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~12 minute ceremony
Few symbols are more appropriate for everlasting love than two flames merging into one. This wedding script incorporates the lighting of a unity candle into the wedding ceremony script and can be altered as needed or printed and used right away. A candle ceremony is not performed in all wedding ceremonies, but it is a beautiful ritual to symbolize your commitment to each other and your unity as one.
Introduction/Welcome/Wedding Sermon
Officiant (to guests):
From this place (say something about the ceremony venue/location, about the significance or beauty of the location), we escape out of the regular routines of daily living to witness a unique moment in the lives of _______________ and _______________. Today they join as one in the union of marriage.
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, today we are gathered to celebrate the love you have for one another and to show our appreciation and support for the decision you both have chosen to make.
Reading
Officiant (to guests):
Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being “in love,” which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
Declaration of Intent
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, please join hands, look at each other and remember this moment in time. _______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawful joined partner?
Partner 1:
I do.
Officiant (to Partner 2):
_______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawful joined partner?
Partner 2:
I do.
Exchanging of Vows
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, if you are willing to accept the commitments and responsibilities that I have described before God, you will join your hands and promise your love and lives to one another.
_______________, you may go first.
Partner 1:
I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my lawfully and beloved spouse/wife/husband. This ring I have chosen has no beginning and no end, symbolizing the fact that our love will never fade. As a visible sign of our vows and my pledge to you, I set it on your finger.
Officiant (to partner 2):
_______________, you may now share your vows.
Partner 2:
I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my lawfully and beloved spouse/wife/husband. This ring I have chosen has no beginning and no end, symbolizing the fact that our love will never fade. As a visible sign of our vows and my pledge to you, I set it on your finger.
Exchanging of Rings
Officiant (to couple):
Now, you will exchange wedding bands as a symbol of your commitment and love for one another. Present your rings to one another.
Officiant (to Partner 1):
_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you as my partner and best friend until the end of my days.”
Partner 1:
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you as my partner and best friend until the end of my days.”
Officiant (to Partner 2):
_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you as my partner and best friend until the end of my days.”
Partner 2:
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you as partner and best friend until the end of my days.”
Introduction To Candle Ceremony
Officiant (to guests):
The lighting of the unity candle will take place at this moment. I'd like both families' representatives to light one of the Unity candles. Will you please come forward and light a candle?
Explanation of Ritual
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, The two outside candles burning here reflect your life at this time. Each light is distinct, and able to dance and move in its own direction.
_______________, two individuals who are distinct, complex, and unique. And the same Creator who granted individuality and uniqueness on each of you is now bestowing you to each other. You will merge into one being. May you bask in the splendor of your love's light from this day forward, may its light shine bright and steady upon your journey together, and may its heat keep you warm for the duration of your life and beyond.
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, At this time, I ask each one of you to lift a candle and in unison together ignite the larger candle to flame.
Closing The Candle Ceremony
Officiant (to couple):
As you light the unity candle, I ask you, and all your friends and family who are here today – to see the brightness of the flame as a metaphor of the radiance that your own life contributes to this new family. As this single light cannot be divided, neither shall your lives be separated, but instead will remain a united testimony to your love. May you continue to walk together for the rest of your life.
Pronouncement
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, we've heard about your vow to marry and share your life.
It is my honor and pleasure to declare you husband and wife, based on the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today. By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church Ministries, I now pronounce you married! If you wish, you may now share a kiss!
