Ceremony Number 3

Good morning and welcome to today's very special ceremony. My name is Sue Hardy and I am a registered marriage celebrant with the honour of being able to officiate at this marriage beween _____ ______ and ______ _______.
 
It is an honour for __________ and __________, to have so many people come and personally show their support to this union.  Knowing that their family and friends are willing to travel from interstate and overseas for today is something that will help build and even stronger foundation to their marriage.
 
When talking to __________ and __________, I became increasingly aware of how important family and their family heritage is. I was reminded of Bryce Courtney's words in a Recipe for Dreaming.  I have taken the liberty of adapting it for today. __________ and __________, nature formed you with perfect feet and hands and a heart that beats non-stop, maybe for a hundred years. You were made complete. You inherited a thousand generations of wisdom, skill, poetry, song, all the sunrises and sunsets of knowledge past. __________ and __________,, you are the sum of all the people who went before you.
 
You are a refinery of inherited intellectual wealth, the full flood of antecedent wisdom is piped and stored within you - how to climb the highest mountain, how to survive fear and how to summon your courage and take pride in your wonderful intelligence. Inside you are more possibilities than you could possibly use up in one lifetime. If you can dream it, you can do it, because the instinctive knowledge of how to succeed is already programmed within you waiting to be turned on, waiting to flow like a river.
 
United in marriage, living and working in harmony, you can achieve all your dreams. Together, with your ancestral wisdom, you can make all things possible.
 
The Asking
_________, as you stand here before all the known Gods & goddesses of the universe, look deep into your soul as I now ask you: - _____________, do you come here today content within yourself that _________ is the woman you can spend the rest of your life with?
 
__________, as you stand here before all the known Gods & goddesses of the universe, look deep into your soul as I now ask you: - __________, do you come here today content within yourself that _________ is the man you can spend the rest of your life with?
 
Today
Today then you shall marry your friend,
the one you have laughed with and cried with,
the one you have learned from and shared with,
the one you have chosen to support,
encourage and give yourself to,
through all the days given you to share.
Today when you exchange vows you will marry the one you love.

The vows __________ and __________, have chosen to say are simple but behind them is a far greater understanding of the worth of this marriage. This is a promise to stay by each other's side through all the challenges on life's journey.
 
It is a promise of love without reservation, comfort in times of distress, encouragement to achieve each other's goals. It is a promise to laugh and cry together, of growing together in mind and spirit, of always being open and honest with each other for as long as you both shall live.

Before you make your commitment in marriage I would like to remind you both that marriage is a very special union. A bond made between a man and a woman to unite you both as husband and wife in a life-long, intimate commitment excluding all others.
 
Exchange of Vows
I ___________, take you, __________, to be my wife, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, my one true love.
 
I ___________, take you, _________, to be my husband, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, my one true love.
 
Exchange of Rings
_______/_________, accept this ring as a symbol of my pledge to you.
 
Second Reading
Above you are the stars
Below you are the stones.
As time does pass remember…
Like a stone should your love be firm.
Be close, yet not to close.
Possess one another, yet be understanding.
Have patience with each other for storms will come,
But they will go quickly.
Be free in giving of affection and warmth,
Make love often and be sensitive to one another.
Have no fear, and let not the ways or words
Of the unenlightened give you unease.
For the Goddess and the God are with you,
Now and always.
 
Marriage Blessing
__________ and __________, I have seen you both formalise this union openly by stating your love for each other. So it is with great pleasure that I pronounce you to be forever partners living to the noblest ends of life.
 
You may seal this union with a kiss.