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~13 minute ceremony
Not all wedding ceremonies need to be overly complicated. This simple wedding ceremony script provides an alternative to all the pomp and flowery language that causes some couples to roll their eyes. Just the basics: a short introduction, a declaration of intent, the ring exchange, and the pronouncement.
Welcome Statement
OFFICIANT (to congregation):
Please be seated… Thank you.
Friends, family, and loved ones, we come together today, in the sight of the divine and of you as witnesses to join _________ and _________ in marriage. We gather around them now in this wonderful place, and we look on with love and hope as these two begin their new life together as one.
Speech / Sermon / Introduction
OFFICIANT (to congregation):
Marriage is a sacred institution in our culture. It’s a tradition of partnership, of trust, and of dependence on one another to navigate the sometimes stormy seas of life. People have said that marriage requires things like work, like commitment, and like sacrifice - and certainly all of those things are true. No matter what it looks like in the end, however, a healthy marriage always needs a solid foundation.
It begins with love, to be sure, but what does that mean? People say they love chocolate, is that the same as the love we need for a solid marriage? Of course not. The love we need comes from being willing to make those sacrifices. The love we need comes from being committed to working through everything together, and maintaining open communications - even when it is difficult. The love we need makes the work it takes to maintain it all worth it.
On top of that foundation of love - a mixture of work, sacrifice, and commitment - we can build things like trust and intimacy, and all of the beautiful things that make a marriage worthwhile.
OFFICIANT (to couple):
_________ and _________, are you ready to proclaim that foundation of love for one another in the sight of the heavens and these witnesses?
Declaration of Intent
OFFICIANT (to _________):
_________, do you take _________ to be your lawfully wedded husband/wife/partner? Will you honor and cherish him/her/them; love, trust, and commit to him/her/them, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?
_________: I do.
OFFICIANT (to _________):
_________, do you take _________ to be your lawfully wedded husband/wife/partner? Will you honor and cherish him/her/them; love, trust, and commit to him/her/them, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?
_________: I do.
Vow/Ring Exchange
OFFICIANT (to congregation):
At this time, _________ and _________ will exchange rings. The wedding ring is symbol of binding. A symbol of attachment and of belonging, not of possession, but of partnership.
(Couple exchanges vows to one another. If they have not written their own vows, they may substitute the following)
OFFICIANT (to _________):
_________, please repeat after me: _________, I promise to love you and commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you and you alone, and to walk through the valleys of life together, just as we will stand atop mountains together, too.
OFFICIANT (to _________):
_________, please repeat after me: _________, I promise to love you commit to you my whole life. I promise to be there for you when you need me, to be honest with you, to be faithful to you and you alone, and to walk through the valleys of life together, just as we will stand atop mountains together, too.
Pronouncement
OFFICIANT (to couple):
_________ and _________, having proclaimed your love and commitment to one another in the eyes of these loved ones, and with the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church and the state of __________, I am so happy to pronounce you husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner! You may kiss!
Closing Statement
OFFICIANT (to congregation):
Thank you all so much for joining us in this special moment in _________’s and _________’s life! _________ and _________ have asked that you join them for a reception at __________. Thank you all once again.
