WEDDING OF DAVID FRANKLIN AND JENNIFER CURTIS
PROCESSIONAL
MEANING OF MARRIAGE
Ø We are here assembled in the presence of God to unite David and Jennifer in marriage.
Ø 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.
Ø Who gives the bride to be married? (Bride’s Father): [I do].
PRAYER
HAND ILLUSTRATION
Ø David and Jennifer, the Bible has much to say about marriage- directly and indirectly. The very first people of creation were brought together by God who saw that it was not good for man to be alone. Eve was created to be Adams companion and his helper in all things. Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding. Some of His most famous parables flow out of the context of marriage.
Ø As you stand here today, it is your desire that this ceremony not only reflect your commitment to one another but your individual and shared commitment to Christ. Marriage is the clasping of hands, the blending of hearts, the union of two lives becoming one. This marriage will stand by the strength of your love and the power of faith you have in one another and also in God.
Ø I want to ask you to turn and face one another now.
Ø Jennifer, please take David’s hands and hold them palms up so that you may see them for the gift which they are to you.
Ø These are the hands of your best friend. They are young and strong and vibrant with love- these hands, which are resting in yours on this wedding day, are the hands of the one whom is promising to love you for all the remaining days of your life. These are the hands, which will work along side you and will build your future, as you laugh and cry as you share your innermost secrets and dreams. These are the hands, which will be placed against your womb with expectant joy when he feels the child stir within you. These hands, which appear so large and strong today, will be soft and gentle as he holds your baby for the first time. These hands will work long hours for you and your new family and they are the hands which will passionately love and cherish you throughout the years- the same hands will wipe away tears of sorrow and tears of joy from your eyes. These are the hands which will comfort you in times of illness and which will hold you when grief intrudes your home. These are the hands, which will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes- eyes that will be filled with passion for you.
Ø David, would you please take Jennifer’s hands, palms up, so that you may see them for the fits, which they are to you.
Ø These hands are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young, and carefree which are holding yours on this wedding day as she pledges her love and commitment to you for all the days of her life. These are the hands, which will hold your children in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way and knowing when it is time to let go. These are the hands which will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times- they are the hands which will comfort you when you are sick and will console you when you grieve. These are the hands, which will passionately love you and cherish you through all the years for a lifetime of happiness. These same hands will support you as you pursue your dreams of all that God has enabled you to be and become. Together, as a team, her hands in yours, your wishes will be realized.
Ø Please join me in prayer…
Ø God, bless these hands that you see before you on this day. May they always be held by one another and may they find the strength to keep holding on when the storms of worry, distress, anxiety and fear attack their home. May these hands remain tender and gentle as they nurture one another in their wondrous love. May these hands continue to build a relationship founded in Your grace, rich in caring and devoted to reaching for Your perfection of them. We ask this prayer in Your Holy Name, amen.
MUSIC
Ø The home is built upon love. In the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians the Bible says:
Ø “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends;… So faith, hope, love abide, these three: but the greatest of these is love.”
Ø Marriage is a companionship which involves mutual commitment and responsibility. You will share alike in the responsibilities and the joys of life. When companions share a sorrow the sorrow is halved, and when they share a joy the joy is doubled.
Ø You are asked to dedicate your home to your Creator. Take His Word, the Bible, for your guide. Give loyal devotion to His church and live your lives as His willing servants, and true happiness will be your reward.
WEDDING VOWS
Ø “Please join right hands”.
Ø David, will you take Jennifer to be your wife; will you commit yourself to her happiness and her self-fulfillment as a person, and to her usefulness in God’s Kingdom; and will you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve her in sickness and in health, in adversity, and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to her, so long as you both shall live?
Ø (David): [I will].
Ø Jennifer will you take David to be your husband; will you commit yourself to his happiness and his self-fulfillment as a person, and to his usefulness in God’s Kingdom; and do you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve him in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to him, so long as you both shall live?
Ø (Jennifer): [I will].
EXCHANGING OF THE RINGS
Ø (Jennifer will hand her bouquet to the maid of honor. The best-man will give the ring to the minister.)
Ø The wedding ring is a symbol of marriage in at least two ways: the purity of gold symbolizes the purity of your love for each other, and the unending circle symbolizes the unending vows which you are taking, which may be broken honorably in the sight of God only by death. As a token of your vows, you will give and receive the rings.
Ø David, you will give the ring and repeat after me:
Ø “Jennifer with this ring I pledge my life and love to you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
Ø Jennifer, you will give the ring and repeat after me:
Ø “David, with this ring I pledge my life and love to you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
UNITY CANDLE
Ø The Bible teaches that in marriage two become one flesh. In symbolism of this you will now light the unity candle.
MUSIC WHILE UNITY CANDLE IS BEING LIT
CLOSING
Ø Since they have made these commitments before God and these witnesses, by the authority of God and the laws of the State of New Mexico, I declare that David and Jennifer are husband and wife.
Ø David and Jennifer, you are no longer two independent persons but one.
Ø “What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.”
Ø David you may kiss your bride.
Ø Let me be the first to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. David Franklin.
RECESSIONAL
