The Marriage Service for

Coming in:
The Welcome

The minister welcomes the people using these or other appropriate words
This sentence may be used
God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.
1 John 4.16
This prayer may be said

All God of wonder and of joy: grace comes from you,
and you alone are the source of life and love.
Without you, we cannot please you;
without your love, our deeds are worth nothing.
Send your Holy Spirit, and pour into our hearts
that most excellent gift of love, that we may worship you now
with thankful hearts and serve you always with willing minds;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Preface
In the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
we have come together to witness the marriage of X and Y
to pray for God’s blessing on them, to share their joy and to celebrate their love.
Marriage is a gift of God in creation through which husband and wife may know the grace of God.
It is given that as man and woman grow together in love and trust,
they shall be united with one another in heart, body and mind,
as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.
The gift of marriage brings husband and wife together in the delight and tenderness of bodily union and joyful commitment to the end of their lives.
It is given as the foundation of family life in which children are [born and] nurtured and in which each member of the family, in good times and in bad,
may find strength, companionship and comfort, and grow to maturity in love.
Marriage is a way of life made holy by God, and blessed by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ with those celebrating a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Marriage is a sign of unity and loyalty which all should uphold and honour.
It enriches society and strengthens community.
No one should enter into it lightly or selfishly but reverently and responsibly in the sight of almighty God. Katy and Bruce are now to enter this way of life. They will each give their consent to the other and make solemn vows, and in token of this they will [each] give and receive a ring. We pray with them that the Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen them,
that they may fulfill God’s purposes for the whole of their earthly life together.

The Declarations

The minister says to the congregation

First, I am required to ask anyone present who knows a reason why these persons may not lawfully marry, to declare it now.

The minister says to the couple
The vows you are about to take are to be made in the presence of God,
who is judge of all and knows all the secrets of our hearts;
therefore if either of you knows a reason why you may not lawfully marry,
you must declare it now.
The minister says to the bridegroom

X , Will you take Y to be your wife?
Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her,
and, forsaking all others,
be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
He answers

I will
The minister says to the bride

Y, Will you take X to be your husband?
Will you love him, comfort him, honour and protect him,
and, forsaking all others,
be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

She answers
I will
The minister says

Who gives Y to be X’s wife?
Father says “I do “

The minister says to the congregation
Will you, the families and friends of X and Y,
support and uphold them in their marriage now and in the years to come?
All We will.

The Collect

The minister invites the people to pray, silence is kept and the minister says the Collect


God our Father, from the beginning,
you have blessed creation with abundant life.
Pour out your blessings upon X and Y,
that they may be joined in mutual love and companionship,
in holiness and commitment to each other.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. All Amen.


¶ The Marriage

The couple stand before the minister.

The Vows
The minister introduces the vows
The bride and bridegroom face each other.
The bridegroom takes the bride’s right hand in his, and says

I, X on take you, Y
to be my wife,
to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part;
according to God’s holy law.
In the presence of God I make this vow.

They loose hands.
The bride takes the bridegroom’s right hand in hers, and says

I, X take you Y
to be my husband,
to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love, and to cherish,
till death us do part;
according to God’s holy law.
In the presence of God I make this vow.

They loose hands.


The Giving of Rings
The minister receives the rings, and says

Heavenly Father, by your blessing,
let these rings be to X and Y
symbols of unending love and faithfulness,
to remind them of the vow and covenant
which they have made this day
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The bridegroom places the ring on the fourth finger of the bride’s left hand and, holding it there, says

I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage.
With my body I honour you,
all that I am I give to you,
and all that I have I share with you,
within the love of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

They loose hands and the bride places a ring on the fourth finger of the bridegroom’s left hand and, holding it there, says

I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage.
With my body I honour you,
all that I am I give to you,
and all that I have I share with you,
within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.




The Proclamation
The minister addresses the people

In the presence of God, and before this congregation,
X and Y have given their consent
and made their marriage vows to each other.
They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands
and by the giving and receiving of rings.
I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife.


The minister joins their right hands together and says
Those whom God has joined together let no one divide
The husband and wife kneel