Approximate Time: 17-20 minutes

With music, entrance, and exit: 25-30 minutes

WELCOME

What a joy it is to gather here today to celebrate the rebirth of love in the hearts of two very special people, (Groom's full name) _________________________ and (Bride's full name) _________________________. As your family and friends, we recognize that this love was sent as a precious gift through the person who is standing before you now. The love that you have found in each other has brought sunshine back into your lives once again. For you are to each other a healer of the heart, a mender of the emotions, and a source of solitude for the spirit. 

CONSENT

(Groom) _______________ and (Bride) _______________, a new life lies before you. Are you ready to walk down this path as husband and wife, and live together in the covenant of faith, hope, and love? 

(Both answer) Yes, we are.  

Who presents (Bride) _______________ to be married to (Groom) _______________?

(The Escort shall say): Her Mother and I or I do or We do or Her family or other.

(Bride gives bouquet to Maid of Honor.)

ADDRESS AND READINGS

There is an old love song that captures the spirit of this wedding today. It goes like this:

The Second Time Around

Love is lovelier the second time around. 

Just wonderful with both feet on the ground. 

It's that second time you hear your love song sung. 

Makes you think, perhaps, that love, like youth, is wasted on the young. 

Love's more comfortable the second time you fall. 

Like a friendly home, the second time you call. 

Who can say what brought us to this miracle we've found? 

There are those who'll bet love comes but once, and yet, I'm oh so glad we met

THE SECOND TIME AROUND.

Aren't you glad God gives us a second chance? He does not want us to give up on this institution of marriage just because circumstances took love in a direction we did not anticipate. When he designed marriage, God had a special plan in mind that He wants us to embrace. 

The Institution of Marriage 

The institution of marriage was begun that a man and a woman might learn how to love and, in loving, know joy; 

that a man and a woman might learn how to share pain and loneliness and, in sharing, know strength;

that a man and a woman might learn how to give and, in giving, know communion. 

The institution of marriage was begun that a man and a woman might, through their joy, their strength, and their communion, become creators of life itself. 

Marriage is a high and holy state, to be built of the stuff of daily life. 

Men and women are not angels, nor are they gods. Love can become hatred; joy, sorrow; marriage, divorce.

But human beings are not condemned to failure. Love can grown even in a real world. The wounds of sorrow can be healed, and new life built on the learnings of the old. 

This is the reason for our gathering today: to renew our faith in the strength of hope and the power of love. (Reading #1)

Today, (Groom) _______________ and (Bride) _______________, you are beginning a new journey with the one person who means the most to you, in this whole world. Remember that, to the world, you are but one person, but to one person...you are the world. And so, I would like to share with you three ways of looking at life as you walk through this world together. 

First, I want to encourage you to look at life through the eyes of FAITH. It wasn't fate that brought you to this moment, it was faith---faith that you could experience again. For when you chose to love again, you chose to live again. So today, we not only celebrate your love, but life itself. It is through faith that we are able to wipe out the old canvases of our lives and allow God, with His amazingly artistic talent, to fill them with new color, harmony, and beauty. Sometimes our lives are like a desert, seemingly void of all life; but given a little rainfall, life springs into existence. At one time, your lives may have been a desert, but through faith in God, in life, in love, and in each other, your lives have blossomed into something beautiful. So keep on looking at life through the eyes of FAITH. 

Second, look at life through the eyes of HOPE. Never has hope been so alive and so strong as it is today. As you hold each other's hand right now, you are holding onto hope. And what is hope? Hope is a wish your heart makes for all your dreams to come true. This person standing before you is your "dream come true". Even when you throught love would not ever come your way again, you still dreamed of a special someone with whom to share your life. When you first met the one you are about to marry today, hope began to live again in your heart. It was this hope that enabled you to see the possibilities of a new beginning and a new life. Hope says to never give up on your dreams, for your "dream come true" may be just around the corner. So, continue to hold onto HOPE. 

Third, look at life through the eyes of LOVE. You have learned a lot about love. You have even learned that sometimes love hurts. It is the painful side of love that often causes us to withdraw and retreat inside ourselves. Then we begin to build walls around our hearts. When love approaches the door to our hearts, we shut the door and keep love out. When we keep love out, we eep life out. We cease to live life the way it was meant to be lived because we haven't experienced love the way we were meant to be loved. Now, all that has changed. You both were willing to take the risk because you believed in the power of love. You chose a gift once opened and made it new again. And as a result, you rediscovered the greatest gift in life---the gift of unconditional LOVE. The best description of unconditional love ever written says this:

"Love is patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way nor is it irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly ever notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. This kind of love knows no boundaries to its tolerance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope, no limit to its endurance. It can outlast anything. Love is, the one thing that still stands when all else has failed. These three things remain: faith, hope, and love...but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 (Reading #12, Version 2---Contemporary)

WEDDING VOWS

(Bride/Groom) _______________/_______________, (Option A)God has given us a second chance at happiness. (Option B) We have been given a second chance at happiness. Before I met you, I was only half a person with an emptiness in my heart. But your love has filled that void completely, and I am whole again. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. As we begin a new life together, I promise to give my future to you in faith, my heart to you in hope, and my life to you in love. (Wedding Vow #8)

NOTE: These wedding vows are best if read rather than repeated. 

EXPLANATION OF THE RINGS

I will now ask you to seal the vows you shared with each other by the giving and receiving of rings. The perfect circle of the ring symbolizes eternity. The precious metal is a symbol of all that is pure. it came from the ground as rough ore that had to be tried by a refiner's fire in order to melt away all the impurities. May these rings symbolize not only your eternal love for each other, but also the melting away of the past. So now, all that remains is the pure essence of your love. 

RING EXCHANGE VOWS

(The Officiant shall say): May I have the token of (Groom's) _______________ love for (Bride) _______________? (Officiant receives ring from Best Man. Groom places ring on Bride's finger.)

(The Officiant shall then say): (Groom) _______________, please repeat after me. 

(Bride) _______________, I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love for you. / Just as this band encircles your finger, / may you always feel encircled by my love. (Ring Vow #7)  

(The Officiant shall say): May I have the token of (Bride's) _______________ love for (Groom) _______________? (Officiant receives ring from Maid of Honor. Bride places ring on Groom's finger.)

(The Officiant shall then say): (Bride) _______________, please repeat after me. 

(Groom) _______________, I give you this ring / as a symbol of my love for you. / Just as this band encircles your finger, / may you always feel encircled by my love. (Ring Vow #7) 

LIGHTING OF THE UNITY CANDLE

The lighting of the Unity Candle is a reminder that the fires of love have once again been rekindled in your hearts. Sometimes our inner light goes out, but it is blown into flame again by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest debt of gratitude to those who have rekindled this inner light. Because the two of you are the "rekindler" of each other's flame, today you will join your inner lights into one brighter light. May the light of your lives grow and glow so others may see the flame and feel the warmth of your love. 

WEDDING PRAYER/BLESSING

May your marriage be blessed with faith for the future. May your hearts be filled with the happiness of hope. May your lives be enlightened with an everlasting love. May God grant you a new beginning as He opens the door to life's deepest and richest experiences. May the life you build together be a lasting testimony that a second chance is for those who never give up believing in the power of FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. (Blessing #10)

PRONOUNCEMENT

(Groom) _______________ and (Bride) _______________, as you exchanged vows with one another, we witnessed the miracle of faith. As you gave and received these rings, we witnessed the miracle of hope. As you seal this commitment with a kiss, we will witness the miracle of love. Sharing with you in these three miracles gives me great joy as I now pronounce you husband and wife. 

KISS

(The Officiant shall say): (Groom) _______________, you may kiss your Bride. (Bride and Groom kiss.) (Bride receives bouquet from Maid of Honor.)

PRESENTATION

(The Officiant shall say): Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce to you for the very first time, (Mr and Mrs.) ___________________.