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You Tube Avila Beach Wedding Ceremony

TYPICAL ORDER OF SERVICE FOR A NON-DENOMINATIONAL
WEDDING CEREMONY
Approximate Time: 20 to 25 minutes 
PRELUDE MUSIC * - to be selected by the couple and musician
PROCESSIONAL MUSIC * - often in two parts: music for the wedding party to process, followed by a pause and special processional music for the bride. 
WELCOME AND ADDRESS: composed and delivered by Rev. Mike  After the main address is a good time to introduce a vocalist, music or reading by friend or family member. 
INTRODUCTION TO THE VOWS - Rev. Mike EXCHANGE OF VOWS *: Couple may opt to write personal vows in lieu of repeated vows, or combine the two: personal vows, followed by repeated traditional vows. You may combine elements of different “vow” examples to suit your needs. (Rev. Mike will speak the vows in short sections and have them repeated by the groom and bride) 
INTRODUCTION TO THE RINGS: Rev. Mike
 EXCHANGE OF THE RINGS *: Couple may select ring exchange words from the packet or from other sources of their choosing. You may combine elements of examples to suit your needs. 
UNITY CANDLE, WINE BOX CEREMONY * and other special touches/MUSICAL INTERLUDE : If the couple chooses to include a unity candle, wine ceremony, or other touches such as a sand ceremony, hand-fasting or any other meaningful ritual, it would occur here. See resource packet for examples and discuss other options with Officiant. If such a ceremony occurs, this is a good place for a brief musical interlude. 
CEREMONIES INVOLVING CHILDREN *: If the bride and/or groom wish to include a unity ceremony for a new “family” coming together through this marriage. 
PRONOUNCEMENT: Rev. Mike
INTRODUCTION OF MARRIED COUPLE: Rev Mike
BLESSING AND CLOSING WORDS:
Rev. Mike RECESSIONAL * - Music selected by the couple and musician. * service elements selected by wedding couple

Sample Wedding Ceremony 
A wedding ceremony should reflect the personality and desires of the wedding couple. Although most weddings follow a basic format, couples should feel free to be creative and innovative, and make their wedding meaningful and unique to themselves and their friends and family.
Typical Order of Service:

(M) Who gives this bride in marriage to this man?

Father: Her mother and I do.

M) Thank you. Please be seated.

Welcoming Words                                                                                                 

(M): Welcome everyone to this joyful occasion. On behalf of Mary and John I want thank all of you for being here on this beautiful summer evening, to share in this marriage ceremony and to celebrate this union of two beautiful souls. I also want to personally thank Mary and John for inviting me here to officiate their wedding.

(M): It is with great pleasure that we gather today to witness the joining of two hands, and two hearts in holy matrimony. These two people, Mary and John, have fallen in love so deeply, so completely, that today, they make a bond, a sacred covenant before God, our Creator, whereby their hearts, their bodies, and their souls shall be united as one in marriage for the rest of their days.  We are encircled here today by Mary and John’s respective families and friends, each representing their own unique circle of love and soul connection with John and Mary. A circle of love where members care for and nurture each other, in times of joy and in times of sorrow. Today, Mary and John join their lives together to make a new circle of love, one that overlaps with, and is made stronger by those from which it has emerged. You have been invited here because of their special relationship with you, to witness the creation of this sacred bond. But before we begin, let us take a moment and open our hearts to God our Creator and to give thanks for all that we have and for all the beauty that surrounds us on this beautiful summer day. God, our Creator, We are joyfully gathered today to witness and to celebrate the joining of two lives in marriage, so let us rejoice with each other in the making of this beautiful covenant between John and Mary. The essence of this covenant is the taking of each other in entirety, as an everlasting friend and companion. It is therefore a decision which has not been entered into lightly but rather undertaken with great consideration and respect for one another.We have come together in the hope that the love which has brought you both to this union may go out beyond itself into the lives of others. Thus, we ask that your promises and hopes be realized. We ask that you both be granted the patience to listen, the capacity to understand, the compassion to give comfort and the joy to be with one another. Let your marriage offer illumination and growth. Bask in the joy of shared discoveries. Let your union be strong enough to endure the darkness of all things. May silence and despair never separate you; may you always return to each other.So be it. Amen

Officiant’s Address:

(M) John and Mary, love is like a moving sea between the shores of your souls. You feel it now, so strong and free, its part of your every breath.
Today, you are here to weave your marriage with the golden threads of love. You’re promising to share the happy moments, as well as the sad; the joys and the sorrows, the riches and the hardships. The commitment is to one another, to be partners in life, to best friends forever.
 Your marriage must stand by the strength of your love and the power of faith in each other. Just as two threads woven in opposite directions form a beautiful tapestry, so to your two lives when merged together will make a beautiful marriage. It is a mutual enrichment; a mingling of two personalities which diminishes neither, and enhances both. "Marriage is a fusion of two hearts, the union of two lives, the coming together of two tributaries, which after being united in marriage, will flow in the same channel in the same direction.To make your relationship succeed will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open and honest with one another - and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both promised today to share together. An intimate and secure relationship is not based solely on promises, but also on trust, respect, faithfulness and the ability to forgive. A lasting marriage is based on all of these, bound together by love.We have come together in the hope that the love which has brought you both to this union may go out beyond itself into the lives of others. Thus, we ask that your promises and hopes be realized. We ask that you both be granted the patience to listen, the capacity to understand, the compassion to give comfort and the joy to be with one another. Let your marriage offer illumination and growth. Bask in the joy of shared discoveries. Let your union be strong enough to endure the darkness of all things. May silence and despair never separate you; may you always return to each other.

And now a special reading from 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8

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.

Vows:(M): John do you take Mary to be your wife, to love her, cherish her, and to continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion?

John: I do.

(M): Mary do you take John to be your husband, to love him, cherish him, and to continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion?

Mary: I do.

(M) John would you please repeat after me:

I John take you Mary to be my wife/Secure in the knowledge/that you will be my constant friend/ I promise to love you without reservation/Comfort you in times of need/And rejoice with you in times of happiness/ I will be understanding/and to trust you completely/I will make you a part of me/And in turn, become a part of you/Together, we will face all of life’s experiences/And share one another’s dreams and goals.                                                                                                                                                                           

(M): Mary repeat after me:                                                                                                                                                                                                            I Mary take you John to be my husband/Secure in the knowledge/that you will be my constant friend and partner/I promise to love you without reservation/Comfort you in times of need/And rejoice with you in times of happiness/I will be understanding/and to trust you completely/I will make you a part of me/And in turn, become a part of you/Together, we will face all of life’s experiences/And share one another’s dreams and goals.   

Exchange of Rings:

(M) Let these rings which you are about to exchange, serve to remind us that a  circle is a symbol of the sun, the earth and the universe, of wholeness, peace and unity. Your rings are circles which have no beginning and no ending. They are tokens of this growing relationship you have come here today to celebrate and confirm, emblems of eternity which can never be tarnished, and which are without end, to show how imperishable is the faith that you have now mutually pledged before witness and to God.

(M): John, in placing the ring on Mary’s left hand, please repeat after me:

Mary, I give you this ring/ as a pledge of my love/ and as a symbol of our unity.

(M): John, I give you this ring/ as a pledge of my love/ and as a symbol of our unity.

M): John and Mary, you have consented together to marriage before this company, pledged your faith and declared your unity by each giving and receiving a ring. As you are now joined together in mutual esteem and devotion and by the power vested in me by the State of California and as an ordained minister, I’m privileged to pronounce you husband and wife.

Congratulations John, you may now kiss the bride. 

(M): I now have the privilege of introducing to you, Mr. and Mrs. John and Mary Smith 

May God’s Light guide and protect you.

 

 


 



Avila Beach Ceremony 2010 Video