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Congregation Unitarian Universalist
The Celebration of Marriage
How to Write your own Wedding Service
Requirements for a Marriage License
Rules of Marriage in Puerto Rico:
To the Brides and Grooms:
First let us suggest that you read and discuss a few questions that other couples have mentioned as important when you are planning to spend your life together. Some I am sure you have already discussed, others may not have occurred to you yet. Married life is not as simple as following a list of 10 important rules to a marriage, it is a journey together.
Next we invite you to create your own wedding. Planning the celebration can be a rich experience that you will cherish throughout the years of your marriage.
Not many people are prepared to start with a blank page and write a marriage ceremony or even select the music. Our collection is to help you do it. But the collection is a tool, nothing more. Use it if it is helpful. Most of the material has been edited and adapted. All have been edited for gender inclusiveness. You are free to further edit and adapt. Edit rewrite, take part of one item and link it to another, omit sections, etc. Write any of it that you wish. I encourage you in particular to write your own marriage and ring vows. In other words, make it uniquely yours. Please send us an email and we can start to send you samples of all the sections of our collection listed below.
There are eleven sections in our book with alternate selections (e.g. Readings 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, etc.) in each section. There is nothing sacred about the order (1 and 2 are often reversed), nor do all sections have to be used. The sections are:
1. Readings ( over 26 different readings to select from to start your wedding service)
2. Greeting, Welcome, Call to Worship and greetings to Wedding Guests
3. Homily to the Bride and Groom
4. Prayer or Meditation
5. Parent Presentation ( for younger couples)
6. Introduction to the Marriage Vows
7. Marriage Vows
8. Introduction to the Ring Vows
9. Ring Vows
10. Pronouncement
11. Benediction
At a minimum you could just go through and pick out one from each section and you have a marriage ceremony. But you may want to honor things from your religious tradition, particularly if yours is an interfaith or intercultural marriage or include a favorite poem. If you are looking for a particular value you wish to have in the service and are unable to find it, get back to us and we will either find it or write it. If you have written or know of a complete service that you wish to use, that is another option, too.
There is also a section 12 that offers a variety of wine cup ceremonies, a section 13 which gives a variety of unity candle services, and a section with the Water Blessing .
The traditional way of processionals is that the minister, groom, best man, and groomsmen come into the marriage service location from the side. Then the bridesmaids come down the aisle, followed by the maid/matron of honor, flower girl, ring bearer, and finally the bride escorted by her father. This is still a common practice, but there are many variations. Sometimes all come down the aisle with the best man and groomsmen escorting the maid/matron of honor and bridesmaids. At some weddings the bride and the groom were escorted in by their parents or the bride and groom came in together. We have seen brides with male attendants and grooms with female attendants and a parent as best man or matron of honor. Sometimes in small weddings, especially ones not held in a church, there is no processional at all and we have what we call a gathered wedding in which the guests just gather around the bride, groom, and minister.
What we are really saying is that the possible variations are countless. Please send us an email and we can start to send you samples of all the sections of our collection listed above. Now that married couples are a minority, more than ever we would like to help you plan your wedding, the wedding of your dreams, wherever you are located. We think cyberspace is wonderful!
Both parties must appear in person at the City Court office to purchase a marriage license. Persons 16-17 years of age must have the consent of their parents or legal guardians to marry. VDRL Blood tests for Syphilis from a licensed laboratory in the U.S. mainland or Puerto Rico within 10-14 days of the wedding are required. (if it is a mainland certificate a doctor in Puerto Rico will need to sign and certify the blood test and medical certificate for a fee of $25.)
Marriage license application papers may be requested in writing from the Dept. of Health, Demographic Registry Office, Box 11854, Fernandez Juncos Station, Santurce, PR 00910 (allow 2 months) or call (787) 728-7980. I would call first thing to request this, but then follow up with a written request.
With the above in hand you need to obtain a medical certificate from a physician in Puerto Rico, (VDRL blood test for Syphilis is required) such document will expire in 14 days. Lastly you visit the Marriage License Bureau to have all the documents authenticated. There is a $20 fee for Marriage certificate and $5. stamp to offciate the marriage licence after ceremony. Once your documents are in order you may be married at the free weekly Judicial Center ceremony. The cost is $150-300 for a Justice of the Peace at a private ceremony. Most ministers here on the island charge $325 plus a mileage charge for ceremonies outside of the San Juan area.
If either party is a citizen or resident of a country other than the U.S, a declaration certifying that he or she is not married must be sworn before a Notary Public or other person authorized to administer oaths in that country. This declaration must accompany the application.
If applicable, divorce must be finalized in the state or country where it was granted. A divorced person must provide a 'certified' copy of his or her final divorce decree, and a person whose former spouse has died must provide a certified copy of death certificate with a raised seal, prior to a marriage license being granted.
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