Wedding Vows, a sampling

Rev. Judy Irv­ing with bride and groom

The fol­low­ing is a sam­ple of non-religious vows from Rev. Judy Irv­ing.  She is per­son­able, cheer­ful and hard work­ing.  It’s a plea­sure to know her.

Rev. Judy Irv­ing is a non-denominational ordained min­is­ter, prac­tic­ing in Las Vegas NV.  You can find hers and other min­is­ters list­ings on VegasVows.com or go directly to her web­site. 

- Mon­ica Morgan

Wel­com­ing

Although this is tra­di­tion­ally “their” day, it is also a trib­ute to every­one present.  For know­ing you and inter­act­ing with you has helped to make (bride and groom) who they are today. They stand before you not only to pledge their love to each other, but to acknowl­edge their love for you – their fam­ily and friends. Thank you for shar­ing this spe­cial day with them and welcome.

Foun­da­tion

Mar­riage is the great­est and most inti­mate of human rela­tion­ships. It is the joy­ful union of two peo­ple; a life long com­mit­ment of hon­esty, affec­tion and understanding.

Mar­riage is not the giv­ing up or loss of indi­vid­u­al­ity but rather a trans­for­ma­tion of ones self into some­one dif­fer­ent. The “I” is still “I” but it is also “we.” The join­ing of two sep­a­rate lives pro­vides the oppor­tu­nity for each per­son to dis­cover new pos­si­bil­i­ties not only in them­selves but in their part­ner as well. Never can a per­son feel more pow­er­ful or more vul­ner­a­ble as they can when they are with their true companion.

The wed­ding cer­e­mony is both an acknowl­edge­ment and cel­e­bra­tion of a new begin­ning.  For the lives the two of you have lived up until this moment are, in some sense, now truly com­pleted. As you move for­ward in cre­at­ing your new life together, you will always remem­ber this day.  You will reflect upon the words that were spo­ken and the promises that were made.  You will remem­ber the friends and fam­ily that gath­ered to share their love with you.  You will laugh when you think about the funny moments and per­haps at the seri­ous ones too.  But most of all, you will remem­ber that this day marked a turn­ing point in your won­der­ful jour­ney – together.

Of course, a mag­nif­i­cent cer­e­mony by itself will not cre­ate a happy mar­riage. Only the two of you can do that.  By liv­ing each day under the guid­ance of the vows that you speak today, you will cre­ate a mar­riage that is truly unique and tran­scen­dent. What this cer­e­mony WILL do is to wit­ness and affirm the choice you have made to begin a new life together as hus­band and wife.

Ques­tions (You may sub­sti­tute your own vows here if you like)

Now bride & groom; please face each other and be fully present to recite your vows:

(Bride), do you take ____ to be your hus­band, to love him and to respect him, to nur­ture and sup­port him, in times of joy and in times of dif­fi­culty?  Do you promise to remain by his side regard­less of what trou­ble befalls you? Do you promise to share all of your hopes, dreams and con­cerns with him even if those things may be unpleas­ant?  And will you remain faith­ful even if faced with temp­ta­tion?  If so, answer now, “I do and I will.”

(Groom), do you take ____to be your wife, to love her and to respect her, to nur­ture and sup­port her, in times of joy and in times of dif­fi­culty?  Do you promise to remain by her side regard­less of what trou­ble befalls you?  Do you promise to share all of your hopes, dreams and con­cerns with her even if those things may be unpleas­ant?  And will you remain faith­ful even if faced with temp­ta­tion?  If so, answer now, “I do and I will.”

A spe­cial read­ing or song can come here. The read­ing can be per­formed by the offi­ciant or a spe­cial friend or fam­ily mem­ber. We have many to choose from.

Ring Cer­e­mony

(The rings are presented.)

Wed­ding rings are the sym­bol of the uncon­di­tional love, devo­tion and loy­alty that two peo­ple promise each other in mar­riage.  They are the phys­i­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tion of the vows you just exchanged.

Groom, place this ring on ____ fin­ger and repeat after me:

(Bride’s Name), this ring is the sym­bol of my uncon­di­tional love and sup­port for you through­out our life together.

Bride place this ring on ____finger and repeat after me:

(Groom’s Name), this ring is the sym­bol of my uncon­di­tional love and sup­port for you through­out our life together.

Unity Can­dle, Sand Cer­e­mony, Hand Cer­e­mony or any other can be added here.

Pro­nounce­ment

___ and ___, by the author­ity vested in me by the state of Nevada, but even more so by my belief in the ado­ra­tion you have for each other, It is my honor and my delight to pro­nounce you hus­band and wife.  Groom, you may kiss your bride.

(A prayer can be added here , if you wish)

Con­clu­sion

And now, ladies and gen­tle­men, it is my plea­sure to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs._______ 

Pro­ces­sional