Band of Gold

We had the sweetest wedding.

Since I was planning a wedding on the other side of the country, Allan (who should win an award for Best Officiant Ever) and I spent several hours leading up to the wedding emailing back and forth crafting a very beautiful and personal ceremony, me crying as I wrote/read each loving word.

So, I am posting it here for posterity. And for anyone who is interested. Also because I just could not get the "Read More" jump break to work and I didn't like that this was a full in-your-face post.

 

To begin the ceremony I would like to invite Greg and Liz’s parents to please stand to offer their blessings:

The ideals, the understanding and the mutual respect which Greg and Liz bring to their marriage have their roots in the love, friendship, guidance and happiness with which you have provided them. Do you, then, grant them your blessings on this special day and offer them your continued love, acceptance and support?

“We do”

We are gathered here in the presence of God and of this company to join in holy matrimony Greg and Liz and to bear witness to the commitment that each of them is making today. As Greg and Liz’s invited guests your role today testifies to the affection they feel and the importance they place on you in their lives.

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together – to strengthen each other in all labour, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness, to be one with each other in the silent unspoken memories. Today is, therefore, an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility and we who partake in it bind ourselves as witnesses to the commitment that Greg and Liz are undertaking and the vows they are making to each other.

And so we are here to celebrate with them in honour of the love they share and the vows they will make; a covenant not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly; a commitment to love, honour and respect one another all the days of their lives.

Greg and Liz, you have invited us to witness the love and happiness you have found in each other. Do you come in freedom and without reservation to declare your love and be united in marriage?

“We do”

And do you solemnly declare that you do not know of any lawful impediments why you may not be joined in matrimony?

“I do declare”

Greg and Liz, it is a great joy, privilege and pleasure to be standing here on this happy occasion, sharing in your ceremony and celebration, and in the presence of God’s Love witnessing to the life-long commitment that you are making to each other this day.

I must remind you that the vows you are to say to one another belong entirely to you. Only both of you, by the strength of your faith and by the integrity and diligence of your love for each other, can you make your vows last.

So will you now please join your hands together, look at one another, and share your vows, one to the other.

G-Regulator, do you take Lethal Lizzie to be your wife for all the days of your life? And in the presence of God and before all these witnesses, do you promise to love, cherish and respect her, and to offer understanding and comfort in whatever the future may bring, throughout the seasons of life?

“I do”

Repeat

I Greg, take you Liz, to be my lawfully wedded wife, my constant friend and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and health, in good times and bad, and in joy as well as sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honour and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

Lethal Lizzie, do you take G-Regulator to be your husband for all the days of your life? And in the presence of God and before all these witnesses, do you promise to love, cherish and respect him, and to offer understanding and comfort in whatever the future may bring, throughout the seasons of life?

“I do”

Repeat

I Liz, take you Greg, to be my lawfully wedded husband, my constant friend and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and health, in good times and bad, and in joy as well as sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honour and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

Greg and Liz, having lovingly and sincerely exchanged your vows one to the other, I invite you now to symbolically seal your vows by the exchange of rings.

The circle of the ring speaks of love freely given; it has no beginning and it has no end. The ring declares the unity and the oneness of your two lives and celebrates the continuance of your love, in which wherever you go you will always return to one another and your togetherness.

Repeat
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and may you remember forever that I have chosen you above all others.”

Allan's Prayer:

Dear God, we pray that you will bless this union now and always. May these hands which hold one another always unite in love and strength, to honour and cherish each other, in sickness and in health so long as you both shall live. Amen.

Greg and Liz, we pray that the love that has brought you together continues to grow and enrich your lives, bringing peace and inspiration to each of you and to those who know you.

May you meet with courage any problems that arise to challenge you. 

May your marriage be one of ever growing depth and meaning, because of the love, sympathy and understanding which you give to one another in the life you share.

Like a blanket that gets larger as it is woven with love and care, may your love increasingly enfold you and protect you, warm you and comfort you as you grow older and wiser together.

Inasmuch as Greg and Liz have grown in love and knowledge of one another, seeking an even richer, deeper relationship, and because they have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as one family, we rejoice to recognize their union this day.

So by the authority vested in me it is my unbounded pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. May your days be long upon the earth and may you dwell in love and joy together!!

You may kiss the bride!

*Signing of the Register*


Greg and Liz, may you establish a home of warmth and understanding. 
May your lives be filled with peace and beauty.

May you always exhibit to one another truth, sympathy, forgiveness and love.

And may God bless you and keep you; may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; and may He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace this day and forever more.  

And now, with a perfect and abiding confidence, with a trust and affection which knows no limitation, we send you forth upon your journey of life - to laugh together and be joyful, to learn, to grow, to seek and discover new truths and wisdom.

 

May your roof never fall in

And those beneath it never fall out

And as you grow older together

May the only wrinkles on your face

Be those from smiling!