Processional
Opening Song – Power of Two, Indigo Girls
Opening Words
We have come to this place to unite this couple in marriage. Marriage is an institution which the state may regulate and the church may sanction, but which can only become real in the lives of two people. This celebration is the outward sign of the inward union of hearts, and as such, marriage is the most tender and yet the most difficult of all relations in life.
Erin & Vanessa, in presenting yourselves here today, you are performing as act of faith in each other – a faith which should grow and mature and endure. If you would have your love set on such faith, not just at this moment, but in all the days ahead, then ever cherish the hopes and dreams you now hold. Resolve that love not be blotted out by the commonplace, nor blurred by the mundane in life. Faults will appear where now there is satisfaction; talents will fade in bleaching experience; wonder will flatten in the rituals of daily living – but devotion, joy and love can remain, as you build them together. Stand fast in hope and confidence, believing in yourselves and believing in each other. In this spirit, you can create a marriage which will radiate to one another and give new hope and strength to all who watch your quest with interest.
Acknowledgement of Family & Friends
Erin and Vanessa would like to honor and thank those most significant people in their lives, the parents who raised and nurtured them, and sent them out upon life’s road. Friends and relatives, you occupy an important place in this couple’s lives. You have sustained them in the past with your thoughts and prayers and now that they have each other, your role will be different, but in no way diminished, even though their lives may be spent at places far distant from your. And so on this, their wedding day, they ask you to remain steadfast, reaching out to them in times of trouble, helping them to celebrate their achievements and their joys. Wherever you may be, wherever you may go, they hope that your will remain part of their lives. If you are willing to promise to do this, please say, “We will.”
Acknowledgement of Those Not With Us
This wedding day we also pause for a moment to remember all who could not be with us today. Their spirits lives on in this happy couple. We remember friends and relative who have passed away. Our thoughts are with those at great distance who are not with us here. We especially remember Erin’s Gram, Mary Lovejoy, and Vanessa’s grandmother Dionisia (Dee-on-e-shia) and lola Gregoria. For all those who, for whatever reason, are unable to be with us, we acknowledge their presence in Erin and Vanessa’s life together and we wish them well.
Readings
1 Corinthians 13
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant or rude. Love is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in the wrong, but rejoices in the right. . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Three things abide – faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing for each other, not of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is speaking words of appreciation and
demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding
and a sense of humor.
It is not only marrying the right partner,
it is being the right partner.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world
and the world will be yours.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace –
that where there is hatred, I may bring love –
that where there wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness –
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony –
that where there is error, I may bring truth –
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith –
that where there is despair, I may bring hope –
that where there are shadows, I may bring light –
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather than to comfort than to be comforted –
to understand, than to be understood –
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. Amen.
Question to the Couple
The decision to join your lives in marriage requires that you share your lives in hope and trust, that you stand together through all of the challenging and painful experiences of life, as well as sharing life’s greatest joys and sweetest pleasures. In this spirit, do you come together today, freely and without reservation, to be married? If so, answer, “We do.”
Lighting of Candles
Erin and Vanessa, today you are married and your love takes on new form. Today it is named; it is publicly declared; it is joyously celebrated. May the power of your love be a flame. To a dark world, may it bring light. To a cold world, may it being warmth. To your own world, may it bring clarity. (Erin and Vanessa light single candle.) You came to this moment from separate worlds. Now you enter one world, the world of a life together.
Exchange of Vows
I, Erin, take you Vanessa, to be my wife.
I promise that I will stand by you in faith
through pain, through joy,
in times of serenity and times of frustration.
I promise my heart will remain open to you
and I will trust the wisdom of our love
for as long as I live, one day at a time.
I, Vanessa, take you Erin, to be my wife.
I promise that I will stand by you in faith
through pain, through joy,
in times of serenity and times of frustration.
I promise my heart will remain open to you
and I will trust the wisdom of our love
for as long as I live, one day at a time.
Introduction to the Ring Ceremony
In ancient tradition, the ring symbolizes the perfect form in nature. The Greeks attributed such mystical qualities of perfection to the circle that when they discovered that this perfect form produced an irrational number in its dimensional relationships they concealed this fact. However, in the circle, perfection implies imperfection; the rational implies the irrational. Similarly, the perfect marriage symbolized by the circle of the ring must always contain the imperfection of the people in that marriage since people are human. Forgiveness and tolerance are necessary to maintain a relationship between fallible human beings. It is the spirtitual symbol of wholeness. In these rings, it is a symbol of the unity in which your two lives shall be joined, in one unbroken circle of love.
Exchange of Rings
Take this ring as a token of my love for you,
and know that wherever I go
I will return to you,
whatever I have
I will share with you,
for our lives are joined
in love and trust.
Pronouncement
Erin and Vanessa, having freely chosen each other before family and friends, and having made your pledges to each other, I now declare you spouses for life. May your days be long upon the earth and may you dwell in love and joy and happiness together.
Kiss
Benediction
What greater thing is there for two human souls,
than to feel they are joined together,
to strengthen each other in all labor,
to minister to each other in all sorrow,
to share with each other all gladness,
to be one with each other in the silent, unspeakable memories.
May you walk always together in peace and love. Amen.
Recessional Irish Blessing Song “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You”
Opening Song – Power of Two, Indigo Girls
Opening Words
We have come to this place to unite this couple in marriage. Marriage is an institution which the state may regulate and the church may sanction, but which can only become real in the lives of two people. This celebration is the outward sign of the inward union of hearts, and as such, marriage is the most tender and yet the most difficult of all relations in life.
Erin & Vanessa, in presenting yourselves here today, you are performing as act of faith in each other – a faith which should grow and mature and endure. If you would have your love set on such faith, not just at this moment, but in all the days ahead, then ever cherish the hopes and dreams you now hold. Resolve that love not be blotted out by the commonplace, nor blurred by the mundane in life. Faults will appear where now there is satisfaction; talents will fade in bleaching experience; wonder will flatten in the rituals of daily living – but devotion, joy and love can remain, as you build them together. Stand fast in hope and confidence, believing in yourselves and believing in each other. In this spirit, you can create a marriage which will radiate to one another and give new hope and strength to all who watch your quest with interest.
Acknowledgement of Family & Friends
Erin and Vanessa would like to honor and thank those most significant people in their lives, the parents who raised and nurtured them, and sent them out upon life’s road. Friends and relatives, you occupy an important place in this couple’s lives. You have sustained them in the past with your thoughts and prayers and now that they have each other, your role will be different, but in no way diminished, even though their lives may be spent at places far distant from your. And so on this, their wedding day, they ask you to remain steadfast, reaching out to them in times of trouble, helping them to celebrate their achievements and their joys. Wherever you may be, wherever you may go, they hope that your will remain part of their lives. If you are willing to promise to do this, please say, “We will.”
Acknowledgement of Those Not With Us
This wedding day we also pause for a moment to remember all who could not be with us today. Their spirits lives on in this happy couple. We remember friends and relative who have passed away. Our thoughts are with those at great distance who are not with us here. We especially remember Erin’s Gram, Mary Lovejoy, and Vanessa’s grandmother Dionisia (Dee-on-e-shia) and lola Gregoria. For all those who, for whatever reason, are unable to be with us, we acknowledge their presence in Erin and Vanessa’s life together and we wish them well.
Readings
1 Corinthians 13
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant or rude. Love is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in the wrong, but rejoices in the right. . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Three things abide – faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing for each other, not of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is speaking words of appreciation and
demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding
and a sense of humor.
It is not only marrying the right partner,
it is being the right partner.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world
and the world will be yours.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace –
that where there is hatred, I may bring love –
that where there wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness –
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony –
that where there is error, I may bring truth –
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith –
that where there is despair, I may bring hope –
that where there are shadows, I may bring light –
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather than to comfort than to be comforted –
to understand, than to be understood –
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. Amen.
Question to the Couple
The decision to join your lives in marriage requires that you share your lives in hope and trust, that you stand together through all of the challenging and painful experiences of life, as well as sharing life’s greatest joys and sweetest pleasures. In this spirit, do you come together today, freely and without reservation, to be married? If so, answer, “We do.”
Lighting of Candles
Erin and Vanessa, today you are married and your love takes on new form. Today it is named; it is publicly declared; it is joyously celebrated. May the power of your love be a flame. To a dark world, may it bring light. To a cold world, may it being warmth. To your own world, may it bring clarity. (Erin and Vanessa light single candle.) You came to this moment from separate worlds. Now you enter one world, the world of a life together.
Exchange of Vows
I, Erin, take you Vanessa, to be my wife.
I promise that I will stand by you in faith
through pain, through joy,
in times of serenity and times of frustration.
I promise my heart will remain open to you
and I will trust the wisdom of our love
for as long as I live, one day at a time.
I, Vanessa, take you Erin, to be my wife.
I promise that I will stand by you in faith
through pain, through joy,
in times of serenity and times of frustration.
I promise my heart will remain open to you
and I will trust the wisdom of our love
for as long as I live, one day at a time.
Introduction to the Ring Ceremony
In ancient tradition, the ring symbolizes the perfect form in nature. The Greeks attributed such mystical qualities of perfection to the circle that when they discovered that this perfect form produced an irrational number in its dimensional relationships they concealed this fact. However, in the circle, perfection implies imperfection; the rational implies the irrational. Similarly, the perfect marriage symbolized by the circle of the ring must always contain the imperfection of the people in that marriage since people are human. Forgiveness and tolerance are necessary to maintain a relationship between fallible human beings. It is the spirtitual symbol of wholeness. In these rings, it is a symbol of the unity in which your two lives shall be joined, in one unbroken circle of love.
Exchange of Rings
Take this ring as a token of my love for you,
and know that wherever I go
I will return to you,
whatever I have
I will share with you,
for our lives are joined
in love and trust.
Pronouncement
Erin and Vanessa, having freely chosen each other before family and friends, and having made your pledges to each other, I now declare you spouses for life. May your days be long upon the earth and may you dwell in love and joy and happiness together.
Kiss
Benediction
What greater thing is there for two human souls,
than to feel they are joined together,
to strengthen each other in all labor,
to minister to each other in all sorrow,
to share with each other all gladness,
to be one with each other in the silent, unspeakable memories.
May you walk always together in peace and love. Amen.
Recessional Irish Blessing Song “May the Road Rise Up to Meet You”
