When the bride appears, ready to walk down the aisle. . .
Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise.
Presentation of the Bride

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?
The Father: Her mother and I
Who stands with this couple to express the good wishes of their families and friends? And everyone says, "We do!" Together. . .
Guests: "We do!"

INTRODUCTION
Please be seated.

 

On behalf of ______ and __________, I would like to thank you all for being here this afternoon. For taking the time and making the journey, and for all the effort that it takes—not only to be a part of this day, but to be a part of each other’s lives. ________and _______ have invited you here to this beautiful place to show you a glimpse of an important piece of their love.
 For love to exist between two people, each person must allow the vulnerability of giving his or her love to the other, and each must be open to receiving the other’s love in turn. Therefore each of us is a powerful creator of love. Each of us, every moment of every day, has the choice to dedicate ourselves to one another or to withhold our love and caring.
If you ask couples who have a strong and abiding love what they like most about their partners, many will say when they are with that person they don’t have to pretend to be anything other than what they are. They are able to express themselves without fear of                                    being judged or rejected. There is room in the relationship for both of them to be unique individuals. They are free to surrender to the vulnerability of true intimacy—to be known and loved unconditionally.

INTRODUCTION TO VOWS
The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it all, every word.”
Look at one another and remember this moment in time.
Before this moment you have been many things to one another—friend, fiancé(e), But now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this—is my husband; this—is my wife.
Nothing is easier than standing here and saying these words, and nothing is more difficult than living them day to day. When you love someone, you do not love them all the time in exactly the same way. That is impossible. Yet that is what most of us expect. We forget the ebb and flow of life and of love and of relationships. We insist on permanence, on duration, on continuity. But in love, as in life, the only stability is in change, in growth, and in freedom. Therefore what you promise today must be renewed and reaffirmed tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
Having considered all of these things, ______, do you promise to do your very best each day to create a loving, healthy, and happy marriage?
B: I do.
_______, do you promise to do your very best each day to create a loving, healthy, and happy marriage?
K: I do.
Now, please declare your wedding vows to each other. (personal, although I can put some commonly uised vows here; My experience is that each partner writing their own vows is much more powerful!
{Vows}
INTRODUCTION TO RINGS
Please take hands. And all of you who love each other, please take each other’s hands as well. To reach out to someone and be acknowledged and loved is a human need. Taking the hand of one who loves you is a powerful symbol of that unspoken bond.
Please take a good look at your partner’s hands, so you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, that are holding yours on your wedding day. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours.
This is the point in the ceremony when people usually talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, having no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metals are liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees. The hot metal is forged, cooled, and then painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements. Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It is the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.
RING VOWS
_____, please place this ring on ______’s finger and repeat after me:
“I take you for now and for always, for always is always now.”
Groom: “I take you for now and for always, for always is always now.”
_______, please place this ring on _______’s finger and repeat after me:
“I take you for now and for always, for always is always now.”
Bride: “I take you for now and for always, for always is always now.”
BENEDICTION
No one but you can declare yourselves married. You have begun it here today in speaking your vows before your family and friends, and you will do it again in the days and years to come, standing by each other, sharing the highs and lows of life.
My hope for you is this:
May you have many long years to delight in each other’s company,
and to love and be loved by the friends and family who have come here today to support you.
May you make a home together that is at once sheltering and welcoming.
May you each do meaningful, productive work at home and in the world, learning from your failures and growing in your accomplishments.
May life’s challenges be met together with courage and optimism, and may your days be filled with laughter, imagination, trust, friendship, and love.
 
PRONOUNCEMENT AND KISS
It is now my honor and delight to declare you husband and wife—you may share your first kiss as husband and wife!
I introduce the happy married couple, __________ and ___________