Processional (Enya – Fairytale)
Welcome/Introduction
Officiant: Welcome. Thank you for being here on this special day as we come together to
witness the marriage of Katherine and Joseph.
Marriage is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring out in one
another. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can
equal – communion that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage
encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and husband are each other’s
best friend, confidante, lover, teacher, listener, and helper. Marriage deepens and enriches
every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are sweeter; commitment is stronger.
Marriage encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love
through the seasons of life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in
marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves which binds them closer than any spoken
or written words. Marriage is promise made in the hearts of two people in love that takes a
lifetime to fulfill.
Declaration of Consent
Officiant: Who presents this woman to be united with this man?
Dad: Her mother and I do. (takes his seat)
Questions of Intent
Officiant: Katherine, you have asked your friends and family here to witness your union.
Do you wish to be united with Joseph as a partner in marriage, as the closest of friends, as a
confidante through his deepest troubles, as solace in times of difficulty, as celebrant in times
of joy? Do you wish to remain together and support and nourish him throughout all the years
of your life?
Kathy: I do.
Officiant: Joseph, you have asked your friends and family here to witness your union. Do
you wish to be united with Katherine as a partner in marriage, as the closest of friends, as a
confidante through her deepest troubles, as solace in times of difficulty, as celebrant in times
of joy? Do you wish to remain together and support and nourish her throughout all the years
of your life?
Joe: I do.
Reading
Officiant: Katherine and Joseph have asked me to share with you a passage from Captain
Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres.
- 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 eternal
passion. 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.
Those that truly love have roots that grow toward each other underground, and when all
the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and
not two.
Blessing of the Hands
- These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that
are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today,
tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as you build
your future together. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you
throughout the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. These
are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands
that will wipe the tears from your eyes – tears of sorrow as well as tears of joy. These are
the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to
hold your family together as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when
you need it. And these are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be
reaching for yours, still offering the same unspoken tenderness with only a touch.
(pause)
many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, and even teacher, for you
have learned much from one another.
Now you will say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things will never
quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, (looking at
Kathy) this is my husband, (looking at Joe) this is my wife.
Katherine and Joseph, are you ready to speak the words that will take you across this new
threshold of life?
Kathy & Joe: We are.
Vows
Officiant: Joseph, please repeat your vows as I speak them.
- Katherine, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife.
Before these witnesses I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live.
I take you, with all your faults and strengths as I offer myself to you with all my faults
and strengths.
I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph.
I will cherish and respect you, comfort and encourage you,
keep my heart open to you,
and stay with you as long as we both shall live, both freed and bound by our love.
---
Joseph, I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband.
Before these witnesses I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live.
I take you, with all your faults and strengths as I offer myself to you with all my faults
and strengths.
I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph.
I will cherish and respect you, comfort and encourage you,
keep my heart open to you,
and stay with you as long as we both shall live, both freed and bound by our love.
(Bethany will bring forward the box, and Kim will take out both rings and hand Joe’s to Liz)
Your wedding rings will serve as a lasting symbol of the vows you have just spoken. They are
the outward and visible sign of an inward love which binds your hearts together. They are
formed of precious metal, symbolic of the preciousness of your love. Whenever either of you
looks at your rings, may you be reminded of this moment and the unending love you have
promised.
Joseph, as you place this ring on Katherine’s finger, repeat with me:
With this ring I thee wed, to have and to hold, forsaking all others, til death do we part.
Katherine, as you place this ring on Joseph’s finger, repeat with me:
With this ring I thee wed, to have and to hold, forsaking all others, til death do we part.
Unity Candle
(Note: Unity candle ceremony will take place in silence.)
Officiant: In the moment of silence that follows, I ask each of you, in your own way, to
confer a silent prayer, blessing, wish or hope upon this marriage.
(Kathy and Joe move to unity candle table and light candle together, then return to stand with
Officiant for another moment of continuing silence.
Pronouncement of Marriage
Officiant: By the power vested in me by the state of Louisiana, I pronounce you husband
and wife. (wording slightly different per officiant)
Benediction
Officiant: Katherine and Joseph, may the sun of many days and years shine upon you
both. May the love that you have for one another today continue to grow and hold you close.
May you grow in understanding and compassion. May the home you establish together be a
place of happiness and growth for all who enter it. May all your dreams come true. But when
they don’t, may new dreams arise in their place. So many long years from now you may be
able to look at one another as you do today and be able to say, “Because of you I lived the life I
always wanted to live. Because of you I became the person I always wanted to be.”
Presentation
Officiant: Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you for the first time as husband and wife
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Katherine Lynch.
Joseph, you may kiss your bride.
Recessional (Theme from Star Wars)
