Kristine Susan Stock

We are here today to celebrate the marriage of Scott & Cassie. Today will be one of the most memorable days of your life. It will be one of the most memorable for me as well as I have the great honor of marrying my first born and the love of her life. We come together not to mark the start of a relationship, but to acknowledge and strengthen a bond that already exists. A strong marriage nurtures each of you as separate individuals and allows you to maintain your unique identity and grow in your own way through the years ahead. It is a safe haven for each of you to become your best self.  It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that has the promise of a lifetime.

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. Lord, we ask that you help Scott and Cassie to remember the strong love that they share. To work that love into practical things so that nothing can divide them. May their love always inspire them to be kind in their words, considerate of each other’s feelings, and concerned for the other’s needs and wishes. Increase their faith and trust in You. Bless their marriage with peace and happiness and make their Love fruitful for Your glory and their joy, both here and in eternity. Amen.

 

Today you are embarking on an exciting new chapter of your story together. When you two first started out together you were friends first, getting to know each other.  As time went on your friendship grew into love.  And it is that love that brings you here today.  Your love for each other will only grow deeper throughout your marriage, but your will also need trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. Dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

 

CHARGE TO THE COUPLE

May you be fulfilled by each other’s love and friendship. May you be overjoyed by the promises you are about to make and the life together you will create. Remember that in every marriage, there are good times and bad, times of joy and times of sorrow. Marriage is a journey – a time of adventure and excitement enhanced by the love, trust, dedication and faith you share in one another.

May the promises you make to one another today, be lived out to the end of your lives. Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys, but today is the day it all begins.

Scott and Cassie, do you present yourselves willingly and of your own accord to be joined in marriage?

[We do]

Will you promise to care for each other in the joys and sorrows of life, come what may, and to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment of your life together?

[We will]

VOWS

Please join your hands.

Scott, please repeat after me.

I, Scott, take you Cassie, to be my wedded wife

I give to you My promise to stay by your side,

In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,

As well as through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit

Always be open and honest with you,

And cherish you for as long as we both shall live

 

Cassie, please repeat after me

I, Cassie take you Scott, to be my wedded husband

I give to you My promise to stay by your side,

In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,

As well as through the good times and the bad.

I promise to love you without reservation,

Comfort you in times of distress

Laugh with you and cry with you,

Grow with you in mind and spirit

Always be open and honest with you,

And cherish you for as long as we both shall live

 

EXCHANGING OF THE RINGS

Having this love in your hearts, you have chosen to seal your vows by exchanging rings.

From the earliest times, the circle has been a sign of completeness. The rings that you have chosen to wear have neither beginning nor end, much like your love for one another. They are a symbol of the words that you speak today. May these rings be from this day forward, your most treasured adornment, and may the love they symbolize, be your most precious possession. As you wear these rings, may they be constant reminders of these glad promises you are making today.

Scott, take this ring, place it on Cassie’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol

of my love and faithfulness to you.

Cassie, take this ring, place it on Scott’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a symbol

of my love and faithfulness to you.

Scott and Cassie from this moment forward you will never be alone. You will carry with you the love of another person, giving you a completeness and renewed lightness. May your life together be immersed in love and excitement. May you strive to enrich each other in every possible way.

DECLARATION OF MARRIAGE

Having pledged your fidelity to one another, to love, honor and cherish one another and by the authority vested in me by American Marriage Ministries and the State of Texas I now pronounce you wife and husband! You may kiss your bride.