A CATHOLIC INSPIRED CEREMONY WITH SOME OF THE PRAYERS AND NONE OF THE GUILT
“For us, it was important to have an officiant ordained through the church. We are so blessed that you married us!” Source: Lara – YELP
Opening
We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, the joining of two hearts. In this ceremony today we will witness the joining GROOM/BRIDE and GROOM/BRIDE in marriage.
If there is anyone present who has just cause why this couple should not be united let them speak now or forever hold their peace.
Who escorts this man/woman to be married today (Optional)
You have come together today so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of God and this community. Christ abundantly blesses your love, he strengthens you so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity, and so… in the presence of this community.
Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love and are finalizing it with their wedding Today. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more and it is their desire to love each other for life and that is what we are celebrating here today.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the “little” things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say, ”I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is standing together and facing the world.
It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner
Bible Passage 1
1st Corinthians
Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud. Love is never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand it’s own way. Love is not irritable or touchy. Love does not hold grudges and will hardly notice when others do it wrong. Love is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the costs. You will always believe in them, always expect the best in them, and will always stand your ground in defending them.
VOWS (face each other and hold hands)(repeat after me)
I, GROOM/BRIDE take you GROOM/BRIDE to be my husband/wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
Whatever may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep
I, GROOM/BRIDE take you GROOM/BRIDE to be my Husband/Wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
Whatever may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep
Words of Wisdom
GROOM/BRIDE AND GROOM/BRIDE I would ask that you always treat yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together today.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage – as they do to every relationship at one time or another – focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong.
This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and happiness.
PRAYERS FOR THE FAITHFUL – Call and Response
Let us pray for peace, happiness and joy in everyone’s life, both here at home, and around the world. Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the new additions to our families, that God looks over them, and that they are always surrounded by love and caring.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those in our lives who are sick and healing, may their road to recovery be blessed. Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for those who have traveled this road with us, but could not join us here today. We know that those people are close to us in spirit.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
Let us pause for a moment to add our own special intentions.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
I Do’s
GROOM/BRIDE, do you take GROOM/BRIDE to be your Husband/Wife? (“I do”)
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her forevermore? (“I do”)
GROOM/BRIDE, do you take GROOM/BRIDE to be your Husband/Wife? (“I do”)
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him forevermore? (“I do”)
Bible Passage 2
John 4:7-12
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.
Ring Exchange (who has the rings) (repeat after me)
The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.
I GROOM/BRIDE, take thee, GROOM/BRIDE to be my Husband/Wife- To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise My love to you. Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit.
I GROOM/BRIDE, take thee GROOM/BRIDE, to be my Husband/Wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise My love to you. Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit.
Lord, bless and consecrate this groom and bride in their love for each other. May these rings be a symbol of their true faith in each other, and always remind them of their love through the Christ to God.
Wedding Prayer
Bless their marriage, O God, as they begin their journey down the road of life together.
We don’t know what lies ahead for the road turns and bends. But help them to make the best of whatever comes their way.
Help them to continue to enjoy each other as they did when they first met. Help them to realize that nothing nor no one is perfect and to look for the good in all things and all people including themselves.
Help them to respect each other’s likes and dislikes, opinions and beliefs, hopes and dreams and fears even though they may not always understand them.
Help them to learn from each other and to help each other to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Help them to realize that no matter what happens to them they will hold on to each other and know that things have a way of working out for the good.
Help them to create for their children a peaceful, stable home of love as a foundation on which they can build their lives.
But most of all, dear God, help them to keep lit the torch of love’ that they now share so that by their loving example they may pass on the light of love to their children and to their children’s children forever. Amen
Closing Comments
To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today.
It will take trust, to know, that in your hearts, you truly want what is best for each other.
It will take dedication, to stay open to one another – and to learn and grow together.
It will take faith, to go forward together, without knowing exactly what the future brings.
And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both have pledged to today.
Closing Blessing
My dear friends, let us turn to the lord and pray that he will bless this couple and unite them in holy marriage today.
Father you have made the union of husband and wife so holy as it symbolizes the marriage of two humans through Christ to God.
Look with love upon this couple and fill them both with love for each other, both honoring and respecting each other and always
seeing their love as a gift to be treasured. May the commitment which they are making be sacred not only for today but for the rest of their lives.
We ask this blessing for them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit.
By the power vested in me I now pronounce you . . . . . . .
The Kiss
You may kiss your Groom/Bride.
I would like to introduce the happy couple
