Elizabeth Colter Melton

PRE-CEREMONY SET UP

• AT THE FRONT OF THE CEREMONY SPACE, EITHER AT THE CENTER, BEHIND US, OR TO THE SIDE, IS A TABLE WITH:

1. A SMALL TREE IN A DECORATIVE POT

2. A DECORATIVE CONTAINER WITH ADDITIONAL SOIL

3. TWO TROWELS OR, LARGE SPOONS, OR SIMILAR TOOL FOR ADDING SOIL TO THE POT

4. TWO SMALL PITCHERS, CRUETS, OR WATERING CANS WITH WATER

PROCESSION

• CEREMONY BEGINS

INVOCATION

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. One small housekeeping item before we start: we ask that you not have cell phones out, taking pictures during the ceremony, and with that said, let’s get started.

We are gathered here in this time and place to celebrate the union of Hunter Mason Banks and Marissa Brooke Mellow. Each of us attending has somehow touched their lives, and we are the community that they have called together to witness their marriage.

Marriage is a lifelong partnership made publicly by those who choose to pledge their fidelity, their companionship, their love, and their trust in one another. Marissa and Hunter have chosen to pledge these things to each other with the loving support of their friends and family.

Your presence serves as a symbol of the love and support that each of you offers and allows them to officially start their life together surrounded by those who are dearest and most important to them.

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Hunter and Marissa, we welcome you to this moment in your lives and to the place you have earned in each other’s hearts.

We join with you on this day, as you commit before everyone present, that from this point forward you shall live as one. You know, “stuck like glue!”

MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE

PART OF SONG WILL BE PLAYED AFTER SCRIPT WHILE FAMILY MEMBER OF EACH PLACES A ROSE ON THEIR SEAT

Let us take a moment to remember those who can’t be with us today, either because of distance or because they have gone before us. In particular, we lift up [Name any family members or others whom the couple chooses to memorialize. *Waiting on response to this question.]

DECLARATION OF INTENT

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Marissa and Hunter, after almost 4 years together, are you now prepared to commit yourselves to a life together, seeking to grow as individuals and as a couple — year in and year out, with the nourishment and support you can give only to one another?

THE COUPLE TO THE OFFICIANT

We are!

TREE PLANTING CEREMONY (WE NEED TO FIND THE BEST PLACE FOR THIS IN THE CEREMONY-NOT SET IN STONE HERE JUST MY INITIAL THOUGHTS)

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

Hunter and Marissa will now take part in a tree planting ceremony, to symbolize the roots of their relationship and the continued growth of their love, as they become each other’s family today.

• AT THIS TIME, THE COUPLE STEPS UP TO THE TABLE AND BEGINS ADDING SOIL AND WATER TO THE POTTED TREE AS OFFICIANT CONTINUES.

As a wise poet once said, "Love is the essence of human experience and emotion. It is the root of all and everything we, as humans, do. Love enriches our experience and fills our lives with meaning. It gives us a firm base from which to grow, to learn, and to change." There, nestled in the soil of our daily lives, lifting us up toward the light, is love.

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

Let this tree become a symbol of your married life as you grow together in love, lifting each other up. The years ahead will bring changes in season, and many types of weather -- blustery days when the sun is hidden behind clouds, the cleansing rain and joyful promises of spring, the long warm days of summer, and the bounty and beauty of fall. Throughout the years to come, let your love stand strong, mature and deepen, remaining steady in its foundation whatever changes life may bring.

Tend to your marriage as you would any other living thing, with tenderness, nourishment, and plenty of light... and you are sure to succeed. May you be each other’s protective canopy. May your marriage serve as a haven for all the beings who dwell or visit there. May it provide shelter and sustenance for you and for those you love.

• AFTER THE COUPLE HAS ADDED THE EXTRA SOIL, AND WATERED THE TREE LIGHTLY, THEY WILL TAKE THEIR PLACES WITH THE OFFICIANT AGAIN FOR THE RING EXCHANGE.

PRAYER OVER COUPLE

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS/(INSERT NAME) WILL WRAP UP WITH A QUICK PRAYER SIGNIFYING THE END OF THAT TIME

We’re going to play a song, and during this song, Marissa and Hunter invite anyone from the crowd to come forward, gather around them, and pray for them, silently or out loud. So, if anyone would like to come forward, come forward now.

EXCHANGE OF RINGS AND VOWS

OFFICIANT TO WHOEVER HAS THE RINGS

May I have the rings, please?

• THE GUEST PLACES THE RINGS IN THE OFFICIANT’S OPEN PALM.

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS AND THE COUPLE

Hunter and Marissa have chosen to exchange rings as a sign of their commitment.

The circle represents the earth, the sun and the universe. It symbolizes wholeness, perfection and unity. Like circles, these rings have no beginning and no end. They are a fitting symbol, then, to link these two souls forever.

OFFICIANT TO HUNTER

Hunter, please place Marissa’s ring on her finger and repeat after me.

• HUNTER PLACES THE RING AND REPEATS OFFICIANT’S WORDS

I, Hunter Mason Banks, take this woman Marissa Brooke Mellow to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, keeping myself unto her for as long as we both shall live.

OFFICIANT TO PARTNER B

Marissa, please place Hunter’s ring on his finger and repeat after me.

• MARISSA PLACES THE RING AND REPEATS OFFICIANT’S WORDS

I, Marissa Brooke Mellow, take this man Hunter Mason Banks to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, keeping myself unto him for as long as we both shall live.

PRONOUNCEMENT

OFFICIANT TO THE COUPLE

By the power vested in me by the State of North Carolina and American Marriage Ministries, and through the witness of all here present, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Hunter, you may kiss your bride!

• THE COUPLE KISS

RECESSION

OFFICIANT TO GUESTS

It is my pleasure to present, for the first time as a married couple, Mr. And Mrs. Hunter and Marissa Banks- we didn’t discuss this yet, so I need feedback on how you want to be announced

• APPLAUSE, RECESSIONAL