Use this as written, or cut and rearrange sections to fit your wedding.
This is a standard traditional ceremony. It runs about 20 to 25 minutes depending on how many readings you include. Everything below is written to be spoken aloud.
Music begins. The officiant takes their place. The groom and groomsmen enter. Bridesmaids walk. The bride enters with her escort.
Officiant: Please stand. We welcome [Bride] as she is presented in marriage to [Groom].
Officiant: Dear family and friends, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of [Bride] and [Groom]. Marriage is a commitment two people make in front of the people who matter to them. Today they make that commitment publicly.
Officiant: Who presents this woman to be married to this man?
Escort: I do. (Or: Her mother and I do.)
A friend or family member reads a passage. Common choices are 1 Corinthians 13, a poem, or a short letter written for the couple.
Officiant: [Groom], do you take [Bride] to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
Groom: I do.
Officiant: [Bride], do you take [Groom] to be your lawfully wedded husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?
Bride: I do.
Officiant: Please join hands and repeat after me.
Groom: I, [Groom], take you, [Bride], to be my wife. I promise to love you without reservation, to honor and cherish you, in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.
Bride: I, [Bride], take you, [Groom], to be my husband. I promise to love you without reservation, to honor and cherish you, in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.
Officiant: May I have the rings?
[Groom], place the ring on [Bride]'s finger and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed.
[Bride], place the ring on [Groom]'s finger and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed.
Officiant: These rings are a circle without beginning or end, the same shape as the promise you made today.
Options include a unity candle, sand blending, rope tying, or a wine box. Skip this section entirely if you don't want one.
Officiant: The lighting of these candles marks two lives joined into one household. The individual flames stay lit. They are not replaced, only joined.
Officiant: By the power vested in me by the State of [Your State], I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss.
Officiant: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. [Last Name].
Music plays. The couple exits, followed by the wedding party.
Read the whole script out loud before the wedding. Sentences that look fine on a page sometimes trip you up when spoken. Anything you stumble over twice should be rewritten.
If you are using a microphone, pause after each sentence. Guests laugh and react, and it takes a second for the room to settle.
Send me your date and a few details. I'll draft a version that fits.
Contact Officiant Xavier