Wedding Ceremony Part Two
Opening Remarks
Dearly Beloved, we are assembled here in the presence of God, to join ___________ and ___________ , in holy marriage; which is instituted of God, regulated by His commandments, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and to be hold in honor among all men. Let us therefore reverently remember that God has established and sanctified marriage, for the welfare and happiness of mankind. Our Savior has declared that a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife.
By His apostles, He has instructed those who enter into this relation to cherish a mutual esteem and love; to bear with each other’s infirmities and weaknesses; and to comfort each other in sickness, trouble, and sorrow; in honesty and industry to provide for each other, and for their household, in temporal things; to pray for and encourage each other in things which pertain to God; and to live together as the heirs of the grace of life.
Prayer
Giving away of bride
Pastor — Who gives ___________ to be married to ___________ ?
Father of the Bride — Her mother and I do.
Pastor — No other human ties are more tender, no other vows are more sacred than these you are about to assume. You are entering into the holy estate which is the deepest mystery of experience, and which is the very sacrament of divine love.
Pastor to Groom — ___________, will you have ___________ to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony; will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep yourself only for her so long as you both shall live?
Groom — I will.
Pastor to Bride — ___________, will you have ___________ to be your wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony; will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only for him so long as you both shall live?
Bride — I will.
Wedding Vows
Pastor — ___________, will you repeat your vows?
Groom repeats vows.
Pastor — ___________, will you repeat your vows?
Bride repeats vows.
Ring Vows
Pastor to groom — ___________, what token do you give of the vows you have made?
Groom — This ring
Pastor — Bless this ring, O Lord, that he who gives it and she who wears it may abide in Thy peace, and continue in Thy favor, unto their life’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Groom to Bride — ___________ I give you this ring as a pledge of the sincerity of my vows. (Groom places ring on bride’s finger.)
Pastor to Bride — ___________, what token do you give of the vows you have made?
Bride — This ring.
Pastor — Bless this ring, O Lord, that she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in your peace, and continue in your favor, until their life’s end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bride to Groom — ___________ I give you this ring as a pledge of the sincerity of my vows. (Bride places ring on groom’s finger.)
Pastor — The Soul of marriage can be a trusting place where two people can come together from the struggles of the world and feel safe, accepted, and loved . . . or it can be a battleground where two egos are locked in a lifelong struggle for supremacy, a battle which is for the most part invisible to the rest of the world. If you are to have the first in your marriage you must work toward it by cultivating your mutual interests and aspirations.
Pronouncement
Pastor — Forasmuch as ___________ and ___________ have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, by the authority committed unto me as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I declare that ___________ and ___________ are now Husband and Wife, according to the ordinance of God, and the law of the State of Washington: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Pastor asks bride and groom join right hands) Whom therefore God hath joined together, let no man put assunder.
Pastor — The Lord bless you, and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace: both now and in the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayer/Song
Embrace
Introduction
And now it is my happy privilege to congratulate and introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. _________. I further charge you as a Christian man and woman, to invite Jesus Christ to take His rightful place as Lord of your lives, individually and together. You are not to live selfishly as single persons do, protecting their own rights, making their own plans, but rather the Apostle tells us “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and truly, the more each of you loves Jesus Christ, the richer will be your love for one another. He tells us what that love is like with the words from I Cor. 13:4-8a.
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Benediction
Recessional
This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”
