Low-Key Gothic Wedding Ceremony Script

Low-Key Gothic Wedding Ceremony Script

Wedding Procession / Processional 

• (The wedding party enters and the ceremony begins. Private vows have been shared before the start of the ceremony.)

Officiant’s Opening Words

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Beloved friends, we’re gathered here today to unite these two souls, (Partner A) and (Partner B) in marriage. Some of you have known these two their whole lives, others have known them only a few years. But to all of us, it feels like (Partner A) and (Partner B) have known each other for lifetimes! 

Today, we celebrate their special connection and make it official. 

Short Gothic Wedding Reading

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Siouxsie once said,

“Come take this hand at twilight's door
I'll meet you there, we'll share the moonlit floor…
…Moths touched by flame repeat their fatal game
Forever and eternally, the cliffs around the crashing sea
Unsolved and endless, wait for me.”

(Partner A) and (Partner B), you have loved, fought, and laughed your way into a connection that most people only dream of – a connection that’s fire tested, eternal, and endless. 

Love brings you back to each other at the end of every day, after each new adventure, after misunderstandings and growing pains. You are each other’s one and only. Fate brought you together, love and patience built the bond, and today, free will keeps you together. 

You choose each other today, tomorrow, and ever after. Each day, you take each other’s hand and say – yes.

Declaration of Intent to Marry (The ‘I do’s) & Ring Exchange

WEDDING OFFICIANT

(Partner A) and (Partner B),please take each other’s hands. Before this ceremony, the two of you shared private vows with each other. Take a moment to reflect on those words now. 

• (brief pause)

(Partner A), do you pledge your heart and hand in marriage to (Partner B), with the promise to renew this vow each new day, eternally? 

PARTNER A

I do. 

WEDDING OFFICIANT

(Partner B), do you pledge your heart and hand in marriage to (Partner A), with the promise to renew this vow each day, eternally? 

PARTNER B

I do. 

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Please exchange your rings as a symbol of this pledge.

• (Partners exchange wedding rings or gifts. If this is a vow renewal or second wedding ceremony, adjust the wording and ask the couple show off their rings.)

Officiant’s Words on Marriage & Closing Words

• (This passage includes a quote from Seekers Who Are Lovers by the Cocteau Twins. Get creative: Add your own favorite lyrics or verses to this final blessing / advice to make it uniquely yours)

WEDDING OFFICIANT

As you leave here today as (wives, partners, man and wife, etc.), take this advice to heart::

Listen carefully to each other. Lean into each other and your shared life with curiosity and wonder. Life is woven with threads of  joy and pain, triumph and loss, difficult conversation and soft silence. These ups and downs are two sides of the same coin, the same rich experience, the same blessed gift of living and loving with someone. “Your love, as big as a risk, fills you up” – wait out the bad days, revel in the good ones. When you choose to stay in the truth of each other, to return to the flame of each other, you keep love burning brightly. 

Pronouncement of Marriage & Introduction of the Newlyweds

WEDDING OFFICIANT

By the power vested in me by the state of (Wedding State) and American Marriage Ministries, it’s my privilege and joy to pronounce you married. In the words of greats: 

“I will kiss you forever on nights like this.” – “Kiss me until my lips fall off, Kiss me until I start to rot, Kiss me until kingdom come, Forever, forever.” 

Kiss! 

• (The couple kisses, friends cheer)

Friends, let me introduce (Mr. and Mrs Smith / The Smiths / the newlyweds / etc.)! 

Wedding Recession / Recessional 

• (End of ceremony, newlyweds make their exit back down the aisle. Instead of releasing doves, it’s time to release the bats and dance your way to the reception or afterparty.)