| Elements
of a ceremony - sample |
Welcoming
Opening Prayer
1st Reading, poem or scripture
Intent of Marriage
Exchange of Vows
Meaning or marriage
Hands of the Bride and Groom
Exchanging of the rings
Beach Sand Ceremony
Closing Prayer
Pronouncement
Closing: Thanking of the guests
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Welcoming
Opening Prayer
1st Reading, poem or
scripture - optional
Poem - Hands of the Bride and Groom
Vows
Exchanging of the rings
Sand Ceremony
Closing Prayer
Pronouncement
Closing: Thanking of the guests
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PRELUDE: Steal drum music
PROCESSIONAL: Song fades out when processional complete
Bridal Music: Arrival Canon in D
WELCOME: We are gathered here
on this joyous occasion to witness the outward expression of
the commitment (Groom) and (Bride) will make before God and
you, their family and friends. It is with great affection that
we come to celebrate the love they have for each other and their
desire to unite their lives in marriage.
Let's first take a moment to appreciate the natural beauty that
God has blessed us with and why (Groom) and (Bride) has brought
you to this special place,: the tranquility of the ocean, the
warmth of the sun, the feel of the sand between your toes and
the incredible colors of the sky. As well, we are blessed with
those who have traveled such distance to display their love
for this couple.
To this sacred moment (Groom) and (Bride) bring the fullness
of their hearts, a treasure to share with one another. They
bring the dreams which bind them together in an eternal commitment.
They bring together the Lord's blessings of their gifts and
talents and their unique personalities upon which they will
build their life together. We rejoice with them in thankfulness
to the Lord for creating this union of hearts built on friendship,
respect and love.
1. Scripture Cor 13.4
2. OPENING PRAYER: Read by Minister
Paul
POEM HANDS OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM:
(Bride), please face (Groom)t and hold his hands, palms up,
so you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the
hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with
love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises
to love you all the days of his life. These are the hands that
will work alongside yours, as together you build your future,
as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and
dreams.
These are the hands that someday you will place with expectant
joy against your stomach, until he too, feels the child stir
within you. (remove in no children planned)
These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will
be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time. (remove
in no children planned)
These are the hands that will work long hours for your family.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish
you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are
the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your
eyes; tears of sorrow and tears of joy.
These are the hands that will comfort you in illness and hold
you when fear or grief wracks your mind. These are the hands
that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they
raise your face to look into his eyes; eyes that are filled
completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.
(Groom), please hold (Bride) hands, palms up, where you may
see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your
best friend, smooth, young and carefree, that are holding yours
on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment
to you all the days of her life.
These are the hands that will someday hold each child in tender
love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and
encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it's time to
let go. (remove in no children planned)
These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck
and back in the evening if you've had a long hard day.
These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle
through difficult times. These are the hands that will comfort
you when you are sick, and console you when you are grieving.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish
you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will hold you in joy, excitement and
hope each time she tells you that you are to have another child,
that together you have created a new life. (remove if no children
planned)
These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages
you to chase down your dreams. Together as a team, everything
you wish can be realized.
Hand in hand you enter into marriage; hand in hand you step
out in faith. The hand you give freely to each other will be
at times the strongest and yet at other times the most tender
part of your body.
In the years ahead you will need both strength and tenderness.
Be firm in your commitment. Don't let your grip become weak.
And yet, be flexible as you experience the twists and turns
of life. Don't let your hands become calloused, but rather find
patience and mercy as the Lord has been patient and merciful
with you.
Strength and tenderness, firm commitment and flexibility, patience
and mercy: of such is a marriage made, hand in hand.
Also remember that you don't walk this path alone. Don't be
afraid to reach out to others when you face difficulty. Other
hands are there: your faith, your family and your friends.
To accept an outreached hand is not admission of failure, but
an act of faith. For behind us, underneath us, around us all,
are the outstretched arms of the Lord. It is into His hand that,
above all else, we commit this union of husband and wife.
I have grown very found of (Groom) and (Bride), and find there
love is true and infectious to people who our fortunate enough
to be touched by their love.
For as we have been allowed to share in these wonderful days
and these incredible moments of the forever joining of these
two hearts and as this infectious love has touched us all, we
now have a duty to this relationship, to force them together
during the raining days, and as clouds pass, to point out, to
the both of them, the sun will shine brightly again. It is now
all of our duty as this wonderful new marriage journey begins.
Please Repeat after me:
I, (Groom), take you (Bride), to be my (wife), and commit to
be your constant friend, and faithful partner. In the presence
of God, our family and friends, I offer my solemn vow to love
you unconditionally, maintain a tender heart, and preserve a
childlike sense of humor through the challenging times we will
face.
I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to
know the (woman) you will become, and falling in love with you
a little more every day.
Please repeat after me:
I, (Bride), take you (Groom), to be my (husband), and commit
to be your constant friend, and faithful partner. In the presence
of God, our family and friends, I offer my solemn vow to love
you unconditionally, maintain a tender heart, and preserve a
childlike sense of humor through the challenging times we will
face.
I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to
know the (man) you will become, and falling in love with you
a little more every day.
EXCHANGE RINGS: Paul reads:
Just as a ring has no beginning or end, neither does the love
that this couple shares…
From this day forward, you will be best friends, sole mates
and stand by each others your side through what ever life may
bring your way. From this day forward, through good times and
bad, I will live together, grow and change together. I you commit
to do all you can to keep our marriage strong and happy and
alive with possibilities, from this day forward you walk together
and find peace and happiness knowing you will walk it together,
side by side, hand in hand, heart to heart"
Please repeat after me
1st Groom then Bride: Let this ring be a visible and constant
reminder of my love for you. Wear it always as a symbol of my
promises to you.
Add ring ceremony for Brides daughter
SAND CEREMONY:
(Groom) and (Bride), you have just sealed your relationship
by the act of giving and receiving rings. This covenant is a
relationship pledged between two people who agree that they
will commit themselves to one another for the rest of their
lives. The most beautiful example of a partnership is the marriage
relationship. You have committed hereby today to share the rest
of your lives with each other as a family.
Today, this relationship is symbolized and the joining of the
family through the pouring of these three individual containers
of sand, each representing you, all that you were, the family
you came from, and all that you've become.
As these three containers of sand are poured into one, the individual
containers of sand will no longer exist but will be joined together,
representing you now and all that you will ever be. Just as
these individual grains of sand can never be separated back
into their original containers, so will your marriage and family
be. From these two families, a new family has been created.
SONG MUSIC STARTS:
Music starts as bride and Groom pours the sand
IE: Bob Marly you're my angel
Closing Prayer read by Paul
Pronouncement as minister
RECESSIONAL: Hear comes the bride
CLOSING after bride and groom
has exited
" On behalf of (Groom) and (Bride), I would like to thank
you for coming and sharing this most special ceremony, they
wish you a magical evening. Please enjoy the refreshments and
appetizers that await you at the Tiki Bar, thank you again.
(Paul points the way to Tiki Bar)
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| The meaning of marriage |
True marriage is more than joining the bonds of marriage of two
persons. In its right relation, it's the uniting of two souls
already attuned to each other. When such a true bond already exists
between man and woman, it is fitting that an outer acknowledgment
be made. This acknowledgment is the prime object of this gathering
and this ceremony. We are here to bear witness to the entry into
the closer relationship of husband and wife of these beloved friends
who are already one in spirit.
You are now taking into your care and keeping the happiness of
the one person in all the world whom you love best. You are adding
to your life not only the affection of each other, but also the
companionship and blessing of a deep trust as well. You are agreeing
to share strength, responsibilities, and to share love.
At the end of this ceremony, legally you will be husband and
wife, but you still must decide each and every day that stretches
before you, that you want to be married. Make such a decision
and keep on making it, for the most important thing in life is
to love and be loved.
May you always need one another, not so much to fill the emptiness
as to help each other know your fullness. May you want one another,
but not out of lack. May you embrace one another, but not encircle
one another. May you succeed in all-important ways with each other,
and not fail in the little graces. Look for things to praise,
often say 'I love you' and take no notice of small faults. May
you have happiness, and may you find it in making one another
happy. May you have love, and may you find it in loving one another.
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| Thank You Led Zeppelin |
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and
me.
Kind woman, I give you my all, nothing more.
Little drops of rain whisper of the pain, tears of loves lost
in the days gone by.
My love is strong, with you there is no wrong,
together we shall go until we die.
And so today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the
miles,
Thanks to you it will be done, for to me, you are the only one.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and
me.
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| Excerpt from The Prophet Khalil Gibran |
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days,
And you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you
be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with
the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow
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| Corinthians 13:1-13 |
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and
all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I
gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy
in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways
behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then
we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest
of these is love.
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Another great ceremony insert:
We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two
People, (Groom) and (Bride), whose hearts and spirits
Are entwined as one. They now desire to profess before family
And friends, their intention to walk the road of life together.
To these two people, this marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit,
a
Spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone.
This "birth of Spirit" reminds us of spring, the season when
all life is
Reborn and looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that this wedding
of
(Groom) and (Bride) be in the spring, and that it be
under the open sky, where we are close to the earth and to the unity
of life, the totality of living things of which we are part.
Poem: The Art of Marriage by Wilfred A. Peterson
The little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you", at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
The courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
It should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or
Sacrifice,
But in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating
Gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have
Wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense
of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is finding room for the good and the beautiful
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is
Equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Sample Program to be handed out or set up on table at
beach chapel, usually a bifold decorative stationary
Today I Marry My Friend
Adrianna Elena Smith
&
Ryan David Jones
Saturday, March 10th, 2010
The miracle of love is that it was given to us to share with others.
On this day, we thank our family and friends for your love, support
and encouragement. We are who we are today because you have touched
us in your own unique way. We thank you for traveling to share our wedding
day with us, especially those of you who have come from great distances.
We would like to thank our parents for giving us life, love, opportunity
and for always supporting us wherever our dreams have taken us. A special
prayer for those who could not be here with us today.
The Order of Service
Processional………………………………………………………………………....Steel
Drums
Welcome
Statement of Intent
First Reading - How do I Love Thee .....................Monique Richy
Exchange of Vows
Second Reading - Corinthians 13......................................Flavio
Garcia
Exchange of Rings
Unity Sand Ceremony
"Ave Maria".............................. ...............................As
by Professional Wedding singer
Presentation of Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Jones
Recessional…………………………………………………………….…………….Steel
Drums
The Wedding Party
Mother & Father of the Bride...............................Pilar
and Roger Smith
Mother & Stepfather of the Groom…………....Jane
and Bert Frank
Father & Stepmother of the Groom………….…David
and Robyn Jones
Matron of Honor……………………………………………………………..…Olivia
Bates
Bridesmaids……………………………………………………………..….…..Betty
Jimenez
Tessie Rogers
Christine Jones
Best Man……………………………………………………………………………Steven
Garndner
Groomsmen…………………………………………………………………………Michael
Green
Clark Goodbuddy
Paul Smith
Minister……………………………………………………………………….………Paul
E. Bates
"If I do not exceed all your expectations and hear from
your guest it is the best wedding they have ever attended I will not
be happy"
Paul Bates owner, planner minister and coordinator
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