Marriage Ceremony

WEDDING SERVICE

Bride & Groom (Names)

Date

Time

P. S. Baptist Church

Officiating Minister

(Name)

* THE PROLOGUE -

Hebrews 13:4a

Marriage is honorable ... ­

* FAMILY & FRIENDS OF BRIDE & GROOM -

We have gathered here today at the invitation of Bride and Groom in the presence of God and in your company to witness and share in the joy of their wedding ceremony.

Today is a significant day for Bride and Groom. It is a defining moment in their relationship to one another. Today’s wedding is the occasion when this man and woman publicly proclaim their love to each other and affirm their commitment to one another.

This wedding will be the uniting of two individuals from two separate families and backgrounds to establish a new family.

This day, ________________, will become to Bride and Groom an important and memorable event for the remainder of their lives for it now marks the beginning of their new life together as one.

* THE GIVING OF THE BRIDE -

The original idea of a father giving his daughter away seems archaic today - especially where a man and a woman can freely choose to marry one another.

Today - the tradition is connected with the love between a father and daughter.

Today the father symbolically passes the responsibility of caring for his beloved daughter to the man which she has chosen to marry.

With that understanding, I ask: - "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

[Father says, "I Do" or "Her Mother and I Do."]

(Father returns to stand next to the bride’s mother)

* OPENING PRAYER -

[Please join me in a word of prayer -]

Father,

We come this evening to celebrate in Your presence this marriage of _______ and _______. We are here to witness the declaration of their love to each other. May this moment of time always find a place in our fond memories. May this time also cause us to consider You as one of mercy and grace as it reflects the greatest expression of love ever found in the giving of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary’s hill. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, we ask. Amen.

(Audience to sit down)

(Couple to face the minister)

* OPENING COMMENTS -

The purpose of marriage today remains the same as it has for thousands of years - it is the uniting of two (2) lives together to become one (1).

In ancient time, weddings were some of the most anticipated events of a lifetime. It was understood that the union of a man and a woman in marriage signifed new life and represented God’s love and passion for humanity.

Today - we all participate in this oldest ceremony know to mankind - marriage - a ceremony based on biblical roots.

In Genesis Chapter 2, "marriage - was established by God in creation when He said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him" - 2:18. So God fashioned a woman and brought her to man. On seeing the woman, Adam exclaimed, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man." And Adam said: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" - 2:23-24.

In John Chapter 2, our Lord Jesus Christ honored the "wedding ceremony" with his presence and by the performing of His first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.

In Ephesians Chapter 5, The Apostle Paul wrote that marriage "symbolizes" the union between Christ and His church.

The Scriptures throughout commends marriage to be highly honored. This is the reason we have gathered in this house of worship today - because God is involved in the institution of marriage.

The coming together of the husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy, for the help and comfort given to one another in prosperity and adversity, and when it is God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into lightly but soberly, deliberately, and in reverence before God.

Marriage is not a casual event, nor is it simply a private affair between two individuals. Marriage is to be entered into responsibly and prayerfully. Marriage is the clasping of hands, the blending of hearts, the union of two lives as one. Marriage is an expression of genuine love toward one another.

Today - this marriage is _______ and _______ declaring their geniune love to each other unconditionally as found in: