Minister -- We have come together in the presence of God to witness the joining of ________ and ________ in Holy Matrimony. This is a special time of celebration that ________ and ________ will long remember, and because of this, they are thankful you are here to share their joy.

Gracious God, before whom we stand, look with favor upon this couple, who desire to make their vows before you and this gathering of family and friends. We are thankful to the families, which have reared them to adulthood. May they experience your presence as they pledge their lives, one to another, and celebrate this new beginning.

"The Fountains mingle with the River
And the Rivers with the Ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion:
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law devine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?
See the mountains kiss high Heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother,
And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?

Percy B. Shelley

Groom -- I, ________, take you, ________ as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and in tranquillity, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

Bride -- I, ________, take you, ________ as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and in tranquillity, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

Exchange of Rings

The Groom place’s his Bride’s ring on her finger. He says:

________, take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity.

The Bride place’s her Groom’s ring on his finger. She says:

________, take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity.

Minister -- Inasmuch as you, ________ and ________, have come before your family and friends and declared your love and devotion to each other, I now greet you with them as husband and wife.

Let all things that go before you be beautiful;
Let all things that go behind you be beautiful;
In beauty it is done.