Planning Wedding Services
Vow Language
I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
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I ____, freely and with love and sincere desire, take thee, ____, to become my wedded wife / husband from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.
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I ____,, take you ____,, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy law; in the presence of God I make this vow.
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Today, surrounded by people who love us, I choose you ____, to be my partner. I am proud to be your wife/husband and to join my life with yours. I vow to support you, push you, inspire you, and above all love you, for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live.
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I take you as you ____, are, loving who you are now and who you are yet to become. I promise to listen to you and learn from you, to support you and accept your support. I will celebrate your triumphs and mourn your losses as though they were my own. I will love you ____, and have faith in your love for me, through all our years and all that life may bring us.
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I, ____,, take you, ____,, to be my husband/wife in righteousness, justice, steadfast love, and compassion. Before God and everyone present here, I commit myself to be faithful to you actively and creatively. I promise to love you, serve you, respect you, encourage you, and give myself up for you, in all circumstances, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as our lives shall last. I marry you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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I, ____, take you, ____, to be my husband/wife. I promise to always be your biggest fan and your partner in crime. I promise to create and support a family with you, in a household filled with laughter, patience, understanding, and love. I vow not just to grow old together, but to grow together. I will love you faithfully through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there, each one believing that love never dies. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.
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I love you unconditionally and without hesitation. I vow to love you, encourage you, trust you, and respect you. As a family, we will create a home filled with learning, laughter, and compassion. I promise to work with you to foster and cherish a relationship of equality knowing that together we will build a life far better than either of us could imagine alone. Today, I choose you to be my husband/wife. I accept you as you are, and I offer myself in return. I will care for you, stand beside you, and share with you all of life’s adversities and all of its joys from this day forward, and all the days of my life.
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Ring Language
I, __________, give to you __________, this ring,
as a symbol of my commitment
to love, honor, and respect you.
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_________, I offer this ring to you
as a symbol of my love
and of the vows I have just spoken.
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__________: I choose you, _____________
above all others, to be my wife/husband.
I offer this ring as a token of our love,
And with it I join my life to yours.
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________, As this ring has no end,
neither shall my love for you.
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I _________, do promise this day
to love, honor and cherish you
as my wife/husband, companion, and partner.
I place this ring upon your hand
as a sign of my love and fidelity.
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I, _________, take you, ___________,
to be my (wife/husband).
To share all that I am
and all that I have,
for all time to come.
And I promise to do all in my power
to keep my love
as deep and as strong as it is today.
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I, ____, take you, ____, to be my (wife/husband):
Your love is my anchor,
Your trust is my strength,
I will give you all my love
from now until eternity ends,
You make my life complete.
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____, I will share my joy with you,
that it be multiplied.
I will share your pain,
that it be divided.
I will walk by your side
as we travel together through life's changes.
I will sleep in your arms
and that love will be my home. *
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____, With this ring, I give you my promise
that from this day forward
you shall not walk alone.
I have no greater gift to give.
May my heart be your shelter
and my arms be your home.
May we walk together through all things.
May you feel deeply loved,
for indeed you are.
May you always see the innocence in my eyes.
May we feel this joy forever.
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____, I offer you my Love.
I offer you my strength.
I offer you my weaknesses.
I offer you my support.
I offer you my loyalty.
I offer you my faith,
for as long as we both shall live.
I give you this ring
to wear upon your hand,
As a symbol of our love and unity.
With this ring I marry you.
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____, I give you this ring
as a reminder
that I will love, honor, and cherish you,
In all times,
In all places.
And in all ways, forever.
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____, With this ring I thee wed
and with it I bestow
all of the treasures of my mind, heart and hands.
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____, I give this ring
in pledge of my love and devotion
with this ring I thee wed
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____,With this ring I thee wed
and with all I am
and all I have
I honor you
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____, I give you this ring
as a pledge of my love and commitment
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____, With this ring I pledge my love and life to you
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____, In token and in pledge
of our constant faith and abiding love,
with this ring I thee wed.
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____, I give you this ring
as a token of my abiding love and constant faith
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____, I give you,
whom I love above all others, this ring
as a symbol of our love and marriage
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____, I give this ring in remembrance of this hour,
a symbol of love
that is complete, beautiful and endless.
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____, May this ring forever be to you
the symbol of my growing love.
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Wedding Poems
Canticle of Love
From the United Methodist Hymnal 1989
Let love be genuine and live in harmony;
hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.
Outdo one another in showing honor;
be humble and never conceited.
Love is stronger than death
and jealousy is cruel as the grave.
Floods can not drown love and
wealth can not buy it.
Put love above all else;
let Christ’s peace rule your hearts.
Always be forgiving, as Christ has forgiven you.
Love is not jealous or boastful,
arrogant, rude, or stubborn,
irritable, resentful, or possessive.
Love is patient and kind.
Do not love in word or speech only;
love also in deed and truth.
Receive each other in sincerity,
find mercy and grow old together.
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"If the old fairy-tale ending 'They lived happily ever after' is taken to mean 'They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,' then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be 'in love' need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense—love as distinct from 'being in love'—is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be 'in love' with someone else. 'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity: This quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it."
—C. S. Lewis
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“TO LOVE IS NOT TO POSSESS” – JAMES KAVANAUGH
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.”
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Trauma Training Takeaway: Make sure to talk with any couple that you are performing a wedding service for about their individual trauma triggers. Are there passages, songs, or wordings that might be triggering to them. It is important to be aware of these potential emotional issues so that something is not done or said in a way that detracts from the joy and happiness of their special day.
It is also important to talk through language around family members that may be present or may not be, either through loss of life or loss of relationships. Estrangement can be a painful reality on a life milestone that someone is missing because of a relational injury. Talk through these issues with couples in advance and ask about ways that you can support them through these difficult realities.
