Wedding Ceremony 2006 CO1

Wedding Ceremony

March 5th, 2006

 

INTRODUCTION

 

It was the great medieval philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, who, when asked to define true love, said that it was "To will the good of the other person".  If you truly love someone you want their success, their happiness, and everything that is best for them.  In the history of mankind, great lovers have died for the one or the ones they love.
 
Nothing like that is called for here but (Name) and (Name) do want you to know why they are getting married today.  They could have chosen simply to live together.  This unquestionably "safer" course would seemingly give them more options, seemingly sustain their freedom, and have fewer risks attached.  They have thought about this and have decided that for them it is not enough.
 
They see this ceremony today as a stronger commitment to their relationship.  They call you together, their friends, and family, to share in making this commitment and to call on your acknowledgement and support.  (Name) and (Name) recognize that they are very happy with one another.  They recognize that they would not be happier with anyone else and that no distant fields are greener.
 
There is another element in all this.  They love each other.  With the philosopher, they will each other's good.  They will each other's success, fulfillment, and happiness.  They know the main danger in a marriage relationship is the danger of taking each other for granted, of not appreciating each other enough.
 
So, they want to stay aware of each other.  They know they must communicate with each other and be open to communication.  This, they know, is a lot harder than it sounds.  Words must be said softly, and listened to carefully.
 
Their relationship must be sustained by the will to express it, the loving word, the loving smile, the loving embrace, the loving favor, and the giving with graciousness and generosity.  They know not to take without giving, but give without taking.  A true lover knows what the demands of love sometimes costs’ their partner so they will to be sensitive, to be appreciative.  And they remind themselves today that they must do these things without dominating, without smothering, and without suffocating the other.
 
They have assessed happily that their relationship is for life.  They have found each other, they like each other, they love each other, they want it to last, they intend it to last, and they will it to last.  More than that, they will it to get better; they will it to get deeper.  They want to be Husband (Partner) and Wife (Partner).  They want people to look at them and quote, as it were, the poet, Homer, who said 800 years before Christ:    "There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and Wife (Partner) confounding their enemies and delighting their friends."
 

Vows

(Name), please repeat after me:
 
I, (Name) give myself to you, (Name), completely and unconditionally.  With my heart, my hands, and my words, I will respect you and protect you.  In sunshine and in rain, in joy and in pain, in plenty and in need, I will be your Husband (Partner), best friend, and lover, so long as we both shall live.
 
(Name), please repeat after me:
 
I, (Name) give myself to you, (Name), completely and unconditionally.  With my heart, my hands, and my words, I will respect you and protect you.  In sunshine and in rain, in joy and in pain, in plenty and in need, I will be your Wife (Partner), best friend, and lover, so long as we both shall live.
 
Do you (Name) take (Name) to be your Wife (Partner)?
 
I Do.
 
Do you (Name) take (Name) to be your Husband (Partner)?
 
I Do.
 
Exchanging of the Rings
 
May we have the bride's ring, please?
 
(Name), please place the ring on (Name)’s finger, and repeat after me:
 
(Name), I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity, love, respect, and trust.
 
May we have the groom's ring, please?
 
(Name), please place this ring on (Name)'s finger and repeat after me:
 
(Name), I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity, love, respect, and trust.
 

Rose Ceremony

 
Your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect; and a public showing of your commitment to each other.  You now have what still remains today to be the most honorable title that may exist between a man and a woman - the title of "Husband (Partner)" and "Wife (Partner)."  Now it is time for you to exchange your first gift as Husband (Partner) and Wife (Partner).
 
Throughout history the rose has always been considered a symbol of love.  A single rose always meant only one thing - "I love you.”  So, it is appropriate that your first gift to each other as Husband (Partner) and Wife (Partner) should be a single rose.
 
In some ways it seems like you have not done anything at all.  Just a moment ago you were holding one small rose - and now you are holding one small rose.  In some ways, a marriage is like this:  tomorrow is going to seem no different than yesterday.  But in fact today, just now, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you always remember - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage.
 
(Name) and (Name), I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future - whether it be a large and elegant home - or a small and graceful one - that together pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot both as a recommitment to your marriage - and a recommitment that THIS will be a marriage based upon love.
 
In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words.  It is always easiest to hurt the ones we love most.  It might be difficult at times to say the words "I’m sorry" or "I forgive you"; "I need you" or "I’m hurting".  If this should happen, if you simply cannot find these words, leave a rose at that spot which both of you have selected - for that rose more than anything says what matters most of all and should overpower all other things and all other words.
 
That rose says the words: "I love you."  You should accept the rose for the words that cannot be found, and remember the love and hope that you both share today.  (Name) and (Name), if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, it is that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love that can make it a glorious union, and it is by love that your marriage shall endure.
 
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.  No man is greater than a woman, nor is a woman greater than a man.  For what one lacks, the other can provide and what one needs, the other can supply. 
 
May your love so endure that its flame remains a guiding light for you. 
 
As you have consented together in Lawful marriage in the presence of these, your family, friends and witnesses and by the giving and receiving of two rings and by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you to be Husband (Partner) and Wife (Partner).
 
You may now exchange a kiss! 

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