handfasting help!

nina917 · May 2012

we want to do a handfasting for our wedding im wiccan he is agnostic and our family is catholic/ baptist/ methodist.... and they dont know were not christian. so i have been looking for wording for a handfasting that dosent inclued a lot of God & Goddess wording anyone have any ideas or know of a site where i can find something like this

Binding Ties · June 2012

Hi. I had a handfasting ceremony two years ago and although we wrote our own vows, I have a Word doc I could forward you with example vows if it'd help? Or I can post them here if you like, it'd just be a large Post is all :-)

ktbear21 · June 2012

Ooh, I'm having a problem with that too! If you wouldn't mind posting it, I would love to see it. I know that our families will love it when they see it, but if I tell them ahead of time or try to cast a circle, etc they will lose their minds. Good thing we're jumping the broom at the end, that way it will be after they can object lol

Binding Ties · July 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_interfaith-weddings_handfasting-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:396Discussion:97bfb502-9b20-4128-85c3-8371fbc2935ePost:ad36a059-b0b7-49db-b7a0-d72c0ba58b4a">Re:handfasting help!</a>:
[QUOTE]Ooh, I'm having a problem with that too! If you wouldn't mind posting it, I would love to see it. I know that our families will love it when they see it, but if I tell them ahead of time or try to cast a circle, etc they will lose their minds. Good thing we're jumping the broom at the end, that way it will be after they can object lol
Posted by ktbear21[/QUOTE]

 Apologies for the delay, I forgot to Watch this thread. Consider yourselves warned, this is a big posting! Its made up of lots of vows rather than one 'script', so pick and mix or use it as inspiration for your own :-)

<h1 style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:center;" align="center">EXAMPLES OF VOWS, STATEMENTS OF COMMITMENT, DECLARATIONS AND WEDDING PROMISES</h1> 1. I, (Name), promise to love and cherish you, (Name), for the rest of your life. I will try to bring laughter to your life and make you happy. I will consider you in the decisions I have to make, and value your opinions. Today I vow to be your wife for the rest of our lives. 2. Do you (Name), in the presence of your family and friends, take (Name), to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, honour her and protect her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live? 3. (Name), do you aspire to love, honour and respect (Name) throughout the varying circumstances of your lives and to love him equally with your body, heart and mind? Do you pledge to honour (Name)’s integrity, respect his privacy and care for his wellbeing? Do you promise to consider (Name)’s needs in all your life decisions and ensure to the best of your ability that he is happy and content? Do you aspire to learn from your shared experiences, and to build from them a full and loving marriage based on trust, respect and equality? 4. (Name), will you take (Name) to be your wedded husband, best friend and soul mate? Do you acknowledge your love for him and will you respect his individuality? Will you try to bring him happiness and laughter throughout your life, whatever your future together may hold? 5. (Name) and (Name), will you seek, as mature people, to have a loving marriage, allowing it and each other to change and develop, supporting each other in happiness and sorrows, health and illness? (We will) Will you seek to live together as equal and different individuals, and to recognise and accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses? (We will) Will you seek to trust the ebb and flow of your love, to offer your love without conditions, having faith that it will always return, and understanding that its nature may change? (We will) Will you seek always to learn from your shared experiences, and to build from them a full and caring friendship based on trust and on respect? (We will) 6. Today I marry my friend, The one I have laughed and cried with, The one I have learned from and shared with, The one I have chosen to support, encourage, And give myself to, through all the days Given us to share. Today I marry the one I love. 7. Do you (Name) take (Name) as your one and only love and from this day forward promise to protect, cherish and honour her, during good times and bad, happiness and sadness, through all the days of your married life together? 8. Do you, (Name), take (Name), to be your husband, partner in life and one true love? Will you cherish your friendship and love him today, tomorrow, and forever? Will you trust and honour him? Will you laugh and cry with him? Will you love him faithfully Through the best and the worst, Through the difficult and the easy? Whatever may come will you always be there for him? And as you have given him your hand to hold Do you now give him your life to keep?” 9. (Name), I join my life with yours today Without hesitation and with an open and trusting heart. Whatever we may encounter, Let us encounter it together. Take this ring and with it my commitment To be the best wife/husband I can be 10. (Name), I promise to be your friend and partner, and to walk beside you always; to love you with all that I am as you love me; to support, respect and share with you in all of life's decisions, through joy and sadness, triumph and uncertainty, laughter and tears; to have you in my life every day for as long as we live. 11. I love you with all my heart and I promise to be by your side always – to share the joy and laughter as well as the peace and companionship of being together. I will be there to support you through both the good times and the bad times. I will be your partner, your lover, your best friend and your soul mate. You are my whole world and with you I am complete. 12. (Name) and (Name), do you aspire to love each other and to live together in a spirit of tolerance, mutual support and concern for each other’s well being, sharing your responsibilities, your problems and your joys? (Yes we do) Do you aspire to help each other provide a loving and stable home for your children; to co-operate in bringing them up to be caring, honest and happy? (Yes, we do) 13. Please repeat after me: (Name), I promise to love you and to trust you; to be honest with you and to be faithful to you; I promise to be a loving and supportive wife/husband to you; for as long as we both shall live. I give you this ring as a token of my enduring love and support. 14. (Name), will you have (Name) to be your wife/husband, to share your life with her, and do you pledge to love, honour and care for her/him in tenderness and affection through all the varying experiences of your life? (I do) 15. (Name), do you promise to cherish and care for (Name) in sickness and in health, in hard times as well as good for as long as you both shall live? (I do) 16. (Name), do you have (Name) to be your husband, to share your life with him, to be honest and trusting, to communicate openly with him and do you promise that you will love, cherish and care for him with tenderness and affection all your life? (I do) 17. (Name), I acknowledge my love and respect for you. You are my faithful partner in life; my one true love, my best friend. I will miss you madly when you are far – and hold you close when you are near. I will provide for your needs as best I can, and protect you from harm. I promise to laugh with you – to cry with you. I will reason with you when reason works, and laugh with you when reason doesn’t. I will love you until the end of time and I give you this ring as a token of my love for you. 18. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend. From this day forward, You shall not walk alone. My heart will be your shelter, <h5 style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 17.85pt;text-align:justify;">And my arms will be your home</h5> 19. I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us. I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I now ask everyone to witness that I have taken you to be my husband. 20. Will you (Name) take (Name) to be your partner for life, to love and look after her and bring her happiness and laughter throughout your lives, whatever the future may hold, sharing your wholeness, your brokenness, your success and your failures? 21. I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to love and cherish you always, in everything, and to stand beside you as your partner while we build our future and achieve our dreams together, to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us. I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I now ask everyone to witness that I have asked you to be my partner. Will you spend your life with me? (I will) 22. I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us. I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I promise to love and cherish you always, in everything, and to stand beside you as your partner while we build our future and achieve our dreams together. I now ask everyone to witness that I will ask you to be my husband. I will love you and look after you and I will keep you happy throughout your life. Will you take me as your wife and spend your life with me? 23. I give my love to you, and will be open to yours in return. I will always try to bring you laughter and happiness throughout our lives, But will always be there to give you a hug when you need one, In the presence of our family and friends, I promise to respect you, look after you, love and enjoy you. 24. Do you (Name) and (Name), promise to love, honour and support each other? To have and to hold, to tickle and to squeeze? And to continue to bring happiness and laughter into each others lives? Do you, today, vow to be wife and husband for the rest of your lives? (we do) 25. (Name) please repeat after me: I accept our strengths and weaknesses / and seek always to learn from our shared experiences / and to build from them a full and caring relationship / based on trust and on respect. I promise to share my life with you / and be faithful to you. 
 I will be honest and open with you. 
 I will be there to listen to you, comfort you and support you. 
 I promise to share your joys and our responsibilities. 
 I give my love to you and will be open to your love in return. / I will respect and care for you / with tenderness and affection for all of my life, / whatever our future together may hold. 
 All that I am and all that I have, / I offer to you (Name), in love and in joy. / In the presence of our family and friends I ask you (Name), / if you will be my friend, lover and companion throughout my life? 26. Do you love (Name) with all your heart and soul? Will you take (Name) as your wife? Will you continue to love her and share your life with her, the dark and the light? Will you look after her, support and encourage her in all ways and bring her happiness and laughter? <font face="Arial Unicode MS" size="3

nina917 · July 2012

Thankyou so much for the help!

Binding Ties · July 2012

No worries, have a great day :-)

deafcouple2008 · September 2012

Ok thought I would add a little of mine in too

You cannot possess me for I belong to myself.

But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give.

You cannot command me for I am a free person.

I pledge to you (name), that it will be your eyes into which I smile every morning.

I pledge to you (name), my living and my dying, each equally in your care.

I shall be a shield for your back, and you for mine.

I shall not lander you, nor you me.

I shall honor you above all others, and when we quarrel,

We shall do so in private and tell no strangers our grievances.

These are my wedding vows to you.

This is the marriage of equals.
AND best of all

(Bride) (Groom), this cord symbolizes so much. It is your life, your love, and the eternal connection that the two of you have found with one another. The ties of this handfastening are not formed by these ribbons, or even by the knots connecting them. They are formed instead by your vows, by your pledge, your souls, and your two hearts, now bound together as one.

Hope this helps!

handfasting help!

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