Ceremonies  
  Ceremonies
Ruth Inglis CMC JP
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Example of ceremonies

> Ceremony of Commitment

> Name giving ceremony No.2

> Reaffirmation of vows No.1

> Readings

Reaffirmation of vows no. 1

Husband and Wife: Today is your (25th wedding anniversary - your silver celebration). Your main responsibility to bring up your children is now over and tonight when you renew and re-affirm your marriage vows to each other you can happily look forward to a new era in your life.

It will be a time, we hope when you can concentrate on developing your love for each other, freer than you have been from the tensions and hassles that characterise the struggle to become established in life and in nurturing a growing family.

Tonight is a night when you reassure each other - when you are expressing to each other deep loyalty and loving trust as the basis of your marriage relationship. Tonight you will pledge your love anew, not only to each other, but also to all people of the world. A noble purpose of your life is to take the love that has matured in your life and to involve others in your togetherness. Love has a broader meaning than just your personal feelings for each other. Love is like justice and beauty. Love is difficult to explain and describe, but it is the ingredient of life which motivates and leads us to goals beyond our own ambitions. Every action which heals, cultivates and protects - that is a part of love too. Your love for each other has been present in a look, a touch, a smile, a tear. Your love has expressed itself through actions, feelings and thoughts.

Both of you believe in marriage - in the fullness of the husband and wife relationship - and you know that a deep bond unites you both. This relationship is and must be very deep, and for you, I know, is as important to you as life itself.

Tonight?s re-commitment should encourage you both to be more dedicated to each other so that you can look forward to a settled and contented future.

(Reading can be taken here)

(Following words to be repeated after Celebrant)

Vows (repeated after celebrant)

Husband: I Husband, took you, Wife, to be my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. This day, I reaffirm that vow.
Wife: I, Wife, took you, Husband, to be my lawful husband, to have and to hold from that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. This day I reaffirm that vow.

Ring Ceremony

Husband: Wife, with this ring, I reaffirm that we are wed. Take it and wear it as a pledge of my love, as a symbol of all we have shared, and all that we shall share.
Wife: Husband, with this ring, I reaffirm that we are wed. Take it and wear it as a pledge of my love, as a symbol of all we have shared, and all that we shall share.

(Another reading taken here)

Declaration

Ladies and Gentlemen, Husband and Wife have declared before me, and before all of you, their relatives and friends, that they will continue to live together in marriage. They have made special promises to each other. They have symbolised it by joining hands, taking vows and re-giving of rings. I therefore call upon all present here today to be fellow witnesses with me, to this reaffirmation. I declare that they have been, and will remain, husband and wife.

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Reaffirmation of Vows

(Readings can be inserted at appropriate spots)

Friends, I call upon everyone here present to be a fellow witness with me in this reaffirmation of the marriage vows made at (place), on (date), between Husband and Wife. We are here, not only to witness their re-commitment to each other, but also to wish them well, and every happiness for the years ahead.

Over the past (---) years, Husband and Wife have proved that their marriage is founded on that sort of sincerity and understanding which leads to tolerance, confidence and trust. They have learned it involves respect for each other?s individuality, and a sometimes difficult task, the acceptance of each other?s weaknesses, prejudices and faults. Marriage is a commitment to life - the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. Within the circle of its love, Husband and Wifes marriage has encompassed all of life?s most important relationships - they are each others best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.

They know too, that those qualities which attracted each to the other, have developed during a life spent together. Their happy marriage, they know, has enabled them to establish a home where there is love and stability, and where you, their family and friends, have found welcome, peace, and support, and which has been a base from which the influence of their shared lives has extended.

The Marriage Act

Husband and Wife, on the day that you were married, you would have been reminded of the solemn, serious and binding nature of the relationship of marriage; that marriage is the voluntary and full commitment of a man and a woman to each other, to the exclusion of all others, for life. It is to your credit that you have lived your married lives in compliance with the guidelines of the Marriage Act.

The Asking

Celebrant to Husband:

On the day you were married, you were asked to vow your lasting love for, and your lasting fidelity to Wife. Today I ask, will you before me and these your family and friends, re-affirm those vows?

 
Husband:

I will.

 
Celebrant to Wife:

On the day you were married, you were asked to vow your lasting love for, and your lasting fidelity to Husband. Today I ask, will you before me and these your family and friends, re-affirm those vows?

 
Wife:

I will.

 

Common Vow (repeated after celebrant)

Husband:

I, Husband, re-affirm that you Wife are my lawful wife. I promise to continue to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.

 
Wife:

I, Wife, re-affirm that you Husband are my lawful husband. I promise to continue to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.

 

Ring Ceremony


(Celebrant takes wedding ring first from Husband and then from Wife, and shows them to the guests, and says:)

From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love. An unbroken and never-ending circle symbolises a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you look at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the promise to continue to love and care for each other, which you have made today.

Celebrant:

Husband, as you place this ring, a visible sign of your commitment in marriage on the third finger of Wife?s left hand, please repeat after me:

 
Husband:

Wife, I gave you this ring on the day we were wed. Keep it and wear it as a pledge of my lasting love, and as a symbol of all we share.

 
Celebrant:

Wife, as you place this ring, a visible sign of your commitment in marriage on the third finger of Husband?s left hand, please repeat after me:

 
Wife: Husband, I gave you this ring on the day we were wed. Keep it and wear it as a pledge of my lasting love, and as a symbol of all we share.

Declaration

Ladies and Gentlemen, Husband and Wife have declared before all of us, their relatives and friends, that they will continue to live together in the union of marriage. They have again made special promises to each other which they have symbolised by joining hands, making promises, and by again exchanging rings.

Therefore, I have pleasure in declaring that they are, and shall remain, husband and wife! May you both retain the love you need to keep the promises you have made.

We will conclude with the signing of the Certificate of Reaffirmation of Vows.

Thank you.

Readings

1) Sharing

2) From Corinthians 1:13

3) Our wish

4) A Versicle

5) Companionship

6) Living

7) To my Husband

8) Try it!

9) A Marriage (by Mark Twain)

10) Two Birds

11) From heart to heart (author unknown)

12) Marriage is love

 

1) SHARING

There is no greater happiness than that of sharing life,
With all its joys and all its cares as loving man and wife;
For love gives life new meaning, and has a special way
Of growing stronger, deeper, with every passing day.
Yes, life is so much happier and brighter when you're sharing
The very special joys that come with loving-giving-caring.

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2) FROM CORINTHIANS 1:13

Love is always patient and kind;
It is never jealous;
Love is never boastful or conceited;
It is never rude or selfish;
It does not take offence,
And is not resentful.
Love takes no pleasure
In other people?s faults
But delights in the tWife;
It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope.
It is always ready to endure whatever comes.
True love does not come to an end.

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3) OUR WISH

This is our wish - May you be strong enough
To shelter love, and keep it safe from harm.
When winds blow high, and roads are steep and rough,
May you protect your love, preserve its charm.
When days are dark, may love be your sure light.
When days are cold, may love be your bright fire,
Your guiding star when Hope is out of sight,
The essence and the sum of your desire.
May love be with you through the flight of years,
Then after storms, there always will be calm.
Though you have cause for heartache and for tears,
Despair lasts not, where love is there for balm.
This be the prayer we breathe for you today.
When you have reached the summit of Life?s hill
May it be possible for you to say,
"Married long years, but we are lovers still".

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4) A VERSICLE

Come take my hand and walk with me
Into the future as was planned.
For every year upon this day
Your eyes shall meet above the toasting glass
And you shall pledge again with outstretched hands.


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5) COMPANIONSHIP It isn't that we talk so much,
Sometimes the evening through
You do not say a word to me,
I do not talk to you.

I sit beside the reading lamp,
You like your easy chair,
And it is joy enough for me,
To know that you are there.

It isn?t that we go out so much;
Sometimes we like to roam
To concert or theatre,
But best of all is home.

I sew a bit, or read aloud
A book we want to share,
And it is joy enough for me,
To know that you are there.

It isn?t that you tell to me
The things I?ve come to know;
It goes too keep for words, I think,
The fact you love me so.

You only have to touch my hand,
To learn how much I care,
And it is joy enough for me,
To know that you are there.


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6) LIVING To touch the cup with eager lips and taste, not drain it,
To woo and temp and court a bliss - and not attain it;
To fondle and caress a joy - and yet hold it lightly,
Lest it become necessity and cling too tightly;
To watch the sun set in the west without regretting;
To hail its advent in the east - the night forgetting;
To smother care in happiness and grief in laughter;

To hold the present close - not questioning hereafter;
To have enough to share - to know the joy of giving;
To thrill with all the sweets of life - is living.


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7) TO MY HUSBAND

When I am tired, all the rest I need
Is just to sit beside you for an hour.
When I am weary of the trials of life,
Your presence gives me hope and renewed power.
When I am sick of all the petty things
That stunt men?s souls and fill their hearts with fears,
I simply need to feel your hand in mine -
And I am lifted to the singing spheres.


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8) TRY IT! Try a little kindness when you want to get things done;
Try a little sympathy, for that?s how hearts are won.
Try a little gentleness with folk who make you mad -
Maybe you well see that they?re really not that bad.

Try a little patience when your temper?s getting short.
Try a little quiet when you?re worried and distraught.
Try a little humour, when you find you?re in a hole.
Try a little will-power when you?re losing self-control.

Try a little laughter, when the skies are turning grey -
A little bit of happiness will go a long, long way.
Try a little courage when you?re tempted to turn back -
Try a little confidence when things are looking black.

A little is a lot of what is right and good and strong,
A little tune can help a thousand men to march along.
A little ray of sun can light the whole broad sky above.
And life itself can be transformed, by just a little bit of love.


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9) A MARRIAGE (by Mark Twain)

A marriage - makes of two fractional lives a whole, gives to two purposeless lives a work, and doubles the strength of each to perform it;
It gives it two questioning natures, a reason for living and something to live for;
It will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.


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10) TWO BIRDS Two birds begin a journey long
From different points in far off lands,
With a luring urge - in heart a song,
Two novices heed life?s commands.
As they make their great migration,
Their feeble feet turn to taloned hands
And the two reach their destination
As seasoned travellers in the northern lands.
Still unaware that the other lives,
Each alights upon the very same tree
And there the two, as if guided by God,
Fall madly in love and marry.

Thus so it is with (Husband) and (Wife),
Two birds which Heaven?s winds did blow
To this blessed rendezvous of life
Like the two birds at Capistrano.


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11) FROM HEART TO HEART
(author unknown)
 Our love is like a lovely bridge
Between your heart and mine
A bridge we?ve built down through the years
Just to our own design.

It?s based on happy memories
Of the good times that we?ve known
The hopes and dreams we two have shared
The thoughtfulness you?ve shown

It?s stronger now than ever
For it?s grown with every smile
And every act of kindness
That makes life seem mor worthwhile.

And now I know that, if you?re near
Or if we?re miles apart
Our love still unites us
With a bridge from heart to heart.


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12) MARRIAGE IS LOVE If two are caring, as they?re sharing life?s hopes and fears,
If the music of laughter outweights sadness of tears,
Marriage is togetherness.

If both derive pleasure from mere presence of each other,
Yet when parted no jealousies restrict, worry or smother,
Marriage is freedom.

If achievements mean more when they benefit two
And consideration is shown with each point of view,
Marriage is respect.

And if togetherness, freedom and respect are combined,
With a joy that words can never fully define,
Then marriage is love.


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Copyright © 2009, Ruth Inglis, Wedding Celebrant, Naming Ceremonies, Reaffirmation Ceremonies, Funeral Services