Wedding Program Vows and IdeasHere are some wedding vows, poems, readings, and ceremony program ideas that have always worked well with the tropical theme weddings I have performed over the years here in the Florida Keys. Couples change them all the time so don't hesitate to be creative...it's YOUR wedding!
Wedding Programs traditionally consist of at least five parts: The Opening and Comments The Intent The Wedding Vows The Ring Exchange The Closing and Pronouncement
Many couples also elect to include various wedding readings or poems and/or little ceremonies within the program. Please chose from the following or combine parts of the following:
WEDDING PROGRAM OPENING COMMENTS #1 - This day, , 2004, and are here in , in the beautiful Florida Keys, to avow their marriage. May their life together be filled with happiness, good health, many friends, much love and all of the wonderful things that life can bring. #2 - Welcome family and friends. Love is a miraculous gift, and a wedding is a celebration of that magic, and that’s what we’re here to do today. We are gathered together to be overjoyed for and with and , who are so wonderfully suited to one another that it’s a pure delight for the rest of us to see how ebulliently happy two people can be.
When we think of love we sometimes talk about people who “deserve” one another. Not only do and deserve one another, but they are a perfect match, a pair, a fit, soul mates, if you will; and their marriage, far from being something they have had to work hard to achieve, was pure inevitability. They were given to one another and fell so deeply in love that they had no choice.
They are the embodiment of true romance which, matured, becomes true love. They are the example of love that in its lightheartedness, dissolves the notion of love as hard work. They are the promise of possibility, the expectation of joyful surprise.
Today is also a celebration for the rest of us, for it is a pleasure for us to see love in bloom, to participate in the wedding of two people so delightfully suited to one another. It lifts our spirits to be in the presence of such a love, to bask in the sweet energies of two people who so obviously adore one another, who want to play together, laugh together and walk together for a lifetime.
So, HOORAY! We’re here to celebrate, to honor, to laugh, to dance and to be glad because the real fun has just begun! Love is alive and well in the land. and are here to prove it, and we are here to share in their joy.
#3 - Beloved family, friends, accomplices and witnesses, we have come here to the edge of the earth to celebrate the marriage of and , who through being ruthlessly and wonderfully themselves, have chosen to be married. This is an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility, and we who partake in it bind ourselves as witnesses to the labor of love that these two are undertaking here. and , you give us hope, you remind us of love, and we are overjoyed to be your witnesses as you vow to marry, and to create a home where you can best love each other (and your child/children).
Dear family and friends, and acknowledge that the living examples in their lives of other true loves has helped remind them that the commitment of marriage is a true blessing, and not one to be taken lightly.
In celebration of this, you married couples here this evening are invited to give a brief renewal of your own marriage vows to each other as the sun sets on the birthday of a brand new marriage. Please feel free to face your partner, hold hands and repeat after me:
"I love you, and thank you again for the gift of your love. Thank you for being here to love me all these years, in every way you have, in all the ways you will. I pledge again to love you for the rest of our days."
#4 - Family and friends, and have invited us here today to Islamorada, in the beautiful Florida Keys, to share in the celebration of their marriage.
We come together not to mark the start of a relationship, but to recognize a bond that already exists. This marriage is one expression of the many varieties of love. Love is one, though its expressions are infinite.
It is fitting to speak briefly about love. We live in a world of joy and fear, and search for meaning and strength in the seeming disorder. We discover the truest guideline to our quest when we realize love in all its magnitudes. Love is the eternal force of life. Love is the force that allows us to face fear and uncertainty with courage.
But, you must “be of love a little more careful than of anything.”
The giving of yourself in love is difficult, for you must learn to give of your love without total submission of yourself. Therefore, in your giving, give your joy, your sadness, your interest, your understanding, your knowledge-all expressions that make up life. But in this giving, remember to preserve yourself-your integrity, your individuality. This is the challenge of love within marriage.
Although you will be sharing one life, never forget, you are two separate people. Cherish and affirm your differences. Love each other. Keep your commitment primary. Together you will laugh and cry, be sick and well, be happy and angry, share and grow.
Grow, sometimes together, sometimes separately. But never remain stagnant. Love and life are always changing, always new.
If you will ensure a healthy lasting marriage, always, always value each other. Although you will disagree, remember to respect each other’s feelings, needs, and wants. And above all, never, never, lose your sense of humor.
It is in this spirit, I know, that you two have come to be married. So let us proceed.
#5 - and are met here today to become one through the rite of matrimony. As the waters of the sea are vast, flowing, deep and endless, so may be their love for each other. May their love hold within it the essence of life and be constant, enduring and limitless. They are today pledging their love and their lives to each other for all the days that remain to them. They celebrate their commitment to a strong and enduring relationship and as the seas touch the many shores of the earth, may their love and their lives enrich everyone with whom they come in contact.
#6 - Welcome Family and friends. This day, , and are here in Islamorada, in the beautiful Florida Keys, to avow their marriage. It means the world to them that you have traveled so many miles to share in this special celebration. They have asked you here because they hold you, their family and friends, as a valued part of what they are as individuals, and what they will become as a married couple. Your presence is a gift of support and caring, and they appreciate your sharing their very special occasion.
We are gathered here today to take part in the most time-honored celebration of the human family-uniting a man and woman in marriage. and have come to witness before you, telling of their love for each other.
If you would have the foundation of your marriage be the devotion you have for one another, not just at this moment, but for all the days to come, then treasure the hopes and dreams that you bring here today. Establish that your love will never be blotted out by the common, nor obscured by the ordinary in life. Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny-- just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today. Only with the spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all the days of your lives.
#7 - We are gathered here today, in in the beautiful Florida Keys, the celebrate the marriage of and . You may ask, why did we have to come to to do what we could have done back home in . The reality is that beautiful moments should happen in beautiful places and most of life's greatest experiences require a journey of some dimension. and would like to thank all of you for making the journey to share in this most special of days.
Marriage is an outward symbol of an inward union of hearts, a union created by friendship, respect, faith, passion and love. Love is one of the greatest experiences that we as humans can have, but it is when love is combined with real friendship that both are infinitely enhanced. #8 - Before these witnesses, and pledge their love, their lives and their hearts to each other. May they ever be true and loving, never bringing remorse or heartbreak into their marriage. Temper their hearts with kindness and understanding and may they always be free of any pretense or mistrust. May they always be sweethearts, helpmates and friends, and together, may they meet the cares and problems of life more bravely. May they find contentment in the joy of their rich companionship.
INTENT #1 - do you take to be your lawful wedded wife/husband, to live together in the estate of matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her/him and keep her/him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her/him so long as you both shall live? #2 - , do you take to be your wife/husband, and do you pledge your trust in her/him today, in all love and honor, in faith and tenderness, to live with and cherish her/him always? #3 - , do you choose to marry and to speak before your family and friends the words that will commit you to her/him as her/his husband/wife for the rest of the days of your life? # 4 - Please join hands. Do you, take , to be your lawful wedded wife/husband, and do you promise to be her/his faithful, loving and devoted husband/wife in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as you both shall live?
WEDDING VOWS #1 - From this day on, I choose you, , to be my wife/husband, to live with you and laugh with you; to stand by your side and sleep in your arms; to be joy to your heart and food to your soul; to bring out the best in you always; and, for you, to be the most that I can. #2 - I, , choose you , to be my beloved wife/husband. To love you, to be a comfort and a safe haven in your life, To hold you close, to listen when you are sad or angry, To learn compassion with you, To nourish you with my gentleness, to uphold you with my strength, To weigh the effects of the words I speak and the things I do, To never take you for granted, but always give thanks for your presence, To be faithful, to nourish your mind, express the truth, And warm you with my laughter. I promise you this from my heart, For all the rest of my days. #3 - I, , take you, , to be my wife/husband, as my friend and my love. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in health and in sickness, in failure and in triumph. I will cherish and respect you, comfort and encourage you, and stay with you from this day forward. #4 - I, , take you, , to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not yet know, with respect for your integrity and faith in your love for me. Through all years and all that life may bring us, I will strive everyday to make our relationship stronger. My promise to you today is to be your friend, your love and your partner for all the days of our lives.
WEDDING RING EXCHANGE #1 - , place the ring on 's finger and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed, in love and truth, and with all my worldly goods, I thee endow. #2 - , please repeat after me:
I hope that you will wear this ring as a reminder that I love you every single day of your life. #3 - 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. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other that you have made today.
As a token of mutual fidelity and affection the rings will now be given and received.
, repeat after me.. I, , give to you, , this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you. #4 - This circlet of precious metal is justly regarded as a fitting emblem of the purity and perpetuity of the Marriage State. The ancients were reminded by the circle of eternity, as it is so fashioned as to have neither beginning nor end; while gold is so incorruptible that it cannot be tarnished by use or time. So may the union, at this time solemnized, be incorruptible in its purity and more lasting than time itself.
Wedding Officiant: , please place the ring on ’s finger and repeat after me: Wear this ring forever, , as a symbol of love and peace and of all that is unending. #5 - , I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. #6 - Traditionally, the marking of the passage to the status of husband and wife is marked by the exchange of rings. These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end. Love freely given has no giver and no receiver - for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings remind you always of the vows you have taken here today. #7 - Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux, has written: Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are the stars. The wind in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man or a woman is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. The circle is the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe. it is a symbol of holiness and of perfection and of peace. In this ring is the symbol of unity, in which your two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle, in which, wherever you go, you will always return unto one another to your togetherness.
I give you this ring as a token that I shall love you, in all times, in all places, and in all ways, forever. #8 - , I give you this ring as a symbol of my constant respect and love for you. #9 - As this ring encircles your finger, from this day forward, so will my love forever encircle you. Wear this ring as a symbol of my love. #10 – The ring is the traditional symbol of the promises binding two people together in marriage. It is the promises themselves which are important, but the ring is a physical reminder of ties which cannot be seen by the human eye.
Place the ring on ‘s finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my constant respect and love for you. CLOSING #1 - In as much as and this day consented together in holy wedlock and have given and pledged their love, each to the other, in the presence of this company, by the virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride. #2 - Now, because you have chosen one another, honored each other with the precious gift of your rings, and pledged to love and care for each other for all the days of your lives, it gives me great joy to pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride. #3 - As and join their lives in marriage, they also bring you together in a new relationship, creating new bonds of trust and ties of affection. Will you give them your love, blessing, and your support. If so please show them your support by saying "we will".
Before this gathering, and have promised each other their love and have given each other rings to wear as a sign of their deep commitment. Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Florida, I now declare you to be husband and wife.
Kiss! #4 - Inasmuch as and have declared their love and devotion to each other before family and friends, I now greet them with you as husband and wife. #5 - and , you have expressed your desire to be husband and wife. You have shown your love and affection by joining hands and making promises of devotion to one another, and you have sealed these promises by the giving and receiving of rings.
Remember always to give to one another new experiences of joy. Challenge one another so that you may grow. May the love you hold for each other, now sealed in marriage, continue to mature with the passing years. May you always experience the wonder of your union. Be slow to anger, quick to forgive, leaving no tracks of resentment behind each day. May your love consist not only in gazing into each other’s eyes, but looking outward in the same direction.
May your life together be a source of strength and inspiration to yourselves, your families, your friends, and to all whose lives you touch. Today and have become a family. May they be content in each other’s presence and may they find joy, happiness, peace and a lot of laughter together.
Now, by the virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Florida, it gives me great joy to pronounce you husband and wife, You may kiss your bride!
OPTIONAL WEDDING READINGS
On Marriage from the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping, For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together, For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Blessing of the Apaches Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be full and long upon the earth.
Cherokee Prayer God in heaven above, please protect the ones we love. We honour all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honour Mother Earth, and ask for our marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honour fire, and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts. We honour wind and ask that we sail through life safe and calm as in our father’s arms. We honour water, to clean and soothe our relationship, that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness as we forever grow young together. Amen.
Blessing for a Marriage May your marriage bring you all the excitement a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance and understanding. May you always need one another - not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of loneliness. May you invite one another, but never insist. May you embrace one another, but not overwhelm. May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the smaller ways. May you look for things to priase and often say, "I love you."
If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you have sense enought to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another's presence - both physical and spiritual, obvious when you are side by side, but still there when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.
Unknown 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, difficulty 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.
Traditional Irish Wedding Blessing May God go with you and bless you. May you see your children’s children. May you be poor in misfortune. May you be rich in blessings. May you be slow to make enemies. May you be quick to make friends. But rich or poor, quick or slow May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
River Song You and I found the gift of a lifetime A love that will last eternally. Many have been in our lives But no one has ever reached the depths of our love, The love of you and I.
We were not seeking and yet we found Not needing and yet we received Different and now one My love reaches out to you and your love to me. By: Lynda King
Other Options
Breaking of the Glass #1 The breaking of the glass at the end of a wedding ceremony serves to remind us of two very important aspects of a marriage. The bride and groom - and everyone - should consider these marriage vows as an irrevocable act - Just as permanent and final as the breaking of this glass is unchangeable. But the breaking of the glass is also a warning of the frailty of a marriage; that sometimes a single thoughtless act, breech of trust or infidelity can damage a marriage in ways that are very difficult to undo - just as it would be so difficult to undo the breaking of this glass. Knowing that this marriage is permanent, the bride and groom should strive to show each other the love and respect befitting their spouse and the love of their life.
I now happily pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride and you may now break the glass.
Breaking of the Glass #2 It is customary in Jewish weddings for the end of the ceremony to be marked by the crushing of a wine glass under the groom's foot. This tradition has many meanings. It is a symbol of the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem; a representation of the fragility of relationships; and a reminder that marriage changes the lives of individuals forever. When crushes the glass, it is customary for the congregation to say "Mazel Tov" which means "good luck".
Rose Ceremony (The Rose Ceremony is placed at the end of the ceremony just before being pronounced husband and wife)
"Your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings, which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect, and a public showing of your commitment to each other.
You now have what remains the most honorable title which may exist between a man and a woman - the title of "husband" and "wife." For your first gift as husband and wife, that gift will be a single rose.
In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love and a single rose always meant only one thing - it meant the words "I love you." So it is appropriate ,that for your first gift as husband and wife, your gift would be a single rose.
Please exchange your first gift as husband and wife. In some ways it seems like you have not done anything at all. Just a moment ago you were holding one small rose - and now you are holding one small rose. In some ways, a marriage ceremony is like this. In some ways, tomorrow is going to seem no different than yesterday. But in fact, today, just now, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you always remember - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage.
and , I would ask that wherever you make your home in the future - whether it be a large and elegant home - or a small and graceful one - that you both pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot, both as a recommitment to your marriage and a recommitment that THIS will be a marriage based on love.
In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words. It is easiest to hurt the one we most love. It is easiest to be most hurt by the one we most love. It might be difficult sometimes to say "I am sorry" or " I forgive you" or "I need you" or "I am hurting". If this should happen, leave a rose at that spot which both of you have selected; for that rose says what matters most of all and should overpower all other things and all other words.
That rose says the words, "I still love you". The other should accept this rose for the words which cannot be found, and remember the love and hope that you both share today.
Inclusion of Children
At this time, and wish to present gifts to and and .
Groom: (Child’s/Children’s Name(s)) I love your Mother and today I have taken her as my wife. , I love you, too. I want to be as a father to you, and I invite you into my heart. We will have happy times together, you, your Mom and I, and with this ring your Mom and I give you our love.
Bride: Not only do I choose your Father, I choose you to be my family. I promise to make our home a haven where trust, love and laughter are abundant and where memories are created, shared and cherished. I feel blessed to have each of you in my life. Return to FloridaKeysWeddings.US
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