Touchstone Home
Barest Minimum Form for the Solemnization of Marriage
Greeting:
Marriage is the outward expression of an inward union of minds and hearts which religions may consecrate, and the state may regulate, but which no ceremony can either enforce or destroy.
It is an relationship created by living purpose and sustained by abiding will, an ancient institution made honorable by the faithful keeping of good men and women in all ages.
I charge you, ______ and ______ , to enter this estate with reverence, to hold to it with firmness, and to live in it with mutual trust and tenderness.
Consent:
_______, do you make of your love a free, honest and lawful gift to ______? Is it your intention to enter into a covenant of marriage with ______, and willingly to accept the legal and moral responsibilities of that union?
(repeat for each person)
Vows:
It is well. Please join both your hands and repeat after me: I , ________, choose you, _________, to be my life’s partner; to share sorrow and joy, to share prosperity and adversity, to comfort, honor and cherish in respect and faithfulness so long as we both shall live.
Rings:
Let these rings be the token and seal of this solemn promise, and may those who give and wear them ever abide together in gladness.
With this ring, I pledge my love to you.
Pronouncement:
________ and _________ , by exchanging vows and rings, you have pledged yourselves to one another and entered into the estate of honorable matrimony, having undertaken its responsibilities, and being entitled to its privileges.
I hereby declare that by the authority of the state and in the custom of our society, you are now husband and wife.
May you keep this covenant faithfully, in love and joy, and may your days together be long, and your happiness ever increasing.
