Hello!
I am working with my officiant to prepare our ceremony script and really struggling. She has been so helpful and I have tweaked it here and there and then my Mom and MIL added some more traditional things to say.
This is a small excerpt of what is being said where I am having trouble...
" A vast, unknown future stretches out
before you. That future, with its hopes and disappointments, its joys and its
sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. But it is a great tribute to your belief in
each other that you are willing to face those uncertainties together. May the
pure, simple love with which you join hearts and hands today never fail, but
grow deeper and surer with every year you spend together. May you use the love
and strength you find in each other to nurture your marriage.
(*****THIS IS WHERE IM HAVING TROUBLE******) The couple have prepared
their own vows, Spouse 1 and 2 Remember
the joy you feel today joining as one and be truly present in this moment as
you vow to one another. Spouse 1, would you
like to begin? or Spouse 1 ?
Spouse 1:
Spouse 2:
For thousands of years lovers have
exchanged rings as a token of their vows. These bands are not of great value in
themselves, but are made precious by our wearing of them and the commitment
they honor. Let these rings be a sign that love has a past, a present and a
future, and that love is a circle of joyous wonder, and delight. (*************THIS IS ALSO WHERE I AM HAVING TROUBLE***********)
Spouse
1, take Spouse 2's ring, place it on her finger and repeat after me: “With this
ring, / I, Spouse 1, take you, Spouse 2, to be my wife / and partner for life.
/ Just as this circle is without end, / my love for you is never-ending.”
Spouse 2, take Spouse 1's ring,
place it on his finger and repeat after me: “With this ring, / I, Spouse 2,
take you, Spouse 1, to be my husband / and partner for life. / Just as this
circle is without end, / my love for you is never-ending.”
Should be skip the repeat after me and somehow form that into and "I DO" question? If we do make it an "I DO" question then when do we exchange rings?
Please help. I kind of want to say I DO after the vows but I don't know where to exchange rings or how to phrase the "questions"
Also, how long is too long for written vows? **