Minister:
We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people,____________ and ____________, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one.They now desire to profess before all the world their intention henceforth towalk the road of life together.
To these two young people, this marriage signifies the birth of a newspirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone.This "birth of spirit" reminds us of spring, the season when all life is rebornand looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that this wedding of ____________and ____________ be in the spring, and that it be under the open sky, where weare close to the earth and to the unity of life, the totality of living thingsof which we are part.
The beliefs and thoughts about love which motivate these two people areperhaps best e-pressed in the words of poet Kahlil Gibran:
"You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in your silent memory.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heaven dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bondage of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not of the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the samemusic.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping,
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in shadow."
Minister to Bride:
Do you ____________, knowing this man's love for you and returning it,realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses andhelping him to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully weddedhusband?
Bride:
I do.
Minister:
Place the ring on his finger.
Minister to Groom:
Do you ____________, knowing this woman's love for you and returning it,realizing her strengths and learning form them, recognizing her weaknesses andhelping her to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully weddedwife?
Groom:
I do.
Minister:
Place the ring on her finger. Let these rings serve as locks–not bindingyou together–but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other toknow, and thus bringing you closer together forever.
And now ____________ and ____________, seeking the fulfillment of love andmarriage, find again that the poet Gibran speaks for them:
"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day ofloving.
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home eventide with gratitude, and then sleep with a prayer
For the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."
I now pronounce you husband and wife
We are gathered here this ____ to unite this man ____ and this woman _____in the bonds of holy matrimony which is an honorable estate。
Into this，these two now come to be joined。
If anyone present can show just and legal cause why they may not be joined，let them speak now or forever hold their peace。
Who gives this woman to this man? (MAN)_______，will you have this woman asyour lawful wedded wife，to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will youlove her，honor her，comfort her，and keep her in sickness and in health;forsaking all others，be true to her as long as you both shall live? (Iwill)。
(WOMAN)_______，will you have this man as your lawful wedded husband，tolive together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love him，honor him，comforthim，and keep him in sickness and in health; forsaking all others，be true tohim as long as you both shall live? (I will)。
BEHOLD the symbol of wedlock。
The perfect circle of love，the unbroken union of this man and this womanunited here today。
May you both remain faithful to this symbol of true love。
Please join hands and repeat after me (man first，while placing ring onproper fingers)。
I，_______，take _____ as my wedded wife，to have and to hold from this dayforward，for better or for worse，for richer or for poorer，in sickness and inhealth，to love and to cherish，till death do us part。
I，_______，take _____ as my wedded husband，to have and to hold from thisday forward，for better or for worse，for richer or for poorer，in sickness andin health，to love and to cherish，till death do us part。
For as much as ______ and ______ have consented together in wedlock，andhave witnessed the same before this company of friends and family，and havegiven and pledged their promises to each other，and have declared the same bygiving and receiving a ring，and by joining hands。
By the authority vested in me by the State of New Hampshire，I pronouncethis couple to be husband and wife。