Sam
Lapin
slapin@fuse.net
859-663-LOVE (c)
859-689-0133 (h)
Traditional Wedding Services
I encourage you to customize your service to fit your personal style. Whether you want something traditional or something unique, I will gladly work with you to design the service you want. I can officiate at a home, reception hall, park or other location.
Want to try something different?
Click Here for some ideas.
Below is the outline for a basic traditional service.
If you like, it can be customized in many ways.
OUTLINE
FOR
TRADITIONAL SERVICE
PROCESSIONAL
MUSIC
Procession of family & wedding party
MUSIC ENDS
GREETING
We are gathered here today in the sight of God and
the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's
greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love,
and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite GROOM
and BRIDE in holy matrimony.
Marriage is
a most honorable estate, created and instituted by God, signifying unto
us the union, which also exists between God and each of us; so too may
this marriage be adorned by true and abiding love.
(to
guests)You may be seated
BRIDE GIVEN AWAY BY FATHER
Who
is it that brings this woman to this man?
Father of Bride:
"Her mother and I"
Father places Bride’s hand in
Groom's hand
GROOM and BRIDE, life is given to each of us as
individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family and friends. We learn to
love by being loved. Learning
to love and living together is one of life's greatest challenges and is
the shared goal of a married life.
READING FROM CORINTHIANS
Love
endures and is kind. Love is not envious or jealous.
Love wants not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself
unseemly, seeks not its own, it is not easily provoked, and thinks no
evil. Love does not rejoice
in unrighteousness - but in the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and
endures all things. Love
never fails.
Today truly is a glorious day - as today both of you are blessed with God's greatest of all gifts - the gift of abiding love and devotion. All present here today - and those here in heart - wish both of you all the joy, happiness, and success the world has to offer.
VOWS
Would you please step up and face each other to share
your vows.
GROOM, do you take BRIDE to be your Wife?
Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking
all others and holding only unto her? (Groom: “I do")
BRIDE, do you take GROOM to be your Husband? Do you
promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others
and holding only unto him? (Bride: "I do")
[OR, WRITE OWN VOWS IF YOU PREFER]
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
May I please have the rings?
Best Man hands rings to Sam.
Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an
inward spiritual grace, signifying to all the uniting of this man and
this woman in marriage.
Sam hands Bride’s ring to Groom.
GROOM, please place the ring on BRIDE’s hand and
repeat after me:
I GROOM, take you, BRIDE to be my
Wife (REPEAT). To have and to hold, in sickness and in health
(REPEAT). For richer or for
poorer (REPEAT). And I
promise my love to you forevermore (REPEAT).
Sam hands Groom’s ring to Bride.
BRIDE, please place the ring on GROOM’s hand
repeat after me:
I BRIDE,
take you, GROOM to be my Husband (REPEAT). To have
and to hold, in sickness and in health (REPEAT). For richer or for poorer (REPEAT). And I promise my love to you forevermore (REPEAT).
UNITY CANDLE
(optional)
It is time
to light the unity candle.
BRIDE
and GROOM, the two lighted candles symbolize your separate lives,
your separate families and your separate sets of friends.
I ask that you each take one candle and that together you light
the center candle.
Music
GROOM
and BRIDE LIGHT UNITY CANDLE
GROOM
and BRIDE GREET PARENTS
Music Ends
The
individual candles represent your individual lives before today. Your
individual candles will continue to burn bright representing the gifts
God has granted each of you, and lighting the center candle represents
that your two lives are now also joined to one light, and represents the
joining together of your families and friends.
PRAYER
Please bow
your head in prayer.
Dear
heavenly Father, our hearts are filled with great happiness on GROOM
and BRIDE’s wedding day, as they come before You pledging
their hearts and lives to one another. Grant
that they may be ever true and loving, living together in such a way as
to bring joy, commitment, and effective communication into their
marriage. Temper their
hearts with kindness and understanding, rid them of all pretense of
jealousy. Help them to
remember to be each other's sweetheart, helpmate, friend, and guide, so
that together they may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely.
And with the passage of time, may the home they are creating
today truly be a place of love and harmony, where your spirit is ever
present.
Bless this union we pray, and walk beside BRIDE and GROOM
throughout all their lives together.
We ask these things in your name; AMEN
PRONOUNCEMENT AS HUSBAND & WIFE
BRIDE and GROOM, in so much as the two of you have
agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each
other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your
hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife.
Congratulations, you may kiss.
BRIDE and GROOM kiss.
BRIDE and GROOM turn
to face the guests.
I present to
you Mr. and Mrs. GROOM and BRIDE