Lavender Honey Bahr Wedding Scripts

Welcome and please be seated.

When it comes to finding that special person in your life, sometimes you just know. And as we witness _________ and _________ gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, it is obvious to everyone here that they know and have known for quite some time.

Now, storybooks and romance novels talk of love at first sight and that’s all right, I suppose, but I much prefer the notion of “Love at each sighting”. Each time you see one another, you feel the love that has been growing inside you from the very first time you lock eyes to the next and to the next and all the way up to right now.

And each new time you see one another that love grows stronger. It remembers the past, imagines the wonderful future that will be and fills your heart with joy at each new encounter.

And from each day to the next you know that this is the one, you know this is the person that you belong with forever. You just know.

Reading from Shakespeare’s As You Like It – Act V, Scene ii)

I’d like to share a selection from Shakespeare’s As You Like It that sums up the steps _________ and _________ have taken to lead them here today:

No sooner met but they looked, no sooner looked but they loved, no sooner loved but they sighed, no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason, no sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy; and in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage.

And so, _________ and _________ have ascended those stairs and have arrived here, at this moment, ready to declare their love and commitment to each other and in front of the world.

_________, do you take _________, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?

________ I do.

_________, do you take _________, to be the one. The one you hold above all others, the one you hold in the highest regard, the one you hold when he/she/they needs to be held and the one you hold first and foremost in your heart and soul?

_______ I do.

May I please have the wedding rings?

These rings have been around for all of time. They are made of the same atoms that existed at the very start of everything, just as the atoms that made you were. They are infinite and eternal, they are forever. Just as your love is, just as you both are.

_________, please repeat after me:

_________, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

_________, please repeat after me:

_________, each time I see you, it’s better than the time before, which I thought impossible as each last time was near perfection. I am so lucky, happy and honored to be yours forever. With this ring, I thee wed.

Many people say that love is the backbone of a marriage—and they are right, but they might not fully understand all of what “love” entails.

You see, love is not static. Like everything else in life, it is subject to change. The love you feel today is very likely different than the love you felt when you first met. The love you feel today will be different than the love you feel when you celebrate your 1-year anniversary and then your 10th, then 50th – and beyond.

Love is more than the feeling you get when someone makes your heart happy, love is your heart remembering the history you share with one another during times that are tough. And somehow getting through those tough times makes the good times all the more lovely.

Love each other each and every day and live every day with full hearts and your bond will grow ever stronger with time.

They knew it – they knew they were meant to be together. Now I want you all to know this: By the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I hereby pronounce you husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner.

I invite you now to kiss your first kiss as a married couple. May there be many more to come.

Welcome, family, friends, and associates of the bride and groom. The couple before you has chosen to become wed with a Unity Candle ceremony today. The candles on either side represent the wedding couple, and the candle in the middle represents their marriage to come as a single unit. We will now begin the ceremony.

You both have chosen the Unity Candle for your symbolic wedding ceremony today. The candle on the far left represents _______________. The candle on the far right represents _______________. The candle in the center here represents your covenant of marriage, which you will light together shortly.

Up until this point, you both have led separate lives as your own unique individuals. But now your paths will cross into this unified marriage once you light this candle. The fire of the candle represents the passion and love that you have for one another as you unify as a married couple. Remember that your individuality remains so even as you enter this marriage and to support one another in your separate endeavors but strive to come together as a team in everything you do.

I will now share a brief reading on the nature of love.

May your love be firm,

And may your dream of a life together

be a river between two shores

by day bathed in sunlight, and by night

illuminated from within. May the heron

carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring

the sea’s blue grace. May your twin thoughts spiral upward

like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind,

and be as noble as the Douglas fir.

May you never find yourselves back to back

without love pulling you around

into each other’s arms.”

-A Wedding Toast by James Bertolino

Before you both light the center candle together, it is time for the bride and groom to exchange vows.

(To one partner) _______________, you can say your vows first.

Partner 1:

(Optional: share any personal vows that may have been written.)

I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my lawfully wedded spouse/wife/husband. I vow to love and cherish you through the best and worst we may face. From this day, and forevermore, I am yours.

_______________, you can now say your vows.

Partner 2:

(Optional: share any personal vows that may have been written.)

I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my lawfully wedded spouse/wife/husband. I vow to love and cherish you through the best and worst we may face. From this day, and forevermore, I am yours.

Now that you have exchanged your vows, it is time to light the center candle. Each of you takes one candle and places the flame on the wick in the center candle. At this moment, your lives will be united into one marriage covenant in this symbolic lighting of the center candle.

Now it’s time to exchange the rings.

Officiant (to Partner 1):

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love you until death do us part.”

Partner 1:

With this ring, I promise to love you until death does us part.

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love you until death do us part.”

Partner 2:

With this ring, I promise to love you until death does us part.

_______________ and _______________, please join hands. _______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 1:

I do.

_______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 2:

I do.

_______________ and _______________, you have vowed your love to one another and lit the unity candle in symbolism of this passion for each other.

By the power vested in me by the state of , I now pronounce you married! You may kiss if you wish to do so.

We are gathered here to unite _______________ and _______________ in lawfully wedded unity. Let’s witness the union of this couple.

Now let’s begin your marriage ceremony.

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved despite ourselves.

- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

We will now have you both read the vows that you have prepared for one another.

_______________, you may read your vows first.

Partner 1:

(Read the vows they have prepared or can go by the one below.)

I promise to love you forever and always, support you throughout the rest of our lives, and stay by your side.

_______________, It’s your turn to share your vows.

Partner 2:

(Read the vows they have prepared or can read the one below.)

I promise to love you forever and always, support you throughout the rest of our lives, and stay by your side.

At this time, you will both now exchange your rings.

Partner 1:

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love and support my spouse forevermore.”

Partner 1:

With this ring, I promise to love and support my spouse forevermore.

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love and support my spouse forever more.”

Partner 2:

With this ring, I promise to love and support my spouse forevermore.

_______________ and _______________, join hands with one another at this time, please.

_______________, will you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 1:

I do.

_______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 2:

I do.

_______________ and _______________, you have come here  today to show your love and become legally married.

By the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you legally married! If you wish, you can now share a kiss.

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone, and welcome to the wedding of _______________ and _______________. The two people who stand before you came together later in their lives, and have now chosen to be together for the rest of their lives. They bring us a wonderful reminder that love is not solely a young person’s game – it can strike at any point.

While you both found each other later in your lives, you two are here today to celebrate a deep and sincere love that, while found later in life, will shine true for the rest of your years together.

Let’s start this ceremony with a reading.

“The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that’s what you’ve given me. That’s what I’d hoped to give you forever.”

-Nicholas Sparks, Author of The Notebook

It’s time for you both to share your wedding vows. Please look at one another and recite your prepared vows at this time.

_______________, you can go ahead and say your vows first, please.

Partner 1:

While you were not here during the spring and summer of my life, I am glad you are here to spend my autumn and winter with me for the remainder of my life.

_______________, now it’s your turn to share your vows.

Partner 2:

While you were not here during the spring and summer of my life, I am glad you are here to spend my autumn and winter with me for the remainder of my life.

Now it’s time for the couple to exchange their rings.

_______________, put the ring on _______________’s ring finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I claim my love and promise to be with you for the rest of my life no matter how long or short the time.”

Partner 1:

With this ring, I claim my love and promise to be with you for the rest of my life no matter how long or short the time.”

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I claim my love and promise to be with you for the rest of my life no matter how long or short the time.”

Partner 2:

With this ring, I claim my love and promise to be with you for the rest of my life no matter how long or short the time.

_______________ and _______________, take one another’s hands and look into one another’s eyes as you make this promise. _______________, do you take _______________ to become your lifelong partner?

Partner 1:

I do.

_______________, do you take _______________ to become your lifelong partner?

Partner 2:

I do.

_______________ and _______________, you have come before everyone here today because of your love for another and have professed your love in front of us all.

By the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband/wife/partner and wife/husband/partner. You may now kiss!

_______________ and _______________, you were first joined in marriage ___ years ago. At the time, you did not know what direction your careers would take, where you might live, or what surprises the future would bring. But today, you have found yourselves here—commemorating another year of your union. Though I already know the answer, ceremony dictates that I ask: do you wish to renew the marriage vows that you made ___ years ago?

Couple:

We do.

_______________, do you reaffirm your love for _______________?

Partner 1:

I do.

And will you continue to love, honor, and cherish _______________ in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and be faithful for as long as you both shall live?

Partner 1

I will.

_______________, do you reaffirm your love for _______________?

Partner 2:

I do.

And will you continue to love, honor, and cherish _______________ in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and be faithful for as long as you both shall live?

Partner 2:

I will.

On your wedding day, you both exchanged wedding bands as a symbol of your continued commitment and love toward one another. I hope that throughout your marriage you have had the opportunity to reflect on moments of strength and love that fulfilled the meaning of the rings. Would you both please take off your rings now and exchange them with one another.

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I renew our marriage vows and promise my continued love and commitment.”

Partner 1:

With this ring, I renew our marriage vows and promise my continued love and commitment.

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I renew our marriage vows and promise my continued love and commitment.”

Partner 2:

With this ring, I renew our marriage vows and promise my continued love and commitment.

To commemorate the renewal of _______________ and _______________’s vows, I have prepared a reading. Here is the reading of the couple’s choosing:

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,   

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:   

I love you as one loves certain obscure things,   

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries   

the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,   

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose   

from the earth lives dimly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,   

I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

except in this form in which I am not nor are you,   

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,   

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

Sonnet 17, Pablo Neruda

Before we conclude the renewal of vows, I’d like to invite everyone to stand and bow their heads in prayer.

Lord, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two of your devoted servants, (name of husband) and (name of wife). We are thankful you have blessed them with many years of marriage; they have benefited, as have the rest of us from knowing them. May you bring them many more.

It is my pleasure to announce that this concludes _______________ and _______________’s renewal of vows. I hope that you have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy many more years of fruitful marriage. But before you go, celebrate! Kiss one another.

Source: https://www.themonastery.org/wedding-scripts