _____, give you, _____, this ring as a pledge of my love and as a symbol of
our unity”.
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of
what brought you together.  Give the highest priority to the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.   When frustration,
difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships
at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you.  In this
way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your
lives, remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is
still there.   And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life
together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
In as much as _____ and _____ have declared their unity by the giving and
receiving of rings; and, by the authority bestowed upon me, but most of all by
the power of their own love, I declare that _____ and _____ are now joined in
lawful marriage and mutual devotion as husband and wife, together.
Your lives are now joined.  Wherever you go, you will always return to each
other!
Congratulations, you may seal your vows with a kiss!

When I look in your eyes I delight in your being and when you take my hand I
delight in our being together.
NURTURE

Let us, who share in this circle of celebration today, be renewed in our own commitments to one another so that we may participate in a
kinder and ever improving society.
The surface personalities of ___ and ___ are completely opposite and one might think that their union is miraculous but the important
facts are that they share the common goals of family and security, the mutual desires for companionship with laughter and humor, and
the shared morals of compassion and honesty with a united love of nature.  They want you to know how fortunate they feel to be able to
formalize their relationship before their parents and share with you in the joy of this occasion.
We give thanks for the nurture and support of family and friends.  Let us, who share in the circle of celebration today, be renewed in our
commitments to one another so that we may all participate in a kinder and ever improving society.
God will always provide you with the means to create a home - not just a place of private joy and retreat, but a temple where the values
of your lives are generated and upheld.  May your home, now and always, encompass the beauty of nature while it protects the elements
of your belief system with simplicity and exuberance, beauty and color; a home with books, poetry and music, all of which vibrate in
concordance with the rhythms of life and the highest strivings of men and women.  By entering into this marriage, you are pledging
yourselves to a lifetime in which each partner will enrich the life of the other.  
_____, please repeat after me: “I, _____, take you, _____, to be my wife/husband, to have and hold from this day forward, for better or
worse,  for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish unconditionally, and forsaking all others, as long as I
live.  Please take this ring and be my wife/husband”.
You are now two partners standing collectively as one.   Together, as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.  May beauty
surround you in the journey that lies ahead and through all the years to come.  May happiness be your companion and may your days
together be good and long upon this Earth.  Go into the world and fulfill your lives.  Adhere to your ideals.  Give one another new
experiences of joy.  Challenge one another so that you may grow.  Hold fast to your love as it continues to mature,  so your life together
may be a source of strength and inspiration to the community of your family and the wider circle of the world.
Now that you have joined yourselves in marriage, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and
devotion that you now possess.  And, may the feelings that brought the two of you together continue to grow as you go forward in your
partnership that is now one in marriage.  At this time, by virtue of the power vested in me, but most of all by the power of your own
love, I pronounce that you are husband and wife.