Dana and Patrick's -St. Patrick's Day Wedding ~ Includes Handfasting
The greeting:
Officiant: I address the couple & the guests:
We gather here today, in the presence of God and friends to join Patrick and Dana in matrimony. We celebrate the coming together in love of this woman and this man. We remember that marriage is a time when growing love is made public, when two people share mutual promises before God and before us. We join in our support of them as they offer themselves to each other. We celebrate their joy, their love and their expectations.
Patrick and Dana would like to thank each one of you for sharing this happiest of days with them. They would also like to acknowledge their friends and family members who were unable to join us, but are here with us in spirit this evening as we celebrate this joyous occasion.
Invocation (this is the beginning prayer to “invoke” or ask god to be present and bless this service)
Officiant: Let us pray
God, for the joy of this occasion we thank you. For the meaning of this wedding day we thank you. For this important moment in an ever growing relationship we thank you. For your presence here and now and for your presence at all times, we thank you.
Charge to Dana and Patrick (the charge is addressed to the Bride and Groom. It is a preparation for the vows you are about to take)
Officiant:
Patrick and Dana, the covenant which you are about to make with each other is meant to be a beautiful and sacred expression of your love for each other. As you pledge your vows to each other, and as you commit your lives to each other, we ask that you do so in all seriousness, and yet with a deep sense of joy, with deep conviction that you are committing yourselves to a dynamic growing relationship of trust, mutual support and caring love.
Betrothal/Declaration of intent (this is when you declare your action or intent to marry is a matter of free will
Officiant:
To Patrick: Do you Patrick take Dana to be your wife, to live with her, respect her, and love her as God intends with the promise of faithfulness, tenderness, and helpfulness, as long as you both shall live?
Patrick Responds: I do
Officiant:
To Dana: Do you Dana take Patrick to be your husband, to live with him, respect him, and love him as God intends with the promise of faithfulness, tenderness, and helpfulness as long as you both shall live?
Dana Responds: I do.
Officiant: I address the couple & the guests:
We gather here today, in the presence of God and friends to join Patrick and Dana in matrimony. We celebrate the coming together in love of this woman and this man. We remember that marriage is a time when growing love is made public, when two people share mutual promises before God and before us. We join in our support of them as they offer themselves to each other. We celebrate their joy, their love and their expectations.
Patrick and Dana would like to thank each one of you for sharing this happiest of days with them. They would also like to acknowledge their friends and family members who were unable to join us, but are here with us in spirit this evening as we celebrate this joyous occasion.
Invocation (this is the beginning prayer to “invoke” or ask god to be present and bless this service)
Officiant: Let us pray
God, for the joy of this occasion we thank you. For the meaning of this wedding day we thank you. For this important moment in an ever growing relationship we thank you. For your presence here and now and for your presence at all times, we thank you.
Charge to Dana and Patrick (the charge is addressed to the Bride and Groom. It is a preparation for the vows you are about to take)
Officiant:
Patrick and Dana, the covenant which you are about to make with each other is meant to be a beautiful and sacred expression of your love for each other. As you pledge your vows to each other, and as you commit your lives to each other, we ask that you do so in all seriousness, and yet with a deep sense of joy, with deep conviction that you are committing yourselves to a dynamic growing relationship of trust, mutual support and caring love.
Betrothal/Declaration of intent (this is when you declare your action or intent to marry is a matter of free will
Officiant:
To Patrick: Do you Patrick take Dana to be your wife, to live with her, respect her, and love her as God intends with the promise of faithfulness, tenderness, and helpfulness, as long as you both shall live?
Patrick Responds: I do
Officiant:
To Dana: Do you Dana take Patrick to be your husband, to live with him, respect him, and love him as God intends with the promise of faithfulness, tenderness, and helpfulness as long as you both shall live?
Dana Responds: I do.
Vows:
Officiant:
Now that you have declared your intentions, I invite you to share your vows with one another.
Officiant: Patrick, repeat to Dana, after me, these words:
Dana, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded wife,
(Patrick says) Dana, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded wife,
To have and to hold from this day forward,
(Patrick says) to have and to hold from this day forward,
For better, for worse,
(Patrick says) for better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
(Patrick says) for richer, for poorer,
In sickness and in health,
(Patrick says) in sickness and in health,
To love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
(Patrick says) to love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
Officiant: Dana, repeat to Patrick, after me, these words:
Patrick, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded Husband,
(Dana says) Patrick, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded husband,
To have and to hold from this day forward,
(Dana says) to have and to hold from this day forward,
For better, for worse,
(Dana says) for better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
(Dana says) for richer, for poorer,
In sickness and in health,
(Dana says) in sickness and in health,
To love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
(Dana says) to love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
Exchange of rings:
Officiant: “May we now have the rings”
At this point the best man will give the rings to the Officiant.
Officiant:
Bless these rings. Grant that Patrick and Dana may wear them with deep faith in each other. May they always live together in peace, love and abiding joy. Amen
These rings have no beginning and no end. They set forth the eternal nature of real love. They will represent the love and trust that Patrick and Dana promise to each other this day.
To Patrick: Patrick will you take this ring and place it upon Dana’s finger, and as you do, repeat to her, after me, these words:
I give you this ring,
(Patrick says) I give you this ring,
As I give you myself,
(Patrick says) as I give you myself,
With love and affection.
(Patrick says) with love and affection.
Wear it in peace always
(Patrick says) Wear it in peace always.
To Dana: Dana will you take this ring and place it upon Patrick’s finger, and as you do, repeat to him, after me, these words:
I give you this ring,
(Dana says) I give you this ring,
As I give you myself,
(Dana says) as I give you myself,
With love and affection.
(Dana says) with love and affection.
Wear it in peace always.
(Dana says) Wear it in peace always.
Officiant:
Now that you have declared your intentions, I invite you to share your vows with one another.
Officiant: Patrick, repeat to Dana, after me, these words:
Dana, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded wife,
(Patrick says) Dana, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded wife,
To have and to hold from this day forward,
(Patrick says) to have and to hold from this day forward,
For better, for worse,
(Patrick says) for better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
(Patrick says) for richer, for poorer,
In sickness and in health,
(Patrick says) in sickness and in health,
To love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
(Patrick says) to love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
Officiant: Dana, repeat to Patrick, after me, these words:
Patrick, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded Husband,
(Dana says) Patrick, I have chosen you alone from all the world to be my wedded husband,
To have and to hold from this day forward,
(Dana says) to have and to hold from this day forward,
For better, for worse,
(Dana says) for better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
(Dana says) for richer, for poorer,
In sickness and in health,
(Dana says) in sickness and in health,
To love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
(Dana says) to love and to cherish 'til death do us part.
Exchange of rings:
Officiant: “May we now have the rings”
At this point the best man will give the rings to the Officiant.
Officiant:
Bless these rings. Grant that Patrick and Dana may wear them with deep faith in each other. May they always live together in peace, love and abiding joy. Amen
These rings have no beginning and no end. They set forth the eternal nature of real love. They will represent the love and trust that Patrick and Dana promise to each other this day.
To Patrick: Patrick will you take this ring and place it upon Dana’s finger, and as you do, repeat to her, after me, these words:
I give you this ring,
(Patrick says) I give you this ring,
As I give you myself,
(Patrick says) as I give you myself,
With love and affection.
(Patrick says) with love and affection.
Wear it in peace always
(Patrick says) Wear it in peace always.
To Dana: Dana will you take this ring and place it upon Patrick’s finger, and as you do, repeat to him, after me, these words:
I give you this ring,
(Dana says) I give you this ring,
As I give you myself,
(Dana says) as I give you myself,
With love and affection.
(Dana says) with love and affection.
Wear it in peace always.
(Dana says) Wear it in peace always.
Prayer: Prayer of blessing upon your new marriage
Officiant: Let us say a prayer of blessing upon this marriage
Most gracious God, thou hast kindled in these hearts the fire of a divine love. Wilt thou keep it aflame upon the alter of their souls. Wilt thou make the inward aspirations of their hearts the outward reality of their home. Wilt thou make that home a place of light and truth, a place of beauty, a place of joy and happiness all the days of their lives. Amen.
Handfasting ceremony:
Officiant:
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, Patrick and Dana have chosen to conclude their ceremony with a traditional handfasting. This is a symbolic binding of the hands that inspired the terms "Bonds of Holy Matrimony" and to "Tie the knot" Throughout history in many different ways and in many different parts of the world, the hands of the bride and groom were bound as a sign of their commitment to one another. In many times rings were only for the very rich, while love knows no such bound. The cords are not permanent but perishable as a reminder that all things of the material eventually return to the earth, unlike the bond and the connection that is love, which is eternal.
Please join hands (Patrick and Dana will hold hands in the figure 8 position-the sign of infinity. Officiant will tie the cord around their hands. As couple stands with hands bound, officiant reads blessing)
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home.
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
May your hands be forever clasped in friendship and your hearts joined together in love.
Pronouncement:
Officiant:
Inasmuch as you Patrick and you Dana have thus consented in holy matrimony and have witnessed the same before God and these friends, by virtue of the authority vested in me as an Officiant and the laws of this state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.
You may kiss the Bride
Officiant will remove the cord
Officiant:
The knots of this binding are not formed by these chords but instead by your vows. Either of you may drop the chords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making or breaking of this union.
Officiant will prompt maid of honor to hand the bride her bouquet. Bride and groom will face their guests.
Officiant:
It is with great honor I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Welsh!
Officiant: Let us say a prayer of blessing upon this marriage
Most gracious God, thou hast kindled in these hearts the fire of a divine love. Wilt thou keep it aflame upon the alter of their souls. Wilt thou make the inward aspirations of their hearts the outward reality of their home. Wilt thou make that home a place of light and truth, a place of beauty, a place of joy and happiness all the days of their lives. Amen.
Handfasting ceremony:
Officiant:
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, Patrick and Dana have chosen to conclude their ceremony with a traditional handfasting. This is a symbolic binding of the hands that inspired the terms "Bonds of Holy Matrimony" and to "Tie the knot" Throughout history in many different ways and in many different parts of the world, the hands of the bride and groom were bound as a sign of their commitment to one another. In many times rings were only for the very rich, while love knows no such bound. The cords are not permanent but perishable as a reminder that all things of the material eventually return to the earth, unlike the bond and the connection that is love, which is eternal.
Please join hands (Patrick and Dana will hold hands in the figure 8 position-the sign of infinity. Officiant will tie the cord around their hands. As couple stands with hands bound, officiant reads blessing)
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home.
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
May your hands be forever clasped in friendship and your hearts joined together in love.
Pronouncement:
Officiant:
Inasmuch as you Patrick and you Dana have thus consented in holy matrimony and have witnessed the same before God and these friends, by virtue of the authority vested in me as an Officiant and the laws of this state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.
You may kiss the Bride
Officiant will remove the cord
Officiant:
The knots of this binding are not formed by these chords but instead by your vows. Either of you may drop the chords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making or breaking of this union.
Officiant will prompt maid of honor to hand the bride her bouquet. Bride and groom will face their guests.
Officiant:
It is with great honor I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Welsh!
