Edward Ernest Elster

PROCESSION

• CEREMONY BEGINS.

INVOCATION

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Friends and family, we’ve come together today to honor the love between Jonathan and Arianna as they take the vows of marriage.

The promises of marriage are many. Marriage promises companionship and laughter, challenge and joy, adventure and the peace we experience through unity. It’s a bond we build of the strongest faith in another person and their love for us, an ability to look at our lover with eyes unclouded and heart open. To see them as they are, and to see our truest self in their love and acceptance.

The love between Jonathan and Arianna is mighty! I’m sure you can feel it from where you sit – radiating outwards from these two beautiful people like sunlight. Their love lights up everything they touch and every person they meet.

This is a love that doesn’t stop where their embrace ends, and this love doesn’t belong only to Jonathan and Arianna. This is a universal love. A love that wraps itself around all of us, connects all of us on this fragile and vibrant planet. A love that is the very Source of life. A universal love, a universal light, a universal life that transcends all, without beginning or end.

A love of absolute abundance.

The marriage that Jonathan and Arianna begin today is a manifestation of this love. And it will be a mighty one, too! Remember that although you won’t spend every day with them, your love will reach Jonathan and Arianna wherever they are. Your love will hold them up and light their path, as they meet each new day together with curiosity, taking comfort in each other and their community, as they explore the unknown mysteries of the future.

DECLARATION OF INTENT & JOINT VOWS

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Jonathan and Arianna, are you ready to take the vows of marriage together, and to live together as husband and wife?

COUPLE RESPONDS

We are!

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

Do you promise to love each other faithfully and bravely, without reservation?

COUPLE RESPONDS

We do.

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

Do you promise to share that love boldly and wildly, reflecting the gift of your love back to every person, every creature, and every landscape that you encounter in your long lives?

COUPLE RESPONDS

We do!

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

And do you promise to treat each other with generosity, with a generous spirit and generous mind, and to be generous with your time?

COUPLE RESPONDS

We do!

RINGS EXCHANGE

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

Please exchange rings as a symbol of the promises you make here and take each other’s hands.

JONATHAN TO ARIANNA

"Arianna, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love."

JONATHAN PLACES THE RING ON ARIANNA'S FINGER.

ARIANNA TO JONATHAN

"Jonathan, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love."

ARIANNA PLACES THE RING ON JONATHAN'S FINGER

CLOSING WORDS & PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT TO COUPLE

Jonathan and Arianna, you are connected to each other at the deepest level. The air you breathe, the soil under your feet, the sunlight that warms your skin, these things belong to both of you, to all of us, and to no one alone.

In this same spirit, let your marriage be a continuous gift. Give freely your laughter and companionship. Share equally in your challenges and joys. Find adventure and peace in each other’s company and the absolute abundance of your love.

It is my great honor to pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss!

• THE COUPLE KISS. GUESTS CHEER AND CLAP.

RECESSION

• CEREMONY ENDS.