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Ceremony Overview
1.)
Presentation of the
Bride – The bride walks up
to the minister and groom. If a father of the bride is
involved this is when he “gives her away.”
2.)
Prayer of
Blessing
– A brief prayer.
3.)
Ceremony
Charge
– When the bride and groom stand before me, I will say a
few words to call the ceremony to order and "charge" the couple to
a life-long journey of encouragement, love, and
hope .
4.)
Exchange of Wedding
Vows
- I usually ask the couple to turn and face each
other. The bride, if she is carrying flowers will hand them
over to her Maid-of-Honor.
If the
couple is reciting vows, I will quietly direct the groom and
than the bride in repeating after me. If the couple is opting
for the less stressful two-word approach to wedding vows,
I will state the vows and the groom and than the bride
respond by saying, “I do.”
5.)
Exchange of Wedding
Rings
–My own
personal preference is not to include the “With this ring, I
thy wed” but to present them as outward cymbals of inward
love.
6.)
Pronouncement of
Marriage
– After the vows, ring exchange, or any added features such as
sand ceremony, unity candles, stone throwing, I make the
public pronouncement of a newly formed legal marriage.
7.)
Presentation of Newly
Weds
– This part has become customary and signals the conclusion of
the ceremony.
The newly weds turn to face their
guests.
If you
want to read my entire wedding ceremony, word for word,
including prayer, vows, sand ceremony, and every word I say,
please purchase as a PDF download through Lulu's
.
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