Wedding Ceremony Guide With Free Wedding Script Sample

 

Wedding Script for Wedding Officiants and Emcees

 

So it sounds like you are planning a wedding or interested in the ceremony to some extent. I am going to break it down super easy for you, laying out the different elements needed to pull off the event successfully. 

 

This guide is written for the designated officiant, the person elected to perform the ceremony. While some states allow for a temporary licence, Canadian provinces (like Ontario) require the officiant to be registered with the government. If you would like to have your friend (or relative) do the ceremony, arrange the legal signing with a qualified officiant. Regardless of your unique situation, I hope that this guide clarifies the order, making it a bit simpler and more enjoyable!

 

At the bottom of this page you will see a sample wedding script, yours free to use as you wish. You may decide to modify the wording, adding your own personal flair to my template. It airs on the more “traditional” side, using gendered language that might make some people uncomfortable. My goal isn’t to alienate but remain true to my religious convictions. None of my ideas are original, instead taken from Cannon, Tradition, and civil obligations. 

 

Let me introduce myself a little before we go further.

 

My name is Brother Jeremy and I am a second generation wedding officiant. However, if you discount by grandfather (and great grandfather) the line goes back several generations. While many (or my ancestors) were affectionately called “rabbi”, all had a secular vocation, one to pay the bills with. I am proud of my heritage, having attended hundreds (if not thousands) of weddings over the course of my lifetime. While my father would recite the marriage blessings, I would stand to the corner and listen carefully, picking up as much detail as I could absorb. I am proud to continue on this legacy, ensuring that contemporary couples have access to this type of service. 

 

I've noticed that many people are anxious around wedding planning, especially as the guest list increases. This can easily take away from the enjoyment of the experience, allowing the couple to focus on the vows being exchanged. I like to think of the wedding vows as the “meal and veg” while the party is the “cake”. While both are important we must never lose sight of why we are here. The wedding is the celebration of the new couple, on their journey towards parenthood and maturity. (Brief caveat. My wife says that I never hit maturity so apparently it is not a universal rule. Let’s continue).

 

Writing The Wedding Vows

 

Of course you have heard the tried and tested lines promising “to love and to hold for this day forward”? Western (Europe and North America) tend to use the same passages, setting a traditional tone to any event. While they are often integrated into the wedding script, they can also serve as one of the vows. They can be exchanged either at a wedding chapel or at a wedding venue of your choice. Wedding vows are promises made at the wedding ceremony; they are proudly affirmed before ones friends, family, and Creator. They are not normal promises, ones that can easily be broken. Instead they are solidified through the Grace of the Almighty, sending the couple off on the right foot. The vows serve as an action plan, a promise to be faithful even during difficulties and tribulations. 

 

I am going to offer you some sample vows, yours to take and amend as you see fit. 

They are not personalised but reflect universal principles on marriage success. 

 

1. I promise to lift up your spirit whenever the world knocks you down.

2. I will stand by you through rain and drought; feast and famine; youth and senility.

3. I will encourage your Faith, walking loyally by you through All Things.

4. I Choose you today and choose you everyday. My eyes are just for you, my spirit orients towards your spirit. 

5. I will uphold the integrity of our heritage, promising to teach our children in the ways of our ancestors. 

6. I will be the husband/wife that you deserve, living my fidelity through action.

7. I will never forget the reason I stand here today, proclaiming my intention to be your husband/wife.

8. I promise to treat your family as my family, navigating the waters and maintaining relationships.

 

Specific Wedding Vows for Him

 

1. I promise to be your lawfully wedded husband, without condition or pretence.

2. I will lead by example, putting our family before my own wants and desires. 

3. I will use my gifts to feed our family, doing whatever I can to serve with humility.

4. I will never forget the bride that I am marrying right now, right here. 

5. I will use my faculties to enrich our children and protect our home.

 

Special Wedding Vows for Her

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1. I promise to be your lawful wedding wife, without condition or pretence. 

2. I will make our house a home, welcoming you back at the end of your journey.

3. I will teach our children in the ways of our foreparents, allowing their curiosity to flourish.

4. I will hold you up to your potential, reminding you why I agreed to be your bride.

5. I will be the bride you deserve, not just now, but for all time. 

 

Of course these vows are gendered, suggesting different responsibilities in marriage. While politically incorrect, these vows serve as the cornerstone of the Jewish Marriage Licence (called the ketubah). The roles are based on the prescriptions found in the Torah/Bible, outlining clear expectations for both. Remember that only women are able to give birth, causing a fundamental difference in utility. 

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What was once two separate people now changes, becoming one unified force. While each has their individual personality (and characteristics), these faculties are combined in service of the family. The family is a goal in itself, providing the perfect framework for raising a happy family. 

 

Sample Wedding Script

 

Ok, I promised you a free wedding script. It can be used by the wedding officiant or the emcee. Some people prefer to get married in a wedding chapel first then (subsequently) have a friend do the wedding ceremony “day-of”. Even if you are located outside Ontario drop me an email and I will try to help the best I can. Weddings make me happy and I am happy to be of service :)

 

Lets Go!

 

Key: B - Bride (she always comes first!)

        G - Groom (see above)

    WO - Wedding Officiant, or person serving in this role. 

 

WO - Greetings and Welcome. Ladies, Gentlemen, we are here to celebrate the spiritual unity of B and G. We are here to exchange vows, the cornerstone of the wedding ceremony. Each will recite a series of affirmations, promises that are made freely and without coercion. As such, they are Theologically binding and constitute a promise made before our Common Creator. This couple has infinite potential, the ability to serve as examples to the generations that come after. Today we are marking b + G’s day, enshrining it into history. 

 

Again, welcome to the wedding of B + G. 

 

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth".

 

This passage is taken from the Book of Genesis, the First Book of the Bible. Holy to both Jews and Christians, it sets the tone for family life then, now, and until the arrival of the Messianic Age.

 

_______ Groom, repeat after me: 

I ______, take you, ________, to be my wife,

Knowing in MY heart, with full conviction, 

That you will be my:

• Best friend

• Closest confident

• Biggest fan

• Partner in life

• My other half

 

As such I promise to:

• Love you unconditionally

• Lift you up when you fall

• Work hard, love harder

• Emphasise grace over vengeance 

• Through Faith, become the husband you deserve.

 

Now, I turn to _______, ______’s bride

 

I ______, take you, ________, to be my husband,

Knowing in MY heart, with full conviction, 

That you will be my

• Best friend

• Closest confident

• Biggest fan

• Partner in life

• My other half

 

As such I promise to:

• Love you unconditionally

• Lift you up when you fall

• Work hard, love harder

• Emphasise grace over vengeance 

• Through Faith, become the wife you deserve.

 

Now I am going to ask our bride to clasp her hands together, with her groom supporting her hands and looking right into her eyes. 

 

_________groom, repeat after me, Anee ley dodi------V,do dee lee

 

Now_________, his bride, repeat after me, Anee ley dodi------V,do dee lee

 

This famous passage is taken from the Song of Solomon, written by the famous king of the same name. It proclaims that “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”. Out of all the billions of souls, know that you have chosen each other, to the exclusion of all others. May your happiness be plentiful like the stars in the sky and the water drops in the ocean. May God strengthen you, guide you, and give you Peace.

 

Statement of Intent

 

With your hands still bound, ________groom please respond in good Faith, responding with the affirmative, “I do”. 

 

Do you _______, take this woman, whose hands you support, now and ever, to be your wife_______? Do you promise to dedicate your life to her, sharing in the joys and pains, without condition or pretence, all the days of your life?

 

 

Thank you, now I will turn to the bride, asking her to likewise answer in good faith, responding with the affirmative “I do”. 

 

 

Do you _______, take this man, whose hands you support, now and ever, to be your husband_______? Do you promise to dedicate your life to him, sharing in the joys and pains, without condition or pretence, all the days of your life?

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Ring Exchange

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Biblical Wedding Ceremony 

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In Biblical Times it was mandated that the prospective groom was to present his prospective bride with a token of value, originally a coin. Like a ring the coin is round, symbolising wholeness and eternity. The objective wasn’t to impress her materially, but to show that he was serious in his intentions. Just as this ritual connects you both to the past, it connects you to each other, facing the future as a united front.

 

I am going to ask _______, ______’s groom to take the ring, place it on his bride’s finger, and say the following after me.

 

________(bride’s name) take this ring as a token of my faithfulness to us, showing kindness and grace, gratitude and humility, from this day forward.

 

I am going to ask _______, ______’s bride to take the ring, place it on his bride’s finger, and say the following after me.

 

________(groom’s name) take this ring as a token of my faithfulness to us, showing kindness and grace, gratitude and humility, from this day forward.

 

To the bride, please repeat after me “I, ______________do solemnly declare that I do not know

of any lawful impediment why I may not be joined in matrimony to (groom’s name__________.”)

 

Will the groom repeat the same declaration? 

 

 “I, ______________do solemnly declare that I do not know

of any lawful impediment why I may not be joined in matrimony to (groom’s name_________. )

 

___________ and _______ have publicly exchanged vows, intentions, and rings. Therefore, by the power invested in me by the Province of Ontario, and the Laws of Moses, I pronounce that you are now man and wife.

 

G, you may now kiss your new B.

 

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the new Mr. and Mrs. (use Groom’s first and last name; Mr and Mrs. John Smith). 

 

Way To Go!

 

You have now performed a Traditional, Biblical Wedding Ceremony. Assuming that the officiant is authorised in your home area, you are now legally married as well. 

 

Now is the time to celebrate!

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