GREETING:
Who gives this woman away – mom and dad say I do/or dad says her mother and I do
(To the assembly; couple faces JP): Welcome to this marriage celebration, uniting Katherine and Hugh. They have invited us to be here with them to be witnesses to their union.
(To the couple): You will soon be joined together in a sacred bond that is intended never to be broken.
Today, this day of your marriage, you stand somewhat apart from all other human beings. You stand within the charmed circle of your love, and this is how it should be. But love is not meant to be a possession, not even between two people. Rather, it needs to be a source of common energy, that when activated by two loving souls united, reaches out to touch the souls of others.
From this day onward, you must lead a life of love that will join you ever closer together. You are challenged to live a life in sickness and in health, for better and for worse. But at the same time your love must include the respect and the courage that allows each of you to stand alone, to make unique contributions to the world, to each other, and to yourselves.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (read by Best Man – Mike Shea)
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, and always perseveres.
Treat Yourselves and Each Other with Respect (read by MoH – Liz Neary)
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives… remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Love, Joy, Understanding… (read by Jim)
In joining your lives may God grant you both…
- Love… to afford each other a special quality of time together.
- Joy…in the accomplishments of one another.
- Understanding…that your interests and desires will not always be the same.
- Friendship…based on mutual trust.
- Courage…to speak of a misunderstanding and to work on a solution before the setting of the sun.
- Compassion…to comfort each other in pain and sorrow.
- Foresight…to realize rainbows follow rainy days.
- Imagination…to keep with you part of the child you used to be.
- Mirth…from your sense of humor.
- Awareness…to live each day with the knowledge that there is no promise of tomorrow.
May God bless you and keep you in the Palm of His hand.
Personalized vows (from Hugh)
Thank you for saving me, for having me, for keeping me, and for loving me. You make the present something fun, and the future something to wish for. I am truly the luckiest man in the world. I thank God every day that you understood what was so funny about some 45-year old guy wearing a t-shirt singing “Soul Finger”, and for understanding the rest of me, too. I’ll vanquish every spider you find, and I’ll only paint the house when you’re not home. I’ll love you and cherish you forever.
Personalized vows (from Katherine)
From the first moment that I heard you sing “Soul Finger” with your goofy grin, I knew that you were someone I needed to know. What I didn’t know then is that you would become the soundtrack to my life. It started with that first fateful song and has blossomed to music-filled days and nights, from the Saturday rhythm review to Bootleg Xmas. Today I find total joy and peace in the knowledge that with you by my side, my life has become so much better than I have ever imagined. I cannot wait to grow old with you, my best friend, my morning orange juice deliveryman, my constant hand-holder, and my nightly sheet-warmer.
Formal Vows
Do you, Hugh, take this woman, Katherine, to be your lawful wedded wife, to love, honor, and cherish her, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live? (Response: I do.)
Do you, Katherine, take this man, Hugh, to be your lawful wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish him, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live? (Response: I do.)
To the assembly:
Will all of you witnessing these vows do all in your power to support these two and their marriage? (Response: I will.)
Exchange of rings
Katherine, Take and wear this ring, as a sign of my love and fidelity. It is a symbol of my love and my honor for you, a circle that has no beginning and no end.
Hugh, Take and wear this ring, as a sign of my love and fidelity. It is a symbol of my love and my honor for you, a circle that has no beginning and no end.
JP: What has been joined together here, let no one separate.
CLOSING:
You came here as two single people and leave as a married couple, united to each other by the binding contract you have just entered. Your individual concerns and your worries, your gifts and your joys, now belong to each other.
Therefore, before God, in accordance with the law of Connecticut and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of Connecticut, I do pronounce you husband and wife.
You may now kiss the bride.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Mr. and Mrs. McNally.
Or, as Facebook puts it…
"Changed relationship status"
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