The Ceremony Script
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OFFICIANT:. Welcome all loved ones, family and friends alike, as we gather today to celebrate the union of ________ and ________________.
It is my honour to be standing here and I want to thank you all on behalf of ________ and ______ for gathering beside this beautiful fish to support them on this very special day. The fact that you have all taken time out of your very hectic college schedules to be here today is a testament of your love and support.
Many of you have given them much happiness, love and guidance throughout their time here at this wonderful and remarkable institute here in this beautiful gateway city and some of you have not.
The grooms/brides ask that we take a moment to respectfully acknowledge those who were unable to attend. They are all with us in spirit today and we feel their love.
I would like to ask you all a question. Will you ALL pledge to give your continuing love and support as ______ and _______ work to build a happy and enduring marriage? If so, please say, “I will.”
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I would like to point out that we find ourselves at a considerable advantage today; this isn’t a shotgun wedding because neither _______ nor _______ is with child, this isn’t a religious ceremony where we have to thank specific deities or drink wine from a chalice, and I am the farthest thing from an ordained anything.
We are here to celebrate __________ and ________. To celebrate their individuality, who they are as a couple, and who they will become as husbands/wives.
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This marriage is a public announcement of their undying commitment to one another; a bond between two people who look forward to sharing their lives together though the good and the bad. To both ______ and __________, this marriage does not mark the beginning of a new relationship; it is an acknowledgement and a celebration of a relationship that has been flourishing for some time.
Both young men/women are in college and working hard towards a fulfilling career.
Was it love at first sight? Well, not in the way the movies play it but there was a spark. There was definitely a spark.
And so, _________ and _______ I’d like to ask you each a question.
What brings you here today___________________?
_____________: My love for ______________and my excitement to be his husband/her wife.
OFFICIANT: What brings you here today, ________________?
_____________: My love for __________ and my excitement to be his husband/her wife.
OFFICIANT: I asked the boys/girls what it was that made them fall in love with each other and they both came up with their individual lists. I have them here…
________ and ____________, would you mind sharing your answers with one another at this time?
_________: Your thoughtfulness and generosity - like the time you bought me a drink, your unyielding support – like assisting me with my essays and driving me into the IT every day, your unique sense of humour making me laugh daily, your constant and incessant cheerful disposition and yes, even your stubbornness which challenges me at every turn.
OFFICIANT: __________?
_____________: Your charm, your ability to embrace life and your adventurous spirit like when you told the cab driver to just take us to MY house after our first date. Your willingness to take risks like coming back to the IT to finish your course; your desire to live life to its fullest because there isn’t a roller coaster too high for you or a zip line too fast, your bedroom eyes that I love seeing before I go to sleep and waking up to every morning and your lovely accent.
OFFICIANT: ________ and _______, these are the qualities you treasure most about each other; Remind yourselves of them each and every day. A successful relationship takes more than just love. With open hearts and full disclosure ___________ and _________ have come here today, after considerable thought and reflection, after a long period of dating and co- habitating to pledge their marriage to one another.
To feel the love, to embrace the love, to be open to the love, forever and ever and ever.
By making this commitment your relationship will become stronger and deeper and even more filled with love. But we all know that is not going to erase the differences you two have.
Marriage is never going to change one partner’s taste in music or fashion and it’s never going to make one partner a dishwasher all of the time or someone able make the bed with hospital corners. Marriage is not going to stop one partner from snoring or stop another from spending hours on the computer. Marriage is not going to stop the fights in the car or walking through town. However, knowing what your partner needs to be happy and being willing to provide it is something you both do very well.
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Boys/Girls, you have chosen to walk through life hand in hand. There is no truer statement of love. Your choice to be together was not defined by a single moment, but by countless special ones. You belong together. The foundation of your love is profound friendship. Your committing here today is an epiphany, a revelation. It is the start of an amazing journey through life, TOGETHER.
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THE HAND CEREMONY:
Boys/Girls, please face one another other and take each other’s hands.
These are the hands of your best friend, full of love for you, holding yours on your wedding day
These are the hands that will scratch your back when you have an itch you can’t reach
These are the hands that will help decorate your Christmas tree
These are the hands that will dial your number just to say hello – when you’ve been feeling unmissed throughout the day
These are the hands that, at times, will want to strangle you
These are the hands that will still passionately love and cherish you through the years
These are the hands that will hold you for comfort and tickle you for joy
These are the hands that will wipe the tears from your eyes
These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children
These are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch
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VOWS:
_______ and __________, can you please pass the rings forward.
________ and ___________, your wedding rings represent the unconditional love that you have for one another and are a symbol of the vows that you will make today.
_______, please take this ring and place it on _________’s finger and repeat after me: I, ________ take you _________, to be my husband/wife, my partner in life and my one true love.
__________: I, _______ take you ________, to be my husband/wife, my partner in life and my one true love.
OFFICIANT: I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
__________: I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
OFFICIANT: I will trust you and respect you; I will laugh with you and cry with you.
__________: I will trust you and respect you; I will laugh with you and cry with you.
OFFICIANT: I will love you faithfully and unconditionally through the best and the worst, the difficult and the easy.
__________: I will love you faithfully and unconditionally through the best and the worst, the difficult and the easy.
OFFICIANT: Whatever may come, I promise I will always be there for you.
__________: Whatever may come, I promise I will always be there for you.
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OFFICIANT: ___________, take this ring, put it on _________s finger and repeat after me: I, _________ take you _________, to be my husband/wife, my partner in life and my one true love.
__________: I, _________ take you _______, to be my husband/wife, my partner in life and my one true love.
OFFICIANT: I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
__________: I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
OFFICIANT: I will trust you and respect you, I will laugh with you and cry with you.
__________: I will trust you and respect you, I will laugh with you and cry with you.
OFFICIANT: I will love you faithfully and unconditionally through the best and the worst, the difficult and the easy.
___________: I will love you faithfully and unconditionally through the best and the worst, the difficult and the easy.
OFFICIANT: Whatever may come, I promise I will always be there for you.
__________: Whatever may come, I promise I will always be there for you.
OFFICIANT: Do either of you or anyone else here today know of any impediment to the marriage?
OFFICIANT: Do you both accept each other as husband and husband/wife and wife.


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OFFICIANT: By the Power vested in me as one of your many friends who loves you very much, it is my privilege to stand here on this the thirteenth of November in 2012 – and the date has such a special relevance -, to pronounce you ______________ and you ______________ as husbands/wives for life.
You may kiss your husband/wife.