Wedding of
BRIDE ______ & GROOM ______
Seating of family
Mothers lighting candles
Bridal party enters
Bride Enters
OPENING WORDS
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God and in the presence of this company to witness the union of BRIDE ______ and GROOM _____ in Christian marriage. The Bible teaches that marriage is to be a permanent relationship of one man and one woman freely and totally committed to each other as companions for life. Our Lord declared that man shall leave his father and mother and unite with his wife in the building of a home, and the two shall become one flesh. If anyone can provide just cause why these two should not be married, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace.
Giving in Marriage
PASTOR; Who, then, presents BRIDE to be married to GROOM?
Father of the Bride; Her mother and I.
Purity Ring comments: BRIDE
(Bride joins groom)
PRAYER
Address to Couple
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and everything on the earth and above and below the earth. He said it was good. Then God created Man in His own image. God took special time and care in creating man, for man would be his crown jewel of all creation. But he never said it was good. Instead he said that it was not good for man to be alone.
God noticed that man did not have any one like him so he put Adam in a deep sleep and removed a rib from his side and created woman to be a helper and a companion for him.
In the act of creation, God didn’t take the woman from man’s head, so that she would rule over him, nor did God take a bone from Adams feet so that he would trample upon her. Marriage is a partnership; it will take a lot of give and take on both your parts. The marriages that succeed are the ones that have found middle ground.
God took the bone from the side so that she would be equal with him, and from close to his heart, so that he would love, cherish, and honor her. Then he presented woman to man to serve as his helper and companion. Marriage is God’s gift to deliver us from our isolation and our loneliness.
I have had the opportunity, the honor, and the pleasure of walking with you the past couple of months as you prepare, not just for this moment, but for the lifetime of commitment that this ceremony sanctifies.
I know that your relationship is centered on your saving faith in Jesus Christ. You have both resisted worldly temptations and kept yourselves pure for each other, and have honored God and amazed your friends in the process.
Besides proclaiming your love for one another, in this ceremony, we are also able to proclaim God’s love to all in attendance.
As you are making a lifetime commitment today, God has offered each person an eternal commitment of love and grace. He offers this through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible summarizes this offer in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Today, as you make this life defining promise to each other, you can both be confident in your commitment to the Lord and to each other. You are beginning your lifetime together the right way.
BRIDE and GROOM, as you prepare to pledge your vows to each other, let me remind you that a marriage made in heaven is a union of two lives—two hearts that beat as one—so welded together that they walk and work in love. A husband and wife should bear each other’s burdens as well as share each other’s joy. Remember that you will have to cultivate the art of living together --be considerate, loving, helpful and tenderhearted, always putting the other one’s needs first and holding one another up in love. The vows which you are about to take should be as binding in adversity as they are in prosperity. They should be broken only by death. When you say “until death do us part” -it is a covenant between both of you and God.
EXCHANGE OF VOWS
PASTOR: As a symbol of your union, will you now join right hands. GROOM, in taking BRIDE to be your wife, do you promise to love and cherish her, to honor and sustain her, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in the bad that may darken your days, in the good that may brighten your ways, and to be true to her until death alone shall part you.
GROOM: I do
PASTOR: BRIDE, in taking GROOM to be your husband, do you promise to love, cherish and obey him, to honor and sustain him, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in the bad that may darken your days, in the good that may brighten your ways, and to be true to him until death alone shall part you.
BRIDE: I Do
Prayer by Grandfather of the Bride
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
The ring is a symbol of the love you have for each other. Its unending circle represents the eternal quality of your love. And the gold in these rings symbolizes the purity of your love. Now you may seal your promise to each other by giving and receiving the rings.
BRIDE, place the ring on GROOM’s finger and repeat after me:
I, BRIDE, take you, GROOM
To be my lawfully wedded husband,
my closest friend,
my faithful partner in life
and my one true love.
On this special day
I give to you
my sacred promise to stay by your side
as your faithful wife
in sickness and in health,
in joy and in sorrow
through the good times and the bad.
I promise to love you without reservation,
comfort you in times of distress,
laugh with you and cry with you,
always be open and honest with you
and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
GROOM, place the ring on BRIDE’s finger and repeat after me:
I, GROOM, take you, BRIDE
to be my lawfully wedded wife,
my closest friend,
my faithful partner in life,
and my one true love.
On this special day,
I give to you
my sacred promise to stay by your side
as your faithful husband
in sickness and in health
in joy and in sorrow,
through the good times and the bad.
I promise to love you without reservation,
honor and respect you,
provide for your needs as best I can,
comfort you in times of distress
and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
Unity Candle & Sand Ceremony
BRIDE and GROOM are now about to light a unity candle. It is a visible representation of the words of Jesus, “for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.”
After lighting the candles, they will perform the visual representation of the words of Jesus, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” by the pouring of two individual vials of sand into one single container, creating a unique formation, never to be duplicated again.
PRAY OVER COUPLE DURING SONG
SONG: I Cross my Heart
GROOM and BRIDE, in these moments I have heard you pledge your love and faith to each other. Your friends and family members assembled here have heard you seal your solemn vows of marriage by giving and receiving the rings. Now it is my joy and privilege by the power granted to me by God and the State of Oklahoma to declare you husband and wife… What God had joined together, let no one tear apart: You may now kiss the Bride!
Please turn and face the assembly;
Friends and Family of the bride and groom, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. And Mrs. GROOM!
(Bride, Groom, bridal party and family exit)
This concludes this service. You are invited to a reception immediately following in the fellowship hall. May each of you go in peace and love in the name of our Loving Savior Jesus Christ whom we serve. Amen
