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Family Affair |
- Procession
- Opening Words
- Presenting of the Bride
- 1st Reading – Art of a Good Marriage II
- Honoring of children from 1st marriages and mothers
- Celebrant’s address
- Declaration of Intent
- Handwrapping Ritual
- Vows
- Rings
- Closing Blessing
- Pronouncement
- Kiss
- Recession
Celebrant: Welcome family and friends!
There are moments in our lives that are ruled not so much by time but by the heart. This is such a moment for Jane Curls and Joe Smiths. These two people have fallen in love – so deeply, so completely – that today they make a bond, a sacred covenant whereby their hearts, their bodies, and their souls shall be united as one in marriage for the rest of their days.
Today, before all of you, their most cherished family and friends, they will say the most powerful, the most loving words two people can say to each other. They will take their wedding vows. And it is our honor and privilege to stand witness. For this blessed act is magnificent and so tender to behold.
Celebrant: Who presents this woman to be married to this man?
Father and son: We do.
Wilfred Arlan Peterson
Across the years I’ll walk with you, in deep green forest, on shores of sand, and when our time on earth is through, in heaven too you will have my hand.
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of 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, once each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is at no time taking for granted. The courtship should not end with the honeymoon, but continue through all the years.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is the speaking of words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Celebrant: Today there we are here to witness the joining of Jane and Joe as well as their families. Joe and Jane love all of you children. They cherish the beautiful times they share with all of you. They both want you to know how important you are to them and the joy you bring to their life everyday.
Couple: We promise to be there as a family to you, to protect you, to support and comfort you, and to love you all the days of our lives. Now we give you these rings as a symbol of our becoming a family.
Couple gives rings to the three children.
Celebrant: Lucielle & Robert Curls and Carmela & Tom Smiths, you have given your children immortal gifts. The light of this marriage would not be possible without you. Emerson defined success this way: It is to leave the world a better place, by virtue of a redeemed social condition, a patch of garden, or by way of a child. We congratulate you on your success! You have brought forth life. You have brought forth love. It is most appropriate on your children’s wedding day that we thank you. We bless you. At this time the couple would like to honor their parents and give their mothers roses.
Celebrant: When we have the courage to start all over again and be with someone new, we are hesitant and hopeful. We wish the past to remain behind us and yet we have learned and grown so much from our experiences. As we move on, we make the choice to open up and give and receive love. Beautifully, magically, something deep inside of us blossoms and opens and we are blessed.
Jane and Joe, you have both made that choice and you’ve made a wonderful one. For, I can not think that there would be two people better suited for each other than you.
When we were speaking, I was truly impressed with the people you both have become and the important skills that you both have learned. Your ability to honor each other, listen to each other, and have patience with each other is phenomenal. You have learned what some have not learned in a lifetime. You have moved past the areas where most relationships get stuck. You both understand that to resolve you differences, you need to let go of what each may think is the “right answer.” Instead, you work towards your common goals and creatively find your solutions hidden there. I heard firsthand, how you have applied that to your family. For, your children and your relationship to them are of critical importance. Your abilities to manage everyone’s needs, including your own is what makes things work so well for all of you.
For not only do you have all the skills, patience, and understanding, you also have LOVE. You have found in each other your soul mate. You have found someone who makes you more than you were by yourself. You are not two halves making a whole. You are two wholes whose sum is much greater. For the first time, you have an intimacy, a trust, a friend and a LOVE that will last through the rest of your years together.
Jane and Joe want all of you to know how blessed they feel to have such wonderful family and friends here today. You are all very important in their lives. They also expressed the wish to honor a few people who could not be with us today and we acknowledge their presence among us. Grandmom and Grandpop Fortunato, Grandmom and Grandpop Smiths, Mary Fuccacio, Rita Curls and Michael McDonnell would have been proud to see the two of you here making your commitment to each other.
Jane and Joe you are the result of the love of thousands. So many people in this lifetime and previous generations have provided all that was needed to bring you to this moment. Today we are witness to the circle of life and we see how what has been given to Jane and Joe is being given to their children, their family, their friends and to the larger community. It is a grace upon the world.
Celebrant: Since it is your intention to join in marriage, kindly join hands and with your hands your hearts.
Celebrant: This cloth represents that something within yourselves yet infinitely greater than yourselves has joined you together. As your hands are bound so are your hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.
Celebrant: In the words of Maya Angelou, “If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”
Couple: I, Joe (Jane), take you, Jane (Joe), to be my wife (husband). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.
Celebrant: These rings represent circles of love and circle of life. They have no beginning and no end. They will endure forever. So may it be with your love.
May the Lord bless these rings, which you give to each other as the signs of your love and faithfulness.
Joe/Jane: Jane(Joe), take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Celebrant: “May Almighty God unite your hearts in the never-ending bond of pure love. May your children bring you happiness, and may your generous love for them be returned many times over. May peace live always in your hearts and in your home. May you have true friends to stand by you, both in joy and in sorrow. May you be ready and willing to help and comfort those who come to you in need. May you find happiness and satisfaction in your work. May daily problems never cause you undue anxiety. May your hearts’ first desire be always toward good things. And may god bless you with many happy years together.
Celebrant: You have committed yourselves to each other through sacred vows and honored each other with the gift of eternal love. Your life is now one. Therefore, it is now by the grace of God, in the beloved company of family and friends, that I am able to pronounce you husband and wife.
Celebrant: It is said that when the one man loves the one woman and the one woman loves the one man. The very angels desert heaven and sit in that house and sing for joy.
You may kiss.