Ketubah signing (Rabbi)
Greeting/Convocation: (Rev. Deb)
Welcome!
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God and these
witnesses, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. We,
their families and friends, form a community of love, that together we may
support and encourage them with our abundance of prayers and blessings
on this day and for all of their lives.
Intro, Welcome and Chuppah (Rabbi)
Invocation: (Rev. Deb)
Dear Lord,
We ask you to shine your blessings upon Bride and Groom as they stand
here before you with joined hands and open hearts, to begin their life
together in marriage. Grant them your grace and love, oh Lord, that they
may always find compassion, love, happiness and understanding for each
other and for all those in the world. May your blessing of love be the gift
that lifts their union to a place of sacredness on this day and for all their
days together.
(Optional) We would also like to honor all those that could not be here with
us today in body, but we know that they are here in spirit with us, to shower
their blessings upon Bride and Groom today and for all of their days
together.
Or
(Catholic invocation)
Almighty God, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery. Hear
our prayers for Bride and Groom, who have come here today to be united
in marriage. With Faith in you and in each other, they pledge their love
today. May their lives bear witness to the reality of that love.
Passing of the sign of peace.
(optional) We can also put this after the address or later in the ceremony
In the spirit of love and unity, the bride and groom have asked that we pass
the sign of peace. For those of you not familiar with this ritual, simply offer
a handshake to you neighbor, with the words “peace be with you.” If you
feel so inspired, a hug or a kiss would be most appropriate as well!
1st Reading:
(We can add readings here. You can include someone close to you here to do the readings.)
Serman/Address (Rabbi)
Address: (Rev. Deb)
“For it is in loving, as well as in being loved, that we become most truly
ourselves. No matter what we do, say, accomplish, or become, it is our
capacity to love that ultimately defines us. In the end, nothing we do or say
in this lifetime will matter as much as the way we have loved one another.”
We come here today in a celebration and expression of love! Love is
perhaps the greatest gift that God has given us. It is the glue that binds us
to each other, and opens our hearts to one another. Love is our greatest
teacher, for through love we can learn the inner working of the heart,
through love we learn the secrets of our souls and through love we come to
know ourselves on a deeper level. Love helps us grow, and allow us to
move forward in this life with security, safety, and nurturing.
Bride and Groom have found the gift of love in each other, they have found
the joy, comfort, and peace that comes from being with that special person
whom you know is your best friend, your equal, your partner. They are
here today to pledged their love to each other for all of their days, and they
come before all of you who are their families and friends; you who hold
their memories, their history, their pasts, their present, and now again they
ask you to share and bare witness to a new chapter of their lives, as they
share with you this gift of love they have found and the brilliant future that it
holds for them. All of you who Bride and Groom call family play and
important role in their lives not just today but everyday and they would like
to send out their heartfelt thanks to all of you who are their families and
friends for their continued love, support, and encouragement throughout
their lives.
Bride and Groom share a love that for each of them embodies many of the
same traits that they endeared in other. Their kindness and consideration
for their partner, their attentiveness to each others needs, their admiration
for each others strength and independence, the ease with which they can
communicate, the beautiful way they compliment each other in every way
and the devotion and love that they share for Anthony.
Together they are best friends, and so alike in many ways, In Yiddish,
there’s a word “bershert” which means “it is meant to be.” Bride and
Groom are each others “bershert” they are a perfectly right fit for each
other, they are meant to be! They share generous and caring spirits, a
strong sense of family values, a mutual respect, love and commitment to
each other that is immeasurable and of course equally important, their
shared sense of humor and the ability to always make each other laugh.
Bride and Groom’s love has grown into a relationship that embraces all the
values that create a strong and lasting Marriage.
(Optional) In the Celtic tradition there is a beautiful understanding of love
and friendship, (similiar to the yiddish Bershert) which I believe explains
Bride and Groom’s deep connection. There is an old Gaelic term called
Anam Cara, Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and Cara is the word for
friend. So Anam Cara means “soul Friend.” With the person who is your
Anam Cara, you could share your innermost self, your mind and your
heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you
had an anam Cara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality and
category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of
your soul.” This friendship, this bond had no limitations it could not be
broken by chance, no interval of time or space can severe or destroy it and
what even death itself cannot part. In this love you are understood as you
are without mask or pretension, you can be as you really are. Love allows
understanding, and when you are understood, you feel free to release your
self into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul. Where you are
understood you are home. This love and friendship that Bride and Groom
have is the gift of a true Anam Cara, they are soul friends. And they come
before you today to share with you the sweetness of this love and joy that
they have found in each other.
Bride and Groom have found the gift of love in each other. A love that has
grown over the years embracing all the joys and challenges that life often
creates, and in each of those moments, being together they were able to
bring out the best in each other. They come here at this moment to share
with you the celebration, joy, and happiness that their relationship is and to
take that relationship to a deeper level of commitment, a symbol of their
dedication to each other, which is the joining of their loving spirits in
marriage.
2nd Reading:
(Here we can put in unity candle, or sand ceremony, and Presentation of flowers for the parents)
Consecration: (Rev. Deb)
Marriage is an honorable estate, instituted in antiquity and revered since all
time as the noblest and most tender of human relationships. It is therefore
not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently and consciously. Into
this holy estate these two persons come now to be joined.
I ask you both, as you stand in the presence of your family and friends, to
remember that love, loyalty and compassion alone will avail as the
foundation of a happy and enduring home. No other human ties are more
tender, no other vows more sacred than those that you will now assume. If
these sacred vows are honored and kept close to your hearts, and you
endeavor to always live according to the best that is within each of you,
your life together will be full of joy, peace and love.
Consent/Intent: (Rev. Deb)
In the presence of God, family and friends, I ask you to state your
intentions.
Bride and Groom, have you come here freely and without reservation to
give yourselves to each other in marriage?
Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your
lives?
Bride and Groom respond: I will.
Vows:
At this time Brideand Groom Edward will state their vows.
(we can do the vows as a repeat after also)
Traditional Vow:
Do you, Groom, take Bride to be your wife. Do you promise to be true to
her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Will you love her
and honor her all the days of your life?
Do you Bride, take Groom to be your husband. Do you promise to be true
to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Will you love
her and honor her all the days of your life.
or
Contemporary vows:
Do you Groom, take Bride to be your wife, your friend, your love and your
lifelong companion: to share your life with her. To build your dreams
together; to support her during times of trouble, and to rejoice with her in
times of happiness. Do you promise to honor her, respect her and love her
from this day forward and for all the days of your life.
Groom: I do. Or I will
Repeat for Bride
Blessing of the Rings: (Rev. Deb)
As God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is
nowhere, so let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of
your endless love.
Lord, Bless and consecrate Bride and Groom in their love for each other.
May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other and always remind
them of their love.
Exchange of Rings (Rabbi)
Wine Ceremony (Rabbi)
The Seva Brachot (Seven Blessings)
Bride & Groom drink wine.
Pronouncement: (Rev. Deb)
Because, Groom and Bride, you have showered our hearts with expressions of your love, and promised each other the joy of all your days, it gives me great honor and pleasure to now pronounce you husband and wife.
The Kiss: kiss twice
You may now begin your life together with a kiss
Priestly Blessing and Breaking of the glass explaination (Rabbi)
Breaking of the glass Mazal Tov!!