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Pearls
Welcome
Who presents (Bride) to
be married to (Groom)?
We welcome all of you
here today to witness
the marriage of (Groom)
and (Bride) …….. As
family and friends of
this couple, our lives
have been touched by
then in a special way.
We are here to share in
their in their joy and
commitment of their
love, a love that this
man and this woman now
desire to express in the
estate of holy
matrimony. So this is
not only a joyous
occasion, but a holy one
as well. May you see
that your love for each
other is truly a gift
from God. It is our
prayer that your hearts
will be molded together
this day with God’s seal
of approval. May you
marriage be such that
all will know that you
not only have a deep and
a biding love for each
other, but for God, your
creator as well.
Consent
And so, (Groom), do you
take (Bride) to be your
wedded wife? Do you
promise to love her and
comfort her, honor and
respect her, and be
faithful to her all the
days of your life?
I do
And (Bride), do you take
(Groom) to be your
husband? Do you promise
to love him, comfort
him, honor and respect
him, and be faithful to
him al the days of your
life?
I do
Address and Readings
Today is the beginning
of and exciting new life
for the two of you. It
makes the commencement
of a new relationship to
your families, your
friends and certainly to
each other. God knew
your needs when He
brought you together. He
knew exactly what you
needed to make you
complete. Now He wants
you to commit yourselves
to accept each other as
the one He has chosen to
complete you. Here are
the five pearls of
wisdom I want to share
with you as you begin
this new journey
together.
First, LISTEN. Listen to
each other. Try to hear
what you mate is really
saying. The scripture
says: “Be quick to
hear, slow to speak and
slow to anger.” What
you say and how you say
it is the foundation
upon which to build your
marriage. Say things
that will encourage and
support your partner.
Take the words you hear
from each other into
your heart and let them
become the building
blocks for a solid
marriage. Take the time
to talk with each other.
But more importantly,
take the time to
listen.
Second, LEARN. Learn
from each other. Both of
you are different in
many ways. You each
bring certain abilities
and specifics gifts into
the relationship. But do
not become threatened by
your partner’s strengths
or talents. Join forces.
Accept their strengths
and combine them with
yours because you both
have so much to give to
this marriage. Every day
will be an adventure as
you learn and understand
something new about your
mate. In fact, the bible
says, “Husbands, live
with you wives in an
understanding way.”
(Groom). Your life
long assignment is try
to understand this woman
and (Bride), your life
long assignment is to
make sure he understands
you. What makes you
“TICK?” What makes you
respond? What an
assignment! If you learn
from each other, not
only will you be a
better person, but also
a better couple. Your
marriage will grow
stronger because of your
desires to understand to
understand your partner.
So learn all you can
about each other.
Listen, Learn and third,
LABOR..or work. Be
willing to work on your
relationship. Someone
once said. “Anything
worth having in this
life is worth working
for.” Make every effort
to make this the very
best marriage on God’s
earth. You don’t find
precious gems just lying
around on top of the
ground. You have to dig
and work hard to get
them. But once you find
them, it is worth every
bit of effort that was
made. So too, if you
work on your
relationship, it will be
like finding those
precious gems, and you
will “strike it rich”
because of all your
labor.
Listen, Learn, Labor…and
Fourth, LAUGH…Learn to
laugh. Laugh at yourself
and laugh at each other.
The Bible says that:
“Laughter is good
medicine.” Getting
married is a serious
step, and should be
taken seriously. But I
am also serious when I
say that having fun and
being able to laugh at
our mistakes and
shortcomings goes a long
way in solidifying the
mortar of this
institution we call
marriage. Studies show
that laughter has a
profound and positive
effect on the body.
Laughter is the best
medicine for along and
happy life. So the best
way to make your
marriage work is to make
it play.
Listen, Learn, Labor,
Laugh, and finally LOVE.
Countless songs have
been written about it.
Poems too many number
have been penned
describing it. Books as
numerous as the stars in
the sky have been
authored by both men and
women to tell us all
about it. But the one
book that rises above
all of them, the Bible,
says this about love:
Love is very patient and
kind, never jealous or
envies, never boastful
or proud never haughty
or selfish or rude. Love
does not demand its own
way nor is it irritable
or touchy. It does not
hold grudges and will
hardly ever notice when
others do it wrong. It
is never glad about
injustices, but rejoices
whenever truth wins out.
This kind of love knows
no boundaries to its
tolerance, no end in its
trust, no fading of its
hope, no limit to its
endurance. I can outlast
anything.
Love is, in fact, the
only one thing that
still stands out when
all else has failed.”
So you can see, love is
not just something you
feel, it is something
you do.
And so..Listen, Learn,
Labor, Laugh and Love:
Practice these five
principles and, with
God’s guidance, your
marriage will blossom
and grow into a life
long partnership that
will endure the
challenges of life and
withstand the test of
time.
Vows
(Groom), Please repeat
after me, (Bride), I
thank God He has given
us to each other / to
share life, one love,
one heart./ I will try
to be everything He
wants me to be for you /
so I may meet your needs
/ and fulfill your
dreams / I will love you
with unconditional love
/ protect and provide
for you / nurture and
care for you, / and
honor and respect you/
I promise to stay by
your side / no matter
what circumstances life
may bring / and I vow to
be faithful and true /
to you alone. / May my
love give you strength
all the days of our
lives.
(Bride), Please repeat
after me, as we become
husband and wife today,
/ I promise to love you
with an unending love.
/ I give myself in all
things to your care / to
be your helpmate and
companion in this life /
I commit myself to stand
by you / whatever comes
our way. / I will be
with you is sickness and
in health, / weather we
are rich or poor, / and
during times of
happiness/ as well as
times or sorrow. / I
promise to be faithful
and true / to you alone.
/ May my love bring you
joy all the days of our
lives.
Rings
You are about to give
each other a ring. The
wedding ring is a symbol
of many things. It is
made of precious metals
that symbolize a love
that is pure and
enduring. It is made of
rare gems that symbolize
a love that is priceless
and irreplaceable. It is
a perfect circle that
symbolizes a love that
is permanent and
everlasting. Whenever
you look at the rings,
may it forever remind
you of the promises you
have made this day to
keep your love pure,
priceless and
permanent.
Exchange of Rings
(Groom), please repeat
after me. (Bride) I give
this ring / as a symbol
of my love and
faithfulness / and as I
place it on your finger
/ I commit very heart
and soul to you. / I ask
you to wear this ring /
as a reminder of the
vows we have spoken, /
on this, our wedding
day.
(Bride) please repeat
after me, (Groom), I
also give you this ring
/ as a sigh of my
commitment / and the
desire of my heart. /
May it always be a
reminder / that I have
chosen you above all
others / and from this
day forward / we shall
be united as husband and
wife.
Lighting of The Unity
Candle
Lighting of the Unity
Candle is a symbol of
the union created by a
man and woman who enter
into marriage. They are
no longer two, but one.
Today we see two people
uniting themselves as
one…as one in flesh and
as one in spirit. These
candles symbolize that
union. The two outer
candles represent the
individual lives of
(Bride and Groom) and
the families from which
they came. The lighting
of this Unity Candle not
only symbolizes the
coming together of these
two individuals, but the
joining together of
their families as well.
May you all recognize
your continuing
importance in each
other’s lives by sharing
with each other the
light of your love.
Alternate Sand Ceremony
(Groom and Bride),
today you join your
separate lives together.
The two separate bottles
of sand symbolize your
separate lives, separate
families and separate
sets of friends. They
represent all that you
are and all that you’ll
ever be as an
individual. They also
represent your lives
before today. As these
two containers of sand
are poured into the
third container, the
individual containers of
sand will no longer
exist, but will be
joined together as one.
Just as these grains of
sand can never be
separated and poured
again into the
individual containers,
so will your marriage
be.
Wedding Prayer
Dear Lord, we pray that
you will bless this man
and woman as they begin
their new journey
together. In all the
experiences of life, may
they always stay close
to YOU and to each other
as they share the joys
and blessings as well as
the trials and
heartaches. Help them to
honor and keep the
promises made today, and
remind them of Your
great love for them so
they, in turn, may reach
out in love to others.
Give them such love and
devotion that each may
be to the other strength
in need, a comfort in
sorrow, a counselor in
difficulty, and a
companion in joy. AMEN.
Pronouncement
(Groom and Bride), we
have witnessed today the
joining of your two
lives in holly wedlock.
You have exchanged your
vows, given and received
these rings in token of
you love and commitment
to each other. And so, I
now pronounce you
husband and wife.
All that remains is you
seal this with a kiss.
(Bride receives the
bouquet from Main of
Honor) Family and
friends, it is my
privilege to introduce
to you…Mr. and Mrs. John
Smith
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