Family and friends, we welcome you today to witness the marriage of Phillip and Jennifer. You have shared and contributed to their lives in the past, and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, Jennifer and Phillip ask you to share in their future.

Marriage is a promise, made in the hearts of two people who love each other, which takes a lifetime to fulfill. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's lover, teacher, listener, critic, and best friend. A wedding unites not only two people, but two families. Phillip's family, do you give Phillip into the loving, caring embrace of Jennifer's family, and accept her into yours? (Please answer 'we do'). Jennifer's family, do you give Jennifer into the comfort and security of Phillip's family and accept her into yours? (Please answer 'we do"

The beliefs and thoughts about love which motivate these two people are perhaps best expressed 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 same music.
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."

It is into this state that Jennifer and Phillip wish to enter.

[to Jennifer]
Do you Jennifer, knowing this man's love for you and returning it, realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses and helping him to overcome them, take Phillip to be your lawfully wedded husband?

[Jennifer]
I do.
[Dr. Reid-Gold]
Place the ring on his finger.

[to Phillip]
Do you Phillip, knowing this woman's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning form them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take Jennifer to be your lawfully wedded wife?

[Phillip]
I do.

Jennifer and Phillip, may you pledge to each other to be loving friends and partners in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate one another; to respect and cherish each other's uniqueness, and to support, comfort, and strengthen each other through life's joys and sorrows. May you promise to share hopes, thoughts, and dreams as you build your lives together. May your lives be ever intertwined, your love keeping you together. May you build a home that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honour for others and each other. May your home be forever filled with peace, happiness, and love.

A reading from Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[2] but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Jennifer and Phillip, please face each other and hold hands.

Jennifer, as you look at Phillip, repeat these words after me:

[to Jennifer]

I, Jennifer, take you, Phillip, to be my husband,
secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend,
my faithful partner in life, and my one true love.
On this special day, I affirm to you in the presence of these witnesses
my pledge to stay by your side as your loving wife
in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,
as well as through the good times and the bad.
I promise to love you without reservation,
comfort you in times of distress,
encourage you to achieve all of your goals,
laugh with you and cry with you,
grow with you in mind and spirit,
always be open and honest with you,
and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

Phillip, as you look at Jennifer, repeat these words after me:

[to Phillip]

I, Phillip, take you, Jennifer, to be my wife,
knowing in my heart that you will be my constant friend,
my faithful partner in life, and my one true love.
On this special day, I affirm to you in the presence of these witnesses
my pledge to stay by your side as your loving husband
in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,
as well as through the good times and the bad.
I promise to love you without reservation,
honor and respect you,
protect you from harm,
comfort you in times of distress,
grow with you in mind and spirit,
always be open and honest with you,
and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

The ring is a symbol of unity into which your two lives are now joined in an unbroken circle; in which, wherever you go, you will return to one another.
[Jennifer] Phillip, I offer this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion. Let it always be a reminder of my vows to you.
[Phillip] Jennifer I offer this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion. Let it always be a reminder of my vows to you.

Blessing of the Apaches
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years, May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficult and fear assail your relationship - as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

And now, for as much as you have made your vows, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving your rings, I pronounce that you are husband and wife. Phillip, Jennifer, you may seal your union with a kiss.