BUILDING YOUR VOWS STEP BY STEP

GREETINGS

OPENING STATEMENTS - This is generally done prior to service start by most pastors.

Your guests have all been seated and awaiting the arrival of the wedding party and family to be seated.

Greetings everyone and welcome, my name is Pastor Hansen.   I will be officiating the service today.  At this time, if you have a cell phone, will you please turn them off or put them on vibrate for the ceremony. We will be starting shortly.  For those who have cameras, and want to take pictures, feel free to do so but please remain seated  during the service. Thank you.   If there's a delay in service start time, I make the announcement at this time also.  We are currently awaiting on a few family members to arrive.   Our bride and the wedding party are finishing up their group photos with the photographer and will be in place in just a few minutes.  Thank you for your patience.

BRIDAL PARTY ENTERS, BRIDE IS ESCORTED IN, AND THE HAND OFF IS MADE AND TAKES POSITION AT THE ALTER

Welcome:   (COPY THE ONE YOU LIKE TO A WORD DOC FILE )

1.  Family and friends, we wish to welcome you today to witness the marriage between  ____  &  ____.

2.  Family and friends, we welcome you today to witness the marriage _____ and ________. You have shared and contributed to their lives in the past, and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, _____ and ______  ask that you share in their future.  Today’s ceremony has been written not by me but by both ______, and _______  together.

3.  I want welcome the Friends and Family of the _____ & ______, and thank you for being here on this very important day.  We are gathered together to celebrate the very special love that is shared between _____ & ____

4.  We welcome you here today to witness the marriage of _______ and __________. As friends and family of Jonathan and Laura, they have touched our lives in many special ways. Today we gather here, to share in their joy and celebrate in the commitment of their love. May you both see the love you share truly is a gift from God.   It is our prayer that your hearts be molded together this day with God's seal of Approval. May your marriage be such that all will know that you not only have a deep and abiding love for each other, but for God as well.

5.

1...

Marriage is a promise, made in the hearts of two people who love each other, which takes a lifetime to fulfill. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships.  A wife and a husband are each other’s lover, teacher, listener, critic, and most of all; they are each other's best friend. . It’s obvious that you already know some of the blessings that marriage has to offer just from the smiles on your faces.

Marriage is a gift from God. It’s an opportunity to feel the joy of taking care of someone who takes care of you, to be challenged towards growth yet gently nurtured, to love deeply and to receive it in return. It’s about trust, friendship and having a partner to share all that life has to offer.  It’s a commitment to participate in a process of mutual understanding and forgiveness. It’s indeed a sacred union to be treated with reverence and respect.

As you stand here today; I remind you of the serious nature of the relationship that you are about to enter into. Marriage is the voluntary and full commitment of two consenting adults to love each other for a lifetime.

If a marriage is to be successful, you must each be loyal to the other, stand firm in your defense of one another, and be supportive to one another’s goals and dreams. It is a solemn, binding commitment of your hearts.  It takes special people who can learn to celebrate their differences-special people like the two of you.

That being said, are you now ready to accept this challenge together? (Bride/Groom say, “Yes we are”).

2....

     All of us need and desire to love and to be loved. And the highest form of love between two people is within a monogamous  & committed relationship.  ____ and ______, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. 

Marriage will allow you a new environment to share your lives together, standing together to face life and the world, hand-in-hand. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another.  To be successful, you will need strength, courage, and patience.  So, Let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other over and over again.

3....

The Bible tells us that He who finds a wife has found a good thing.  In a marriage, a wife and a husband are each other's lover, teacher, listener, critic, and best friend. And, it is into this holy state that ___ & ___ wish to enter into today.

4....
True marriage is more than the bonds of marriage.  It is a solemn and binding commitment of your hearts; and it is the uniting of two souls already attuned to one another.  When such a true bond already exists between a man and a women it’s fitting that an outer acknowledgement be made.  This acknowledgment is the prime object of this gathering and this ceremony today. 


QUESTION OF INTENTION:

1.