Welcome
Welcome to all who have gathered here today to share in this marriage ceremony
of Katherine and Carlos.
These words, spoken today between this couple are indeed important and sacred,
but they are not what joins these two together, nor is this marriage ceremony. We
are not here to witness the beginning of their relationship, but to acknowledge and
celebrate a lasting bond that already exists between them. Katherine and Carlos
have already joined their hearts together and chosen to walk together on life’s
journey, they have reunited after decades and healed each other’s broken hearts
when it seemed utterly impossible. Friends, be honored because each of us have
come here to bear witness to a symbolic union and a public affirmation of the love
they share.
Who gives this woman away to be wed to this man?
Charge to the couple
Katherine and Carlos, your love is something that you both cherish, so much so
that it’s moved you to join in the union of marriage and create a home together.
Today, you dedicate your lives to giving one another happiness and support. To be
certain, entering into the covenant of marriage is an act of deep trust and faith in
the strength of your love. It would be a fool’s error to base your marriage on the
hope that your partner will change to become something they are not, or do
something in the future that they do not already do today. Your marriage must be
based on the heartfelt and sincere acceptance of one another, as you are, in each
moment.
The pledge you make today expresses your devotion to one another and to the love
you share, and the words spoken here will support your marriage if you are able to
sustain your commitment through the inevitable hardships you’ll face together.
Today, in the presence of your families and friends, you pronounce your love for
each other and make a commitment that will define the next phase of your journey.
We celebrate it with you, and wish you well.
Declaration of Intent
And Katherine and Carlos do you come here today with the intention to be legally
joined in marriage? Do you pledge to choose respect, kindness, and compassion
toward one another, to listen deeply to one other, and to speak to one another
truthfully, today and always?
If so, say I do
Reading
His hello was the end of her endings.
Her laugh was their first step down the aisle.
His hand would be hers to hold forever.
His forever was as simple as her smile.
He said she was what was missing.
She said instantly she knew.
She was a question to be answered.
And his answer was “I do.”
Vows
Katherine please repeat after me. Carlos, I promise to love you, to be your best
friend, to respect and support you, to be patient with you, to work together with
you to achieve our goals, to accept you unconditionally, and to share life with you
throughout the years.”
Carlos please repeat after me. Katherine, I promise to love you, to be your best
friend, to respect and support you, to be patient with you, to work together with
you to achieve our goals, to accept you unconditionally, and to share life with you
throughout the years.”
Reading
James Cavanaugh said
To love is not to possess, to own or imprison, nor to lose one’s self in another.Love
is to join and separate, to walk alone and together, to find a laughing freedom that
lonely isolation does not permit.It is finally to be able to be who we really are, no
longer clinging in childish dependency nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
it is to be perfectly one’s self and perfectly joined in a permanent commitment to
another and to one’s inner self.”
Rings
Katherine, placing the ring on Carlos’s finger and repeat after me:
Carlos I give you this ring, as a sign of my vow to love, honor, and cherish you.
And Carlos, placing the ring on Katherine’s finger, repeat after me:
Katherine, I give you this ring, as a sign of my vow to love, honor, and cherish you.
Reading
Union by Robert Fulghum
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of
commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to
this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an
informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal
or during long walks - all those conversations that began with and continued with I
will and you will and we will - those late night talks that included ; somehow and
someday - and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these
common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows
that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, You know all those
things we've promised and hoped and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every
word. Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment
you have been many things to one another - acquaintance, friend, companion,
lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one
another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across
a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after
these vows, you shall say to the world, this - is my husband, this - is my wife.
Pronouncement
Katherine and Carlos because you two came here today intending to commit
yourselves to one another, because you joined hands and made solemn vows and
exchanged rings to remind you of those vows of this commitment, and you are now
joined as partners in mutual love and respect, So according to the powers vested in
me and the highest power of the land and the sea.
I now pronounce you husband and wife, Josh. Please kiss your beautiful wife!
(Move out the way)
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce for the very first time Mr. and
Mrs. Carlos Garcia Hernandez!