James D Gallup

WEDDING PROCESSION / PROCESSIONAL

WEDDING PARTY ENTERS, CEREMONY BEGINS

OPENING WORDS / WEDDING INVOCATION

WEDDING OFFICIANT

"Welcome, beloved friends and family. We’re gathered here today to celebrate the union of Patrick and Teresa in marriage as they officially tie the knot together.

We often say that love is an action – something we must demonstrate daily. Well, marriage is like that, too. It’s consistent support through life’s ups and downs. It’s the big gestures, like planning a surprise weekend getaway. And the small gestures, like bringing lunch to your partner’s jobsite or taking time to find your partner to say hello and sneak a kiss when picking up job supplies from the store where your partner works. It’s waking up every morning knowing this person is the one you want beside you. It’s putting each other first, and never taking your love for granted.

Patrick and Teresa, you’ve both had life experiences that have shown you the true meaning of marriage – what a true marriage can be when two people embrace the action of love. You’ve learned what’s important to you, and the kind of partner you want to be. Your unique journeys have brought you to this moment, with a new chance at love built on wisdom, experience, and a deeper understanding of what this commitment truly means.

Patrick and Teresa, I encourage you to remember that marriage is a physical and spiritual bond of unconditional love. It is a strong bond that now and forevermore will be a symbol of unity between you. A union of mutual concern and shared respect, and of holding tightly to each other as you form a lifetime of memories.

DECLARATION OF INTENT (THE 'I DO'S)

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Patrick, do you take Teresa to be your wife, to honor, cherish, and support for as long as you both shall live?

PAUSE for Reply

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Teresa, do you take Patrick to be your husband, to honor, cherish, and support for as long as you both shall live?

PAUSE for Reply

EXCHANGE OF WEDDING RINGS

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Wedding rings are an unbroken circle of love, telling the world that you are forever united in marriage. They are a physical symbol of your promises, unbroken and unending, as your commitment grows stronger in love every day.

As a lasting symbol of these promises and the spiritual bond of marriage, Patrick and Theresa will now exchange wedding rings.

Patrick, please place the ring on Teresa’s finger, and repeat after me –

‘With this ring, I thee wed.’

PAT PLACES THE RING ON TERESA’S FINGER AND REPEATS THE PHRASE.]

WEDDING OFFICIANT

Teresa, please place the ring on Patrick's finger, and repeat after me –

‘With this ring, I thee wed.’

TERESA PLACES THE RING ON PATRICK’S FINGER AND REPEATS THE PHRASE.]

FISHERMAN’S KNOT TYING UNITY RITUAL

OFFICIANT TO THE GUESTS AND COUPLE

Patrick and Teresa both have a love for the outdoors and outdoor activities such as camping, kayaking, and fishing. Therefore, it is only fitting, as they tie the knot today, that they should literally tie a double fisherman's knot, which will symbolize their love for each other, and their commitment to making their marriage a strong one.

This special knot is one that cannot be broken. It has unimaginable strength, and becomes even stronger when it's tested by life's trials, just as this marriage will grow stronger as the years pass.

Each rope represents your individual pasts, and the lives you lived up to today. Once tied, they symbolize your future together, which shall be forever weaved together just like the threads in the cord. From today forward, your lives will be forever intertwined, and your bond unbreakable.

Working together, Patrick and Teresa will finish tying the knot by pulling on the colored rope that represents them. When the knot is pulled tight, it becomes so strong that the ropes will break before it comes undone. It is meant to stand any test of time. Just as marriage is not to be undone, so let this fisherman’s knot be a reminder of your love, and the binding together of your hearts and your lives today and forevermore.

OFFICIANT'S CLOSING WORDS & PRONOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE

WEDDING OFFICIANT

As you start this new adventure together, remember that marriage – like love – is an action. Nurture it, protect it, demonstrate it, with every gesture and word, every day.

Now, here in the presence of loved ones, and by the power vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the State of Oklahoma, I pronounce you husband and wife!

You may kiss!

WEDDING RECESSION / RECESSIONAL

NEWLYWEDS MAKE THEIR EXIT, CEREMONY ENDS