James and Aria's Wedding

Processional

The bridal party and bride walk up the aisle to the altar, accompanied music.

I’d   like to welcome all of you to this very special occasion and I’d like   to thank James and Aria for inviting me to officiate at their wedding.    I am honored and truly blessed to be here.  

We   are gathered here today to witness and celebrate an act of deep love.    James and Aria, in their devotion, respect, and love for each other   wish to unite in the holy bond of marriage, and to dedicate themselves   to each other’s happiness and well-being as partners in life.  On  behalf  of them, I welcome all of you.  And on behalf of all of us  invited here  today – James and Aria, we welcome you to this moment in  your lives and  the place you have come to in each other’s hearts.

I   remind all of our guests that you have been invited here for a holy   purpose – not just to witness, but to participate fully with your   thoughts and prayers, asking God to bless this couple and their married   life.  You are here because this couple feels close to you and asks  that  you join them in this dedication of sacred purpose.  You represent   symbolically all the people in the world who will be touched in any  way  by the life of this couple.  You represent their friends and  family, now  and forever.  They have chosen this act of marriage and  this public,  holy ceremony to proclaim it.  Together we all thank the  Higher Power  that brought them together and ask Him always to guide  their way.

Silent Blessing 

Let   us now close our eyes and bring to mind any love ones who could not be   here today. Though they are absent physically, we invoke, through our   thoughts and prayers, their loving presence. We pray God might multiply   beyond measure the blessings from these loved ones to this loving   couple, and any children who might one day be a part of this union.  Now,  from our hearts, we ourselves visualize and sanctify all the  blessings  we would bestow on James and Aria in their lives as a couple  and a  family. And in our sincere desire to bless, we in turn, are  blessed too.  Be blessed. 

from the Corinthians 

Love  is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs,  it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is  not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not  rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit  to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

Love  never fails. Prophecies  will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge  will pass away…. There  are in the end three things that remain: faith,  hope and love, but the  greatest of these is love. 

Let  me explain that James and Aria have not  come here today only to make a  solemn promise or to exchange a sacred  vow.  For love has no  requirements or conditions.  That’s what makes it  Love.  If your love  for one another carries requirements or conditions,  then it is not love  at all.

What  James and Aria have  come here to do, is to make public their love for  each other; to  declare their choice to live and partner and grow  together – out loud  and in your presence, out of their desire that we  will come to feel a  very real and intimate part of their decision, and  thus make it even  more powerful.

They’ve also come here today in the further hope that their ritual of bonding will bring us all closer together.

James   and Aria, is it your firm understanding that you are not entering into   this marriage for reasons of security……that the only real security is   not in owning or possessing, nor in being owned or possessed.

…not in demanding or expecting, and not even in hoping, that what you think you need in life will be supplied by the other…..

But   rather, in knowing that everything you need in life…..all the love,  all  the wisdom, all the insight, all the power, all the knowledge, all  the  understanding, all the nurturing, all the compassion, and all the   strength, already resides within you…..

And   you are not marrying each other in hopes of getting those things, but   in hope of giving these gifts, that the other might have them in even   greater abundance.

Is that your firm understanding today?

(They say, “It is.”)

And   James and Aria, is it your firm understanding that you are not  entering  into this marriage as a means of in any way limiting,  controlling,  hindering or restricting that which is the highest and  best within you –  including your love of God, your love of life, your  love of people,  your love of creativity, your love of work, or any  aspect of your being  which genuinely represents you, and brings you  joy.

Is that still your firm understanding today?

(They say, “It is.”)

Finally,  James and Aria, is it your firm understanding that you do not see  marriage as producing obligations, but rather as providing  opportunities…..opportunities  for growth, for full Self expression, for  lifting your lives to your  highest potential, for healing every false  thought or small idea you  ever had about yourself, and for ultimate  reunion with your Creator  through the communion of your two souls…

And   this is truly a Holy Communion….a journey through life with one you   love as an equal partner, sharing equally both the authority and   responsibilities inherent in any partnership, bearing equally what   burdens there be, basking equally in the glories.

Is that the Vision you wish to enter into now?

(They say, “It is.”)

Now   those were the agreements and understandings of Earthly things…..how   life will be within the physical structure called marriage.

Let   us now exchange larger understandings…..your spiritual nature and your   spiritual Truth….the purity of your real and Highest Self, and the   purity of Divine Love, which shines upon you now and always.

James, please repeat after me…..

 I,   James, ask you, Aria, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to   hold from this day forward. I promise to be true to you in good times   and in bad, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in   sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love you and   honor you all the days of my life. 

Minister turn to Aria. 

Aria, do you choose to grant James’ request that you be his wife?

(She answers, “I do.”)

Now Aria, please repeat after me…..

I,   Aria, ask you, James, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to   hold from this day forward. I promise to be true to you in good times   and in bad, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in   sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love you and   honor you all the days of my life. 

(Minister turns to James)

James, do you grant Aria’s request that you be her husband?

(He answers, “I do.”)

These rings and their circular nature are the symbol of holiness, perfection, and peace.

These   rings exchanged today are also the symbol of never-ending love.  Love   that must first begin with each of us as Self Love, then radiates out  to  another and allows their love to return in full measure….completing  the  circle of love without end.

Lastly, these rings are the symbol of the eternity of spiritual life and truth….that which has no beginning and no end.

The   precious nature of the metal and stones of these rings represents the   wonderful essence they find in each other and the wonderful essence  they  find individually, through their mutual love, respect, and support  of  each other.

To both of you, I  enjoin  you to release at this time all impediments to your joy. In this  moment  may you forgive each other any past transgressions, and may you  enter  this marriage reborn.

EXCHANGE OF RINGS

(The minister gives the rings back to James and Aria)

Now, James and Aria, please take these rings you wish to give one another and repeat after me:

With   this ring…..I thee wed….that we may bond in body, mind, and   spirit….,radiating out love to improve the quality of all of life….I   take now the ring you give to me…..and give it a place upon your   finger…..that all may see and know….. of my love for you.

And  so now, in as much as you, James, and you,  Aria, have sanctified your  union by announcing your truths that are  already written in your  hearts, and have witnessed the same in the  presence of these, your  family and friends, and God, through the power  vested in me, I now  pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss the bride. (KISS)

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us now join in an Irish blessing for our closing prayer.

May   the road rise to meet you.  May the wind always be at your back.  May   the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your  fields.   May the light of friendship guide your paths together.  May  the  laughter of children grace the halls of your home.  May the joy of   living for one another trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your   eyes.  And, when eternity beckons, at the end of a life heaped high  with  love, may the good Lord embrace you in the arms that have nurtured  you  the whole length of your joy-filled days.  May the gracious God  hold you  both in the palm of His hand.  And today, may the spirit of  love find a  dwelling place in your hearts.

Family and Friends, let me proudly present to you, our newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. James Gibbons

(Bride and Groom Exit to Music)