Apparently I need a “wedding miniseries” button to tag these posts… What follows is a complete transcript of our wedding ceremony. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that little to none of this is original content. Many, many heartfelt thanks to the good folks in blogland for sharing their own vows, and in particular the contributors to this post on A Practical Wedding. I figured I’d give back to the ‘net by sharing mine and hopefully help some other poor bride trying to scrape together a ceremony a week and a half before D-day. Not that I have any experience in that. Future brides, please feel free to steal wholesale.
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Prelude
Welcome
OFFICIANT: Welcome everyone. The ceremony is about to begin, so please be seated. We ask at this time that you please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices.
Groom takes his place next to officiant.
Processional
Music starts. (Bach’s “Sleepers Awake” on recorder)
Groom’s parents walk down the center aisle and take their seats.
Bride’s parents walk down the center aisle and take their seats.
Best Man and Maid of Honor walk in and stand on the either side of officiant.
Music stops.
Groom walks to barn door, music starts (“Ni ar cnoc ná ar isleacht” on Irish bagpipes) as groom opens the door and bride walks out. Bride and groom walk in together, then go stand in front of officiant.
Opening Words
OFFICIANT: Throughout the memory of humanity the founding of a new family has been noted as an act of high and holy order. It has been celebrated with a service of marriage in sacred groves, in humble meetinghouses, under vaulted arches, in temples with ancient rites, and in makeshift spaces with hurried words. We all gather here today at The Herb Lyceum because of what we share: a desire to affirm and support the relationship of Mr. Manly and The Hungry Crafter.*
Marriage requires a commitment to care for another person, to show concern for the life and growth of those whom we love. Marriage requires a commitment to respond to another person, to help meet their needs. Marriage requires a commitment to respect the unique individuality of that person, to help them grow and unfold for their own sake. Marriage requires a commitment to transcend our own egos, to use reason and humility to understand another person; and by doing this, we discover ourselves.
All these commitments require that we give ourselves to another person; by this giving, we experience our own strength and our own vitality. We experience ourselves as overflowing and alive. Today we affirm and celebrate this commitment being made between Mr. Manly and The Hungry Crafter.
Reading
Bride’s mother approaches and stands to the side of the wedding party for the reading.
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE: A reading from Fra Giovanni Giocondo, 1513
“I salute you. I am your friend, and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you that you have not. But there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!
The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in darkness, could we but see. And to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look!
Life is so generous a giver. But we, judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love by wisdom, with power.
Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel’s hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty, believe me, that angel’s hand is there. The gift is there and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Your joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts.
Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty beneath its covering, that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it; that is all! But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are pilgrims together, wending through unknown country home.
And so, at this time, I greet you, with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away.”
Returns to her seat.
Declaration of Intent
OFFICIANT: At this time, will the parents and siblings of the bride and groom please stand?
(to Bride & Groom) Mr. Manly, Hungry Crafter – marriage is a voluntary and full commitment, entered into with the desire, hope and firm intention that it will last for a lifetime. The vows you speak, the rings you exchange, will take but a moment. The promises you make are lasting. And so, do you come here together of your own free will, to take one another as life-long partners, to love, respect, and honor one another, through whatever may come? If so, please answer by saying, “We do”
BRIDE AND GROOM: We do.
OFFICIANT: (to bride’s immediate family)
Mom, Dad and Sister: as Hungry Crafter’s family, do you welcome Mr. Manly as a member of your family, and grant your blessings, love and acceptance? If so, please say “we do.”
BRIDE’S FAMILY: We do.
OFFICIANT: (to groom’s immediate family)
Mom, Dad and siblings: as Mr. Manly’s family, do you welcome The Hungry Crafter as a member of your family, and grant your blessings, love and acceptance? If so, please say “we do.”
GROOM’S FAMILY: We do.
OFFICIANT: (to all guests) Do all of you here today promise to offer love and support to The Hungry Crafter and Mr. Manly, upholding them in their marriage? If so, please answer by saying “We do.”
GUESTS: We do!
OFFICIANT: At this time, Mr. Manly and The Hungry Crafter would like to read a few words to each other.
GROOM: Hungry Crafter, I believe that the key to a successful relationship is a kind of selflessness. Not the unhealthy stifling of one personality in favor of another, but the fusion of two individuals into a new union far beyond the achievements of simple addition.
I do not vow to create this union today. It’s not possible to create something that has existed for so many years already. I vow instead to sustain our union, fighting for it when the need arises, and all the while developing it far beyond what was initially thought possible.
To this end, I promise to forever be your anchor when you are lost in the storm—holding you steady—until we can find our way home. Should you feel weak, I will be your strength. At all times you will know my mind because you are always in my thoughts. You are my best friend, my shelter in hard times, the voice of reason in the middle of the night and, starting today, my wife. You are the better angel of my nature.
Throughout history there have been many great men with accomplishments both good and far-reaching. Though I’ve often envied and admired them, I’ve come to realize that I would count myself as their equal, or even their better, if my only achievement in this life was to make you happy. I love you more than you will ever know.
BRIDE: Mr. Manly, you know I don’t believe in soul mates. I never have, and probably never will. Instead I believe in making choices, and continuously dedicating yourself to those choices. Today I choose you. I choose you to be my partner, my husband, and my family. I chose you yesterday, I choose you today, and will continue to choose you every day.
I make this choice, because I love what I know of you, and have the faith to trust what I don’t yet know.
I know you fill my heart with hope and joy. You make me laugh, laugh with me (and…at me!), you encourage my dreams and you help me grow. You offer me a kindness and security that I didn’t know existed. Your confidence in me is humbling. For these, and a hundred other reasons—I love you.
Today, surrounded by our friends and family, I take you for my husband. I promise to stand by you, encourage you, dream, laugh and cry with you. I promise to love you not only when it is easy, but also when it is difficult. I vow to remember that we are two different people who deal with problems in different ways. I vow to respect you and your opinions and ideas. I promise to remember that we are a team, and that we are always in it together, and that we are stronger together than we are apart. I promise to try every day to be a wife who is worthy of your love.
And finally, I promise that you will always be my family. You are part of who I am, and that can’t ever be undone. I love you more than you will ever know.
Blessing of Hands
OFFICIANT: Mr. Manly & The Hungry Crafter, please hold hands. Mr. Manly’s mother will now join us for the blessing of hands.
Officiant steps to the side, mother of the groom comes up and stands where officiant was standing.
MOTHER OF THE GROOM:
Mr. Manly and Hungry Crafter, as you hold each other’s hands, look down and notice:
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of life, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love you, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no others can.
These are the hands that will hold you tight when you encounter fear or grief.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.
These are the hands that will give you support and encouragement to go after your dreams.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you struggle through difficult times.
These are the hands that will lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into eyes that are filled with overwhelming love for you.
And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
Takes her seat; officiant returns to her place.
The Marriage Vows
OFFICIANT: Mr. Manly, repeat after me:
I, Mister Manly, take you, The Hungry Crafter,
to be my lawfully wedded wife,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better or worse,
for richer or poorer,
in sickness and health,
to love and to cherish,
until we are parted by death.
This is my solemn vow.
OFFICIANT: Hungry Crafter, repeat after me:
I, The Hungry Crafter, take you, Mister Manly,
to be my lawfully wedded husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse,
for richer or poorer,
in sickness and health,
to love and to cherish,
until we are parted by death.
This is my solemn vow.
Exchange of Rings
OFFICIANT: Who presents the rings?
FRIEND: I do.
Friend brings ring pillow up to officiant. While friend holds pillow, officiant unlaces and removes the rings; friend takes empty pillow back to her seat. Officiant hands bride’s ring to groom, keeping groom’s ring in her hand.
OFFICIANT: Mr. Manly, please repeat after me:
Hungry Crafter, I give you this ring,
that you may wear it as a symbol of the vows we have made this day,
and as a constant reminder that you are dearly loved.
Officiant hands Mr. Manly’s ring to the bride
OFFICIANT: (to bride) Please repeat after me:
Mr. Manly, I give you this ring,
that you may wear it as a symbol of the vows we have made this day,
and as a constant reminder that you are dearly loved.
Pronouncement of Marriage
OFFICIANT: May all who love The Hungry Crafter & Mr. Manly continue to rejoice in the commitments they have made to one another. May their home be a place of peace for them and all who enter into it.
Inasmuch as The Hungry Crafter and Mr. Manly have consented together in this ceremony to live in marriage and have witnessed their vows in the presence of this company and have given and received rings as a token of their vows, I now pronouce, by the authority vested in me, and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that The Hungry Crafter and Mr. Manly are husband and wife.
Mr. Manly, you may now kiss the bride.
Kiss!
Officiant cues bagpiper to start playing; joyous recessional music begins, bride & groom exit through center aisle – yay confetti toss!
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I must confess that I barely remember a word the officiant said because I couldn’t take my eyes off Mr. M. I’m not sure I was aware that anyone was there but the two of us.
*All names changed to protect the not-so-innocent…
The Hungry Crafter 
🙂
You look beautiful. Congratulations.