Marriage is the unification of two lives. Two individuals starting a new mystical, physical, and emotional adventure. Encompassed by attraction, happiness, hope, attention, and fantasy we come together in marriage for a mysterious future. We know enough about our beloved to begin the adventure based on faith, hope, and love. Your ceremony is the portal to pursuing and sharing your life’s adventure. Please choose a set of meaningful vows that will accompany your treasured wedding ceremony.  

 

Don't worry about memorizing these vows for the ceremony. We make things fun and easy to get right on your special day. Please let us know if there is anything you would like to add or change before your wedding day. We can also use your own vows or incorporate them into these examples.  

 

 

STANDARD VOWS: EXAMPLE 1

 

OPENING WORDS

 

Friends, _____ and _____ have invited us here today, in the presence of God, to share in the celebration of their marriage. We who gather here today are separated by the many different experiences that we have had.

 

Despite these differences we gather here today in this place because we share something in common. We share a desire to affirm and support the relationship of _____ and _____.

 

Marriage is an act of will. It requires a commitment to care for another person. By caring we show concern for the life and growth of those whom we love. Marriage requires a commitment to take responsibility for another person. By responding we experience the needs of that other person and try to help meet those needs.

 

Today, guided by God’s love and wisdom, we affirm and celebrate _____ and _____ wedding day.

 

[IF APPLICABLE: READINGS]

 

THE QUESTION OF INTENT

 

Before God, your friends, and your families, I ask you to affirm your willingness to enter the covenant of marriage and to share all the joys and sorrows of your lives and your relationship, whatever the future may hold.

 

_____, do you take this woman to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?

Groom: I do

_____, do you take this man to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?

Bride: I do

 

Repeat after me. I take you, _____, this day as my wife/husband. I promise to walk by your side forever as your best friend and your soul mate. You are my beloved one and I am proud to marry you. I promise to support your dreams and to be there for you all our lives.

 

EXCHANGE OF RINGS

 

From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love. An unbroken and never-ending circle symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. This ring should be a reminder of the commitment to love each other that you have made today.

 

Repeat after me. I, _____, give you _____, this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor and respect you.

 

SAND CEREMONY 

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These bottles of sand when pored together represent your lives coming together as one. You may now pour the sand together into the unity container. Now that the sand is united so shall your lives forever be united. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual bottles, so will your marriage be. 

 

BLESSING

 

_____ and _____, you have now affirmed your love for each other before your family and friends. You have come from different background, have walked different paths. You are different individuals. Your love has transcended these differences. In the years before you may the richness of the traditions that have nurtured you enhance and brighten your lives as you help to create and shape the future.

 

PRONOUNCEMENT 

 

May God bless you and keep you.

_____ and _____, by the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Groom, you may kiss the bride.

 

PRESENTATION OF THE NEW COUPLE

 

It is my pleasure to present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. ___________. 

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STANDARD VOWS: EXAMPLE 2 

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OPENING WORDS 

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We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, the joining of 2 hearts.

 

Today we will witness the joining of ______________and _____________.

 

For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened.  They met each other, fell in love, and are now finalizing it with their public commitment here today.

 

INVOCATION 

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I speak now to ______________and _____________. 

 

I speak of all our hopes for their continued growth through patience, one for the other. 

 

May they keep the vows made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know that, in the fullness of being, they are more than themselves and more than each other, that they are a part of us and that together we share joyously the fruits of life on this Earth.

 

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. It takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other.

 

It takes dedication, to stay open to one another and to learn and grow, even when may be difficult to do so.  Finally, it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

 

While love is our natural state of being, the other qualities are not as easy to come by.

Marriage is not a destination, but a journey. Today your new journey begins! 

 

CONSENT 

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______________do you take ______________to be your Wife? To live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, for as long as you both shall live?

 

______________do you take _____________to be your Husband? To live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort him and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?

 

VOWS

 

Repeat after me:

 

I ___________, take you ___________to be my Wife, my best friend and my one true love.

I promise to love you today, tomorrow and forever.

I will trust you and honor you.

I will laugh with you and cry with you.

I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst.

Whatever may come, I will always be there.  As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.

 

I ___________, take you __________to be my Husband, my best friend and my one true love.

I promise to love you today, tomorrow and forever.

I will trust you and honor you.

I will laugh with you and cry with you.

I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst.

Whatever may come, I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.

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BLESSING 

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As we stand near this beautiful ocean, may your love always be as constant and unchanging as these never-ending waves that break before us; flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea. Just as there will never be a morning without the ocean’s flow, may there never be a day without your love for the other. May God be with you and continue to guide you forever. 

 

Corinthians 13:4 - 7, 13

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

 

RING EXCHANGE

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It is a custom to exchange rings as a symbol of love. As the ring has no end, so should your love have no end. Just as your ring is made of precious metal and stone, symbolizing strength, so should your marriage have strength and endurance. 

 

___________, please place the ring on ____________finger and repeat after me:

 “With this ring I pledge to you my love and devotion, for as long as we both shall live.”

 

____________, please place the ring on___________ finger and repeat after me:

 “With this ring I pledge to you my love and devotion, for as long as we both shall live.”

 

As you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and the exchanging of vows, you have committed here at the setting sun, to share the next day’s sunrise and all of your days with each other.

 

Today, right here, right now, this journey begins; may your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring.

 

SAND CEREMONY

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You come here today from two different families. From these two families a new family will be created. Today, this unity is symbolized through the pouring of two individual bottles of sand.

 

As you each hold your separate bottle of sand, the sand represents your lives up to this moment; individual and unique. In a moment, when you combine your sand together, your lives also join together as one as well as the lives of your friends and family that are present.

 

Now, please simultaneously pour your sand into the unity container, symbolizing the uniting of your two lives into one.

 

The life that each of you have experienced until now, individually, will hereafter be inseparably united. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual bottles, so will your marriage be.

 

PRONOUNCEMENT 

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As of this moment, you have consented to marriage, and you have pledged the same. 

 

May God bless you and keep you.

_____ and _____, by the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. ___________, you may kiss the bride.

 

PRESENTANTION OF NEW COUPLE 

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To those who have joined us today on this beautiful beach it’s my honor to present to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs.­­­­_________.

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STANDARD VOWS: EXAMPLE 3 

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OPENING WORDS 

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We are gathered here on a beautiful beach the presence of God and company to join in holy marriage _____________ and ____________ to bear witness to the transforming power of love. Love is a quality of spirit and emotions, but marriage is a life’s work, a spiritual journey. Therefore, this is an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility. Those who partake in this journey shall bear witness to the labor of love that ___________ and ____________ are undertaking today.

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INVOCATION

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God of light, who gives us the longing for love and the capability of loving, we give you thanks for ____________ and ____________ for their open hearts and willing spirits, and for the example of love that they embody here in our presence. Be with them on this joyous occasion of showing their love and making their vows; and be with us, their witnesses, that we may all be changed by what is said and witnessed here today.

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READING 

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Colossians 3:12-14

As therefore, God’s picked representatives of the new humanity, purified and beloved of God himself, be merciful in action, kindly in heart, humble in mind. Accept life, and be most patient and tolerant with one another, always ready to forgive if you have a difference with anyone. Forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you. And, above all, be truly loving, for love is the golden chain of all the virtues.

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CONSENT 

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______________do you take ______________to be your Wife? To live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, for as long as you both shall live?

Answer: I do

______________do you take _____________to be your Husband? To live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort him and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?

Answer: I do

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VOWS 

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Groom: Repeat after me

“I, ____________, take you, ____________, to be my wife.  To have and to hold from this day forward.  For better or for worse.  For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.  To love and to cherish.  Till death do us part.”

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Bride: Repeat after me

“I, ____________, take you, ____________, to be my husband.  To have and to hold from this day forward.  For better or for worse.  For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.  To love and to cherish.  Till death do us part.”

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BLESSING 

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As we stand over the ocean, may your love always be as constant and unchanging as these never-ending waves that break before us, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea.

Your love came softly before us and just as there will never be a morning without the ocean’s flow, may there never be a day without your love for the other.

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1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7, 13

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

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RING EXCHANGE

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As God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere, so let the seamless circle of these rings become a symbol of your endless love for each other.

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Groom:

___________, please place the ring on ____________finger and repeat after me:

Beloved, ____________ I give you this ring as a symbol of my everlasting love. I pledge to honor you with all that I am and all I shall become for my whole life.

 

Bride:

___________, please place the ring on ____________finger and repeat after me:

Beloved, ____________ I give you this ring as a symbol of my everlasting love. I pledge to honor you with all that I am and all I shall become for my whole life.

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As you have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings and the exchanging of vows, you have committed here at the setting of the sun, to share the next day’s sunrise and all your days with each other.

Today, right here, right now, this journey begins; may your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring.

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SAND CEREMONY 

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These bottles of sand when combined together represent your lives coming together as one. You may now pour the sand together into the unity container.

Now that the sand is united so shall your lives forever be united. May the particles of sand in this bottle represent only a small portion of all the happiness and good fortune you shall have together.

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PRONOUNCEMENT 

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____________ and ____________ now that you have heard the words about love and marriage, now that you have shown us the example of your love and celebrated your union by giving each other these rings, it is with great joy and happiness that I now pronounce you husband and wife.

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______________ You may kiss your beautiful wife. Congratulations and God Bless!

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PRESENTANTION OF NEW COUPLE 

 

To those who have joined us today on this beautiful beach it’s my honor to present to you, for the first time, Mr., and Mrs. _______________________.

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STANDARD VOWS: EXAMPLE 4

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WELCOME

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Friends, family, and loved ones, we come together today, in the sight of God as witnesses to join _________ and _________ in marriage. We gather around them now at this wonderful place, and we look on with love and hope as these two begin their new life joined together as one.

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CHARGE TO THE COUPLE

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No moment is without meaning, we ask that you take this marriage as a beginning of your lives together. Today signifies the creation of a new family. May you be fulfilled by each other’s love and friendship. May you be overjoyed by the promises you are about to make and the life together you will create.

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Remember that in every marriage, there are good times and bad, times of joy and times of sorrow. Marriage is a journey – a time of adventure and excitement enhanced by the love, trust, dedication and faith you share in one another.

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May the promises you make today, be lived out to the end of your lives. Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys. Today your new journey begins.

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DECLARATION OF INTENT

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Before God, your friends, and your families, I ask you to affirm your willingness to enter the covenant of marriage and to share all the joys and sorrows of your lives and your relationship, whatever the future may hold.

To The Groom,

________________, do you take this woman to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, honor her, comfort her, keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?

Groom: I do

To The Bride, 

_______________, do you take this man to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, honor him, comfort him, keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?

Bride: I do

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VOWS

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Groom, repeat after me.

I ______________, take you, ______________, to be my wife, 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, for as long as we both shall live.

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Now Bride, please repeat after me.

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, for as long as we both shall live.

 

RING EXCHANGE

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You will now exchange rings as a symbol of the lifelong commitment and abiding love which you as husband and wife have promised to each other.

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Groom, please place the ring on _____________’s finger, and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness.

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Bride, please place the ring on ______________’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness.

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SAND CEREMONY

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As you each hold your separate bottles of sand, the sand represents your lives up to this moment; individual and unique. In a moment, when you combine the sand together, this symbolizes your lives being united as one.

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Now, please simultaneously pour your sand into the unity bottle. The life that each of you have experienced until now, individually, will hereafter be united.

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Just as these grains of sand cannot be easily separated and poured again into the individual bottles, so will your marriage be.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

 

Please bow your heads. 

Eternal God, help ______________ and _______________ to fulfill the promises they have made here today on this gorgeous beach and to reflect your steadfast love in their commitment to each other. Give them kindness and patience, affection and understanding, happiness and contentment. May their family and friends continue to support them in difficult days, so that their love for each other may continue to grow. God Bless!

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PRONOUNCEMENT

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As you have consented to marriage, and you have pledged the same.

“BY VIRTUE OF THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, IT IS MY HONOR TO NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HUSBAND AND WIFE”

 

____________YOU MAY KISS YOUR BEAUTIFUL BRIDE.

 

To those who have joined us today on this beautiful beach it’s my honor to present to you, for the first time, Mr., and Mrs. __________________.

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CUSTOM VOWS: EXAMPLE  1 

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INTRODUCTION 

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Welcome everyone! On this beautiful day, _______ and _______ have brought us together to celebrate their love and union in matrimony. Thank you all for joining us and being a part of their love story.

 

After years of nurturing a beautiful, strong relationship, it’s great to see these two taking the next step towards building a family.

 

I remember the day _______ told me about their first date. There was a light in her eyes that I’d never seen before. She was excited and nervous. She worried that ______ didn’t feel the same connection she felt.

 

It warms my heart to see the way _______ looks at _______. He looks at her as if she’s the last and only woman on Earth, and to him, I know she is. I’ve seen these two be there for each other through life’s unexpected twists and turns, only growing closer and stronger from each setback. I’ve seen them share laughs, exchange inside jokes and most shocking of all, I’ve seen _______ share his dinner with _______, which is when I knew this was serious.

 

Marriage isn’t easy but I trust these two. I have trust in their love, their friendship, and their commitment to one another. With that, I think it’s time to let them speak on their love.

 

DECLARATION OF VOWS AND COMMITMENT

 

_______ and ______, have you come here today of your own free will to declare your commitment to one another?

 

We have.

 

Do you promise to be there for each other in the good and the bad? To grow with, understand and respect one another during your life together?

 

We do.

 

Then please face each other and share your vows.

 

[EXCHANGE OF VOWS]

 

[EXCHANGE OF RINGS]

 

Let these rings represent your eternal love and the promises you have made here today. Let them be a symbol of your unbreakable bond and this new beginning of your life together with no end in sight.

 

______, take _____’s ring and place it on her finger and repeat after me:

 

With this ring, I promise to love and cherish you to the end of my days.

 

______, take _____’s ring and place it on his finger and repeat after me:

 

With this ring, I promise to love and cherish you to the end of my days.

 

Your love has now been strengthened by the promises you have made here today and the rings you have exchanged.

 

PRONOUNCEMENT

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______ and ______, we have heard the sincerity in your promise to share your lives in marriage. We recognize your love and support your decision to build a home together. By the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

 

_______, you may kiss your bride!

 

Everyone, give it up for Mr. and Mrs. _______.

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NON-RELIGIOUS VOWS 

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WELCOME

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Officiant: Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of _____________and _____________.

You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow _________________ and __________________ to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

So welcome to one and all, who have traveled from near and far. __________________ and __________________ thank you for your presence here today and now ask for your encouragement, and lifelong support for their decision to be married.

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DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE 

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Officiant: Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together.

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DECLARATION OF INTENT 

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Officiant: Will you, __________________, take this woman to be your wedded wife?

Groom: I will/do.

 

Officiant: Will you, __________________, take this man to be your wedded husband?

Bride: I will/do.

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VOWS 

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OFFICIANT STATES: ___________, I WANT YOU TO LOOK INTO HER EYES AND INTO HER HEART AND REPEAT AFTER ME

 

TO THE MAN: “I __________, TAKE YOU __________, TO BE MY WIFE, 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 DO US PART.”

 

OFFICIANT STATES: ___________, I WANT YOU TO LOOK INTO HIS EYES AND INTO HIS HEART AND REPEAT AFTER ME

 

TO THE WOMAN: “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 DO US PART.”

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EXCHANGE OF RINGS

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Officiant: While putting the ring on (his/her) left hand Please repeat after me: 

WITH THIS RING, I SEAL MY PROMISE, TO BE YOUR FAITHFUL AND LOVING HUSBAND/WIFE

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SAND CEREMONY

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OFFICIANT SAYS: NOW YOU WILL BOTH UNITE THESE TWO BOTTLES OF SAND, AS THEY REPRESENT YOUR TWO SEPARATE LIVES THAT ARE NOW BECOMING ONE. YOU MAY BOTH MIX THE SAND.

 

NOW THAT YOU HAVE MIXED THE SAND INTO THIS BOTTLE, MAY THESE PARTICLES OF SAND REPRESENT ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF ALL THE HAPPINESS YOU SHALL HAVE FROM THIS POINT FORWARD

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PRONOUNCEMENT 

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Officiant: By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss your beautiful wife! Congratulations!

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It’s my honor to introduce for the first time Mr. and Mrs. _______________________. Congratulations!

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IRISH BLESSING: EXAMPLE 1 

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May the meaning of this hour be fulfilled through the days and years to come.
May the love of this man and this woman, their unity of spirit,
grow deeper and stronger in the uncertainties and changes of life they will share.
Loving each other, may they love all persons. Trusting each other, may they learn to trust life. 

May their love reach out to the love of all, that their lives may bless all whose lives they touch. May they find comfort together in shared hours of shadow, as well as in the bright sunshine of joy. May they be to each other both strong and gentle.
May all who follow their lives with interest and affection have cause to rejoice not alone in their happiness, but in their brave and generous living which makes life beautiful and significant.

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IRISH BLESSING: EXAMPLE 2

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In good times and bad times, in sickness and health, may they know that riches aren’t needed for wealth. Help them face problems they’ll meet on their way—God bless this couple who marry today. May they find peace of mind comes to all who are kind, may the rough times ahead become triumphs in time, may their children be happy each day—God bless this family who started today. As they go, may they know every love that was shown, and as life it gets shorter may their feelings grow. Wherever they travel, wherever they stay, God bless this couple who marry today.

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