Gathering Words Rev Cheryl BRIDE and GROOM You come here today and stand together with

h the waters of this great Ocean for your backdrop as you commit your lives, love and life journeys to one another to live as husband and wife. A fitting and symbolic site for your union. Let the expansiveness of this ocean with all her great energy and life-giving source give unto the two of you a mindfulness and insight into how great your love is. No matter the transformation its shores may make, with ever changing tides, ebbing and flowing, calm or great swells, she is still the Ocean. She brings nourishment and cleansing, ever bountiful and plenty. Whether the sky brings deep blue, or stormy-gray reflections to her waters, she remains constant and true, just as your love for one another. OPENING BLESSING/MOMENT OF SILENCE: At this time, may we bow our heads in a moment of silence as we remember and honor those who are not here with us in physical body yet we know they join us in spirit as their love shines upon us. We recognize them as integral parts of the foundation which make BRIDE and GROOM the people they are today. (Moment of Silence) Amen MESSAGE AND WORDS OF INTENT We come together not to mark the start of a relationship, but to recognize a bond which already exists. This marriage is one expression of

the many varieties of love you shall come to know. Though expressions of love are infinite, today it represents to all who stand in witness, your life long commitment to each other and those whose spirits may bless you path. Hereafter exists your unbreakable and ever growing bond as life partners, life adventurers, love care-takers and co-creators of the marriage you most desire. It is fitting to speak briefly about love. We discover the truest bounds of our quest when we realize love in all its magnitudes. Love, like the ocean is an eternal force of life. Love is the force that allows us to face fear and uncertainty with courage. It is the understanding that we are who we are now because of allowing love to abide. Know that each day is the first day of the rest of your lives and you alone choose how to exist on this path before you. So, be the great explorers of yourselves knowing and supporting one another through love, fun and by allowing greatness in your lives. Always shine; as, You are the true creators of your future. As you navigate with your internal compasses which have guided you here today, let your bearings be charted by the love you have for each other, not just at this moment, but for all the days ahead. Cherish the expectations and dreams that you bring here today. For your love, like the ocean is mighty, your compass is seated in your hearts and always true. Devotion, joy, and love can grow as you nurture them together. Stand fast in your confidence of believing in your shared future just as strongly as

you believe in yourselves and in each other today. In this spirit, you can create a partnership that will strengthen and sustain you all the days of your lives. QUESTION OF INTENT GROOM, recite or repeat after me; BRIDE, as your husband, I promise to care for you, trust your love, be responsive to your needs, communicate my feelings, and behave in a way that shows my love and respect. I say these things because I love you and want to live out the days of my life with you. BRIDE, recite or repeat after me; GROOM, as your wife, I promise to care for you, trust your love, be responsive to your needs, communicate my feelings, and behave in a way that shows my love and respect. I say these things because I love you and want to live out the days of my life with you. PROMISE FROM WITNESSES Being here represents your significant roles in the lives, love and support of BRIDE and GROOM. Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage that their important roles as husband and wife and to those blessed spirits which may come to bless their lives? [Guests reply, We will.]

THE VOWS I, GROOM, take you BRIDE, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, so, I give you my life to keep. So help me God. I, BRIDE, take you GROOM, to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, so, I give you my life to keep. So help me God. THE RINGS From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love. An unbroken and never ending circle symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you have made today. Will each of you repeat after me?

I GROOM give to you BRIDE, this ring, as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you. With this ring, I thee wed. I, BRIDE, give to you GROOM, this ring, as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you. With this ring, I thee wed. SAND CEREMONY The Sand Ceremony is representative of the Unity Ceremony. Today this couple not only blend their lives as one but, blend their families. The sands are the intricate parts of their lives which now are shared, loved, respected, honored and lived as family. [Optional READING of your choice] [Love is patient and kind; Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, Love Never Ends] REFLECTION This is a moment of celebration. Let it also be a moment of dedication. Every marriage needs the love, nurture, and support of a network of friends and family. On this wedding day, I ask you not

only to be friends of GROOM or BRIDE, but friends of GROOM and BRIDE, together, friends of the relationship. For in your support of this union of love, you also give love to your own unions and selves. [I place mine on atop to bless] May the love you have found grow in meaning and strength until its beauty is shown in a common devotion to all that is compassionate and lifegiving. May the flow of your love help brighten the fate of the earth. May the source of all love touch, bless and grace our lives with divine wisdom, choice and courage. Amen DECLARATION / Pronouncement Before all of you here, GROOM and BRIDE have promised each other their love and have given each other rings to wear as a sign of their deep commitment to one another and this marriage. They have chosen for themselves to walk their chosen paths as husband and wife. Betrothed only to one another and honoring their marriage before all others in the eyes of God, family and community. Therefore by the laws of this state, I now declare that you are husband and wife. You may seal this ceremony with a kiss PRESENTATION: Family and friends, it is my pleasure to present to you

Mr. and Mrs. Newlyweds

BRIDE and GROOM June 20 2004