Same-Sex Commitment Ceremony 2
Another ceremony written for two women. A more elaborate affair than the preceding same-sex commitment ceremony; including a wedding party and dancers that began the processional.
Officiant: Who brings these women to be joined today?
Friend of Brides: I do.
Officiant: Welcome, beloved family and friends to the wedding of Bride 1 and Bride 2.
I charge each of you, as witnesses, to love and support, Bride 1 and Bride 2, as their lives paths join and become one.
Bride 1… Bride 2… marriage is a sacred union that should not be taken lightly. It is a lifetime commitment to one another. One filled with joy and sadness, trials and tribulations. Bride 1, do you come here of your own free will to be joined to Bride 2?
Bride 1: I do.
Officiant: Bride 2, do you come here of your own free will to be joined to Bride 1?
Bride 2: I do.
Officiant: Then please join your right hands. (tie on handfasting ribbon)
(reading by one of the Dancers, another friend of the brides- an excerpt from Lord of the Rings)
Officiant: Bride 1, do you choose to take Bride 2 as your wife? To care for her above all others? To provide for her happiness even before your own? And to treat her with honor and respect for as long as love shall last?
Bride 1: I do.
Officiant: Bride 2, do you choose to take Bride 1 as your wife? To care for her above all others? To provide for her happiness even before your own? And to treat her with honor and respect for as long as love shall last?
Bride 2: I do.
Officiant: May I have the rings?
(Bride 1 and Bride 2 exchange vows and rings)
Officiant: Please repeat after me.
*I, Bride 1
Promise you, Bride 2
To stand by you
In sunshine and in storm
In darkness and in light
Through good times and bad
Will you accept me as your wife*
Bride 2: I will.
Officiant:
*I, Bride 2
Promise you, Bride 1
To stand by you
In sunshine and in storm
In darkness and in light
Through good times and bad
Will you accept me as your wife*
Bride 1: I will.
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 many great blessings
Shine upon you**
By the powers vested in me by the love that surrounds and binds us all, I now pronounce you wife and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
(Bride 1 and Bride 2 jump a broom)
Sweep away the old life and jump into the new.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce to you the Mrs. Bride 1 and Bride 2.
*…* This excerpt is part of the “simple repeated vows” (pg. 62, last 2 paragraphs) from Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein’s book Inviting Hera’s Blessing: Handfasting and Wedding Rituals (Llewellyn Publications; St. Paul, Minnesota; © 2003) and used with the author’s permission (pg. 2).
**…** This is an original, published poem of mine entitled “Annie’s Blessing”. It has a variation for the ending (“May the Lord and Lady’s blessings / Shine upon you”) that I have used in the case of the ceremony being a Pagan one. Feel free to use it, but please make sure that I, Rev. Rachael Wright, am credited for it.
Officiant: Who brings these women to be joined today?
Friend of Brides: I do.
Officiant: Welcome, beloved family and friends to the wedding of Bride 1 and Bride 2.
I charge each of you, as witnesses, to love and support, Bride 1 and Bride 2, as their lives paths join and become one.
Bride 1… Bride 2… marriage is a sacred union that should not be taken lightly. It is a lifetime commitment to one another. One filled with joy and sadness, trials and tribulations. Bride 1, do you come here of your own free will to be joined to Bride 2?
Bride 1: I do.
Officiant: Bride 2, do you come here of your own free will to be joined to Bride 1?
Bride 2: I do.
Officiant: Then please join your right hands. (tie on handfasting ribbon)
(reading by one of the Dancers, another friend of the brides- an excerpt from Lord of the Rings)
Officiant: Bride 1, do you choose to take Bride 2 as your wife? To care for her above all others? To provide for her happiness even before your own? And to treat her with honor and respect for as long as love shall last?
Bride 1: I do.
Officiant: Bride 2, do you choose to take Bride 1 as your wife? To care for her above all others? To provide for her happiness even before your own? And to treat her with honor and respect for as long as love shall last?
Bride 2: I do.
Officiant: May I have the rings?
(Bride 1 and Bride 2 exchange vows and rings)
Officiant: Please repeat after me.
*I, Bride 1
Promise you, Bride 2
To stand by you
In sunshine and in storm
In darkness and in light
Through good times and bad
Will you accept me as your wife*
Bride 2: I will.
Officiant:
*I, Bride 2
Promise you, Bride 1
To stand by you
In sunshine and in storm
In darkness and in light
Through good times and bad
Will you accept me as your wife*
Bride 1: I will.
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 many great blessings
Shine upon you**
By the powers vested in me by the love that surrounds and binds us all, I now pronounce you wife and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
(Bride 1 and Bride 2 jump a broom)
Sweep away the old life and jump into the new.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce to you the Mrs. Bride 1 and Bride 2.
*…* This excerpt is part of the “simple repeated vows” (pg. 62, last 2 paragraphs) from Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein’s book Inviting Hera’s Blessing: Handfasting and Wedding Rituals (Llewellyn Publications; St. Paul, Minnesota; © 2003) and used with the author’s permission (pg. 2).
**…** This is an original, published poem of mine entitled “Annie’s Blessing”. It has a variation for the ending (“May the Lord and Lady’s blessings / Shine upon you”) that I have used in the case of the ceremony being a Pagan one. Feel free to use it, but please make sure that I, Rev. Rachael Wright, am credited for it.