We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of _____ and _____. My name is _____, and I am a _____, duly authorized to solemnize marriage according to the laws and customs of _____.

Before you, _____, and you, _____, are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these, your family and friends, I am bound to remind you publicly of the solemn, the serious, and the binding nature of the relationship into which you are now voluntarily about to enter.

Marriage, as most of us understand it, is the voluntary and full commitment of a man to a woman and of a woman to a man. It is made in the deepest sense, to the exclusion of all others, and is entered into with the desire, the hope, and the firm intention that it will last for life. Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, _____ and _____ have come here today to be joined as one in marriage.

There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Creation, and the Exponent of the Earth. If we learn no more in life let it be this.

In ancient times it was the custom for a woman to be under the authority and protection of the man who was head of the household, usually her father or elder brother.

When she married, the responsibility, and the authority, passed to her husband. Times have changed and the responsibility and the authority are shared between husband and wife. So it is only fit that both the bride and groom should be given one to the other, equally.

Who then, on behalf of all of us, presents this woman to be married to this man? 

Father answers:
I do.

Who then, on behalf of all of us, presents this man to be married to this woman?

Mother answers:
I do.

Please join hands with your betrothed and listen to that which I am about to say. Above you are the stars, below you are the stones, as time doth pass, remember�

Like a stone should your love be firm. Like a star should your love be constant. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage, let the strength of your wills bind you together, let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable. Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly. Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear, and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for love is within you always.

I would like to read a beautiful poem with expresses the sentiment of the vows about to be taken.

                You take a vow this day to be as one
	In all you do � in all you asp�re
	Let there be no one beneath the sun
	Who�d seek to put asunder your desire.
	And let us wish this knot you tie today be firm and strong
	Against the test of time
	Let your children�s children say
	That all was good and right and fine
	And in humility and in this place
	We cast your love into the hands of fate
	For it is written true, that all you face, if faced with love
	You�ll triumph and be great.
	For greatness lies within the souls of lovers.
	There is no greater power that can tear it from your grasp
	It bonds your hearts as one, to one another,
	As Alpha and Omega � first and last.
	So you go forward from this place today
	And as you journey along the road of life
	Know that you stand together
	Come what may
	For true love comes just ONCE, not twice, not thrice.

(to Groom) Do you, _____, take _____ to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honour, and cherish her unto eternity?

Groom answers:
I do.

(to Groom) Repeat after me:

I, _____, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, _____, to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee, and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for none can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely, and forsaking all others without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again, and thereto I give thee my promise.

(to Bride) Do you, _____, take _____ to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honour, and obey him unto eternity?

Bride answers:
I do.

(to Bride) Repeat after me:

I, _____, by the life that courses within my blood, and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, _____, to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee, and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for none can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely, and forsaking all others without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember and love again, and thereto I give thee my promise.

(to Groom) Do you have a ring as a token of the promises you make here today?

(Groom places ring on the bride�s finger to confirm this promise.)

(to Groom) Repeat after me:

With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship. With all my worldly goods, I thee endow. I pledge to thee my fidelity. Let this ring be a token of the promises now made between us. The placing of this ring upon thine finger, is the fulfillment of my dreams, to have thee as my friend, my lover, my wife, to live as one forever.

(to Bride) Do you have a ring as a token of the promises you make here today?

(Bride places ring on the groom�s finger to confirm this promise.)

(to Bride) Repeat after me:

With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship. With all my worldly goods, I thee endow. I pledge to thee my fidelity. Let this ring be a token of the promises now made between us. The placing of this ring upon thine finger, is the fulfillment of my dreams, to have thee as my friend, my lover, my husband, to live as one forever.

	The roundness of your ring
	Betokens the endlessness of love
	Its pure metal speaks of the purity of love
	Its value reminds you that you should
	Defend and protect that which you hold most valuable in life.
	Wear it with love and honour.

You have symbolized your love for one another in the exchanging of 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 what remain the most honorable titles which may exist between a man and a woman � the titles of �husband� and �wife.�

When I think of what makes a happy marriage, it isn't just love or a wedding vow. It's the commitment two people make to one another to love and to cherish and deeply respect each other's feelings no matter what they are. To honor the choices and support the beliefs each one of us carries, to treat with tenderness and caring the inner person that we have chosen to be with.

While love and romance are a vital part of a solid union, it's the commitment that holds a marriage together through good times and bad. It's the commitment that you are bound together no matter what comes, no matter where you are. It's only when you have reached deep inside to know what your needs are, honestly and without reserve, and have also peered deep into the heart and mind of the one you are promised to�only then can you truly say "I love you for now and till eternity".

Without that deep, inner connection- then a vow is just a word. A vow with commitment is a trust that lasts forever. It's something you can bank your entire future on. It's an investment unlike any other. Its rewards will never end.

No matter what you look like tomorrow or the next day, no matter how much money you have, and no matter what the future holds in store - when you promise from hearts that know one another�then you have made your wedding day the start of your forever, where your dreams can all come true, forever, for the two of you.

(In the Rose Ceremony, the Bride and Groom give each other a Rose. Two roses are all that is necessary. The Rose Ceremony is placed at the end of the ceremony just before being pronounced husband and wife. In the old language of flowers, a single red rose always meant "I love you". The Rose ceremony gives recognition to the new and most honorable title of "Husband and Wife".)

In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love and a single rose always meant only one thing - it meant the words "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. In some ways it seems like you have not done anything at all. Just a moment ago you were holding one small rose � and now you are holding one small rose. In some ways, a marriage ceremony is like this. In some ways, tomorrow is going to seem no different than yesterday. But in fact,thin thejust now, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you always remember - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage.

_________ and _____________, I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future - whether it be a large and elegant home - or a small and graceful one - that you both pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot - both as a recommitment to your marriage - and a recommitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love.

In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words. It is easiest to hurt those we most love. It is easiest to be most hurt by those we most love. It might be difficult sometimes to say "I am sorry" or "I forgive you"; "I need you" or "I am hurting". If this should happen, if you simply can not find these words, leave a rose at that spot which both of you have selected - for that rose then says 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 remember the love and hope that you both share today.

__________ and ________, if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, let it be that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and it is by love which your marriage shall endure."

Ladies and gentlemen, _____ and _____ have asked me to read a special passage to you before I pronounce them as husband and wife. They believe that this reading expresses what their love for each other means to them.

	
	Today I marry my friend
	The one I have laughed with and cried with
	The one I have learned from and shared with
	The one I have chosen to support,
	Encourage and give myself to through all the days
	Given to us to share,
	Today I marry the one I love.

In as much as you, ______, and you, _____, have here in the presence of us all, freely declared your love, each to the other, and have committed to one another in marriage, I now, according to the authority given to me, declare you to be husband and wife.

You may now kiss your bride to seal your pledge.

(Read after kiss):

                And may the Heavens forbid
	But that your love and comfort should increase
	Even as your days do grow

(Signing of the Register.)

	Now you will feel no rain,
	For each of you will be a shelter to the other.
	
	Now you will feel no cold
	For each of you will be warmth to the other.
	
	Now there is no loneliness for you,
	For each of you will be a companion to the other.
	
	Now you are two bodies,
	But there is only one life before you.
	
	Go now to your dwelling place,
	To enter into your days together.
	And may your days be good and long on this earth.

It is with great pleasure I now introduce to you Mr. and Mrs._____.