Introduction, Greeting and Welcome to the Wedding Guests

2-A

In Marriage, two persons turn to each other in search of a greater fulfillment than either can achieve alone. Marriage is a going forth, a bold step into the future; it is risking what we are for the sake of what we yet can be. Only in giving of oneself and sharing with another can the mysterious process of growth take place. Only in loyalty and devotion bestowed upon another can that which is eternal in life emerge and be known. Two among us, who have stood apart, come now, in our presence, to declare their love and to be united in marriage.

Love is a living thing, waiting within each one of us for an awakening touch. In this ceremony we will celebrate love come to life for and . May this love grow sure and straight and strong. We rejoice in its presence among us.

2-B

Marriage symbolizes the intimate sharing of two lives, yet this sharing must not diminish but enhance the individuality of each partner. A marriage that lasts is one which is continually developing and in which each person is individually developing while growing in understanding of the other. Deep knowledge of another is not something that can be achieved in a short time and real understanding of the other's feelings can develop fully only with years of intimacy. This wonderful knowledge of another person grows out of really caring for the other so much that one wants to understand as completely as possible what the other is feeling. Thus it is possible to share not only joys and successes but also the burden of sorrows and failures. But while marriage is the intimate sharing of two lives, it can also enhance the difference and individuality of each partner. We must give ourselves in love, but we must not give ourselves away. A good and balanced relationship is one in which neither person is overpowered nor absorbed by the other. Thus it is out of the tension between separateness and union that love, whose incredible strength is equal only to its incredible fragility, is born and reborn.

We are here today, then, to celebrate the love which and have for each other, and to give social recognition to their decision to accept each other totally and permanently. Into this state of marriage these two persons come now to be united.

2-C

Dearly beloved, we are gathered this day to join together this man and woman in marriage, an estate which embodies all the warm and precious values which grow from human companionship and love. It is therefore not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly, but reverently, thoughtfully, and in the knowledge that love is both the highest human achievement and life's most precious gift. Into this estate and come now to join themselves.

2-D

We are gathered here to join and in marriage. It is fitting and appropriate that you, their family and friends, be here to witness and to participate in their wedding, for the ideals, the understanding and the mutual respect which they bring to their marriage have their roots in the love, friendship, and guidance you have given them. Marriage makes us aware of the changes wrought by time, but the new relationship will continue to draw much of its beauty and meaning from the intimate associations of the past.

—William R. Fortner

2-E

We are gathered together to unite this man and this woman in marriage, which is an institution founded in nature, ordained by the State, sanctioned by the Church, and made honorable by the faithful keeping of good men and women in all ages. It is therefore not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but discreetly, advisedly, and with due reverence. This celebration is the outward token of a sacred and inward union of hearts, a union created by loving purpose and kept by abiding will. Into this estate these two persons have come to be united.

To them we extend our deepest good wishes: May theirs be a life that is rich with serenity as well as adventure. May their love grow greater, not only through the laughter of the years but through the tears as well. May they know more and more that mutual devotion and trust are the unshakable stones on which a healthy and rewarding marriage is built. And, above all, may each seek to give to the other more than they expect to receive. For in this giving of friendship and hope and understanding and patience and warmth and humor and compassion they will find enduring happiness together.

2-F

It is out of the resonance between individuality and union that love, whose incredible strength is equal only to its incredible fragility, is born and reborn. Today's celebration is the outward sign of a sacred and inward commitment which religious societies may consecrate and states may legalize, but which neither can create nor annul. Such a union is created by loving purpose, maintained by abiding will, and renewed by human feelings and intentions. In this spirit these two persons stand before us.

2-G

We have come here together that this man and this woman might bear witness before you and to the world of the oneness that has grown up between them; that they might affirm this oneness and this dedication here, as they have affirmed it to each other. As they now exist as one in their own eyes, so may they exist in your eyes. The mysterious union of two persons in marriage has already occurred in them in the giving and receiving of their love. In witness to this mystery they do pledge their love and the sharing of their lives.

2-H

Today we are privileged to share with and a moment of supreme joy in the new life they now begin together. So we speak our hopes for them: In the years ahead may their wisdom be steadily increased, that they may always apply tenderness and strength to the trials which will surely befall them. May they never allow changing customs and fashions to dull the sense of loyal love and utter devotion now theirs. When new lives are added to the fellowship which is their home, may they give thanks for the blessing of a child and bring it to the fullness of its promise by the same light of love which now glows in them. And may they look beyond the limits of their own existence to the larger human family, realizing its just claim upon them. For no marriage ought to be celebrated, nor none fulfilled, lest a portion of its end be directed toward the ennoblement of all humanity.

—Anonymous

2-I

Today we gather to celebrate the love of and , come together in this act of marriage. Fittingly, we share this time of happiness with them that they may receive our blessings and extend to us the joy which they feel on this day.

2-J

To and who gather to pledge their love and join their lives: May theirs always be a shared adventure, rich with moments of serenity, as well as excitement; vital with problems that test, as well as successes that lift; marked by a sense of personal freedom, as well as mutual responsibility. May they find in each other companionship as well as love; understanding as well as compassion; challenge as well as agreement. May the home they establish be an island where the pressures of a cluttered world can be sorted out and brought into focus; where accumulated tensions can be released and understood; where personal needs do not tower over concern for others; and where the immediate does not blur more distant goals; where the warmth of humor and love puts both crisis and dullness into perspective. And above all, may they find an ever richer meaning and joy in the high adventure of lifelong loving and learning together. This is our wish for them.

2-K

If life has meaning to us at all, it possesses it because of love. It is that which enshrines and ennobles our human experience. It is the basis for the peace of family and the peace of the peoples of the earth. The greatest gift bestowed upon humans is the gift not of demanding, but of giving love between 2 people.

— Martin Weitz

2-L

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together – to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness, to be one with each other in the silent, unspoken memories?

— George Eliot