We have all come here today, not only to join two people together, but also to recognize that such a joining has already taken place.

On this very special occasion, we give thanks for all the rich experiences of life which has brought ____________ and _____________ to this high point in their lives. We are grateful for the values instilled in them from those who have loved and nurtured them and pointed them along life’s ways. We are grateful for the values they have found by their own strivings. Within them is a great love for each other and the resources to use that love in creating a home, which shall endure. May their relationship grow and mature, with each passing year.

A marriage is the most fragile of relationships, but also the strongest. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and downs, its trials and triumphs. Remember that this ceremony is only a symbol, a celebration, a public recognition of what already exists in your hearts for each other. This is your marriage and not something created by the state or church--it is yours to define, yours to make real, yours to live.

Please Join Hands and Face one Another...

CONSENT:

____________, will you take this woman whose hand you now hold, choosing her alone to be your wife? Will you love her and comfort her with kindness, understanding and respect throughout your lives?

(I Will)

____________, will you take this man whose hand you now hold, choosing him alone to be your husband? Will you love him and comfort him with kindness, understanding and respect throughout your lives?

(I Will)

VOWS:

Please repeat after me:

I ___________, take you ___________, my best friend, to be my wife. I promise to love, honor and respect you from this day forward, through our strengths and weaknesses, good times and hardships, with patience and understanding, now and forever.

I ___________, take you ___________, my best friend, to be my husband. I promise to love, honor and respect you from this day forward, through our strengths and weaknesses, good times and hardships, with patience and understanding, now and forever.

RING PASSAGES:

The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward bond that unites the two of you as one. As often as you see these rings, you will be reminded of this moment, and the love you have promised one another.

RING EXCHANGE:

Please place the ring on her/his finger and repeat after me.

Groom says: I give you this ring, as a symbol of all that we are together with my constant love, honor, and friendship.

Bride says: I give you this ring, as a symbol of all that we are together with my constant love, honor, and friendship.

CLOSING

May the beauty of this day remain in your marriage and in your home. May there be warmth and gentleness, love and compassion, for all the days that lie ahead. You are two individuals who enrich your existence by having a single life that you will share together.

There is no limit to the beautiful facets that your relationship will foster, for there awaits both of you all the joys of growing together in a life which you will share for years to come.

As witnessed before all of your family and friends here today, ____________ and ____________ have consented to take each other in lawful wedlock, having given and pledged their faithfulness each to the other, and having declared the same by exchanging rings, and joining hands. Now by the virtue of the authority vested in me under laws of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, I hereby pronounce them husband and wife.

________________, you may now kiss your Bride.