Handfasting and Wedding
This ceremony was written for a Pagan couple who were handfasted as the Botanical Gardens in Lackawanna, NY. The wedding was made official by a private ceremony a couple days later at their reception.
Officiant: Who brings this woman to be handfasted to this man?
Mother of the Bride: I do.
Officiant: Ladies and gentlemen. Friends and family. We are gathered here in the beauty and bounty of Nature to celebrate and bear witness to the handfasting of Bride and Groom.
At this time, we would like to sanctify this space in preparation for the ceremony.
(a physical Circle is laid out in rose petals by the Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid as I cast the Circle. The quarter animals were chosen by myself and the couple)
I call upon the East
Breath of Life
And creatures of the Air
The Butterfly and the Crane
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the South
Passion and Creativity
And creatures of the Flame
The Salamander and the Horse
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the West
Mystery and Emotion
And creatures of the Water
The Koi and the Turtle
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the North
Stability and Growth
And creatures of the Earth
The Bear and the Wolf
Be with us in this sacred rite
So mote it be.
Friends and family. Loved ones gathered here to share in the joy and love of Bride and Groom; I charge each of you, as witnesses to these holy rite, to love, support, and honor Bride and Groom as they build a life together and their love grows.
Groom, do you come here of your own free will, to be handfasted to Bride? To love and support her, through trials and tribulations? Through joys and sorrows.
Groom: I do.
Officiant: Bride, do you come here of your own free will, to be handfasted to Groom? To love and support him, through trials and tribulations? Through joys and sorrows.
Bride: I do.
Officiant: Please join hands.
(with fan)
Blessed be by the element of Air. Communication and Honesty. Promise to be truthful to one another and listen to each others joys and sorrows.
(with sword, touch outside shoulders and lay across their hands)
Blessed be by the element of Fire. Creativity, Love, and Passion. Rejoice is these aspects of each other, for your Spirits are One.
(asperge with water and bundle of herbs)
Blessed Be with the element of Water. Emotion and Understanding. Be friends to one another. Love one another through the successes and failures.
(place crystal in their hands)
Blessed be by the element of Earth. Stability, Solidity, and Growth. Be a rock of strength for each other. To hold each other up when the other’s strength may fail so that you may grow together.
By the four elements, Blessed Be.
May I have the rings? The ring is s symbol. One of Eternity. One of Love. One of Time—ever-flowing. The ring is a continuous circle. It goes on and one forever, just as the love of Bride and Groom shall. It represents the Wheel of Time. All things have their season. When Groom and Bride first fell in love, it was spring time. Love was fresh and new, blossoming. Now they are in the summer of love. Tempered by the heat of their love, they have come together to make vows upon that love. To remain faithful to each other. The years will pass and they will one day reach the autumn of their love, when the fruits of the labors emerge and the bounty they will harvest will be immeasurable except by love. One day too, shall they reach the winter of love. The calm peacefulness of old age. Knowing that is was love that brought them together and it is love that will see them through to the next spring of life.
(Bride and Groom exchange vows and rings)
(tie cord on hands)
Officiant: Bride and Groom have chosen to solemnize their vows with a handfasting. Handfasting is a custom that harkens back to ancient days. It was used sometimes as an engagement or trial marriage, where the couple would bind their hands together in ceremony and promise to remain faithful to each other for a year and a day. At the end of which time, they could walk away, no regrets or they could solemnize their vows with an official wedding.
Today, we use it as this:
A promise to love one another for a year and a day. To bind the couple hand to hand. To remember to always lend a helping hand to one another. To pick the other up when they have stumbled and fallen. To always have these hands open to embrace one another in joy and sorrow. And this cord, through frayed and worn, is a symbol that nothing is life is perfect. Even love is not perfect, it is loving all imperfections.
Bride and Groom, do you promise to love one another, to help one another, to embrace and hold one another, and love all imperfections?
Bride and Groom: I do.
Officiant: *May your paths be smooth
And the weather be fair
May your hearts will with joy
And never a care
May your friends be many
And the good times last
And may you look fondly
Upon the past
May life be kind
And love be true
May the Lord and Lady’s blessings
Shine upon you*
By the power vested in me by all that is Divine and Sacred;
By the Love and Light that surrounds and binds us all;
I now pronounce you handfasted.
(kiss)
(hand brooms to Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid to sweep up rose petals as Circle is opened)
Creatures of the North and Earth…
Creatures of the West and Water…
Creatures of the South and Fire…
Creatures of the East and Air…
Thank you for guarding us in these sacred rites. Hail and Farewell.
So mote it be.
(wedding party exits)
Ladies and gentlemen, the happy couple requests your presence in the back room for a toast.
***Two days later at their reception, the wedding was legalized with their mothers as witnesses
Officiant: Groom, do you take Bride to be your lawfully wedded wife? To honor and cherish her for as long as love shall last?
Groom: I do.
Officiant: Bride, do you take Groom to be your lawfully wedded husband? To honor and cherish him for as long as love shall last?
Bride: I do.
Officiant: By the power vested in me, by the State of New York, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Groom.
*…* This is an original, published poem of mine entitled “Annie’s Blessing”. It has a variation for the ending (“May many great blessings / Shine upon you”) that I have used in the case of the ceremony being a secular or non-Pagan one. Feel free to use it, but please make sure that I, Rev. Rachael Wright, am credited for it.
Officiant: Who brings this woman to be handfasted to this man?
Mother of the Bride: I do.
Officiant: Ladies and gentlemen. Friends and family. We are gathered here in the beauty and bounty of Nature to celebrate and bear witness to the handfasting of Bride and Groom.
At this time, we would like to sanctify this space in preparation for the ceremony.
(a physical Circle is laid out in rose petals by the Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid as I cast the Circle. The quarter animals were chosen by myself and the couple)
I call upon the East
Breath of Life
And creatures of the Air
The Butterfly and the Crane
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the South
Passion and Creativity
And creatures of the Flame
The Salamander and the Horse
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the West
Mystery and Emotion
And creatures of the Water
The Koi and the Turtle
Be with us in this sacred rite
I call upon the North
Stability and Growth
And creatures of the Earth
The Bear and the Wolf
Be with us in this sacred rite
So mote it be.
Friends and family. Loved ones gathered here to share in the joy and love of Bride and Groom; I charge each of you, as witnesses to these holy rite, to love, support, and honor Bride and Groom as they build a life together and their love grows.
Groom, do you come here of your own free will, to be handfasted to Bride? To love and support her, through trials and tribulations? Through joys and sorrows.
Groom: I do.
Officiant: Bride, do you come here of your own free will, to be handfasted to Groom? To love and support him, through trials and tribulations? Through joys and sorrows.
Bride: I do.
Officiant: Please join hands.
(with fan)
Blessed be by the element of Air. Communication and Honesty. Promise to be truthful to one another and listen to each others joys and sorrows.
(with sword, touch outside shoulders and lay across their hands)
Blessed be by the element of Fire. Creativity, Love, and Passion. Rejoice is these aspects of each other, for your Spirits are One.
(asperge with water and bundle of herbs)
Blessed Be with the element of Water. Emotion and Understanding. Be friends to one another. Love one another through the successes and failures.
(place crystal in their hands)
Blessed be by the element of Earth. Stability, Solidity, and Growth. Be a rock of strength for each other. To hold each other up when the other’s strength may fail so that you may grow together.
By the four elements, Blessed Be.
May I have the rings? The ring is s symbol. One of Eternity. One of Love. One of Time—ever-flowing. The ring is a continuous circle. It goes on and one forever, just as the love of Bride and Groom shall. It represents the Wheel of Time. All things have their season. When Groom and Bride first fell in love, it was spring time. Love was fresh and new, blossoming. Now they are in the summer of love. Tempered by the heat of their love, they have come together to make vows upon that love. To remain faithful to each other. The years will pass and they will one day reach the autumn of their love, when the fruits of the labors emerge and the bounty they will harvest will be immeasurable except by love. One day too, shall they reach the winter of love. The calm peacefulness of old age. Knowing that is was love that brought them together and it is love that will see them through to the next spring of life.
(Bride and Groom exchange vows and rings)
(tie cord on hands)
Officiant: Bride and Groom have chosen to solemnize their vows with a handfasting. Handfasting is a custom that harkens back to ancient days. It was used sometimes as an engagement or trial marriage, where the couple would bind their hands together in ceremony and promise to remain faithful to each other for a year and a day. At the end of which time, they could walk away, no regrets or they could solemnize their vows with an official wedding.
Today, we use it as this:
A promise to love one another for a year and a day. To bind the couple hand to hand. To remember to always lend a helping hand to one another. To pick the other up when they have stumbled and fallen. To always have these hands open to embrace one another in joy and sorrow. And this cord, through frayed and worn, is a symbol that nothing is life is perfect. Even love is not perfect, it is loving all imperfections.
Bride and Groom, do you promise to love one another, to help one another, to embrace and hold one another, and love all imperfections?
Bride and Groom: I do.
Officiant: *May your paths be smooth
And the weather be fair
May your hearts will with joy
And never a care
May your friends be many
And the good times last
And may you look fondly
Upon the past
May life be kind
And love be true
May the Lord and Lady’s blessings
Shine upon you*
By the power vested in me by all that is Divine and Sacred;
By the Love and Light that surrounds and binds us all;
I now pronounce you handfasted.
(kiss)
(hand brooms to Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid to sweep up rose petals as Circle is opened)
Creatures of the North and Earth…
Creatures of the West and Water…
Creatures of the South and Fire…
Creatures of the East and Air…
Thank you for guarding us in these sacred rites. Hail and Farewell.
So mote it be.
(wedding party exits)
Ladies and gentlemen, the happy couple requests your presence in the back room for a toast.
***Two days later at their reception, the wedding was legalized with their mothers as witnesses
Officiant: Groom, do you take Bride to be your lawfully wedded wife? To honor and cherish her for as long as love shall last?
Groom: I do.
Officiant: Bride, do you take Groom to be your lawfully wedded husband? To honor and cherish him for as long as love shall last?
Bride: I do.
Officiant: By the power vested in me, by the State of New York, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Groom.
*…* This is an original, published poem of mine entitled “Annie’s Blessing”. It has a variation for the ending (“May many great blessings / Shine upon you”) that I have used in the case of the ceremony being a secular or non-Pagan one. Feel free to use it, but please make sure that I, Rev. Rachael Wright, am credited for it.