Introduction

(Name of Groom) and (Name of Bride), you have come to this beautiful setting here in Jamaica, so that you can publicly commit yourselves to each other in marriage.

God invented marriage because He knew of your need and desire for companionship, love and fulfillment. But God also knew that no marriage would ever be perfect. As you enter into this union, you must understand that it will take a lot of love and work to make this marriage successful.

Now we know that there will never be a perfect marriage. As you enter into this next step in your relationship, you should understand that it takes a love of love AND a lot of work to make a good marriage. Some couples tend to think of marriage as a 50/50 proposition. But the best relationships are usually 90/10. If you both give 90% and take only 10—you’ll have the formula likely to bring both of you a lifetime of happiness.

1 Corinthians 13

Love is a verb. It is not a state of being but an ACTION verb. It is not just how you feel about each other, but what you DO for each other that will keep your relationship growing and alive.

Some of the greatest advice about love ever written is found in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13:

“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the cost. You will always believe in them, always expect the best of them and always stand your ground defending them.

(Name of Groom) and (Name of Bride), in Jamaica, there is a term that describes how couples treat one another “Giv an Tek and Mek Up” - to put things right by family discussion. In other words, don’t let the sun set when you find that you are angry. Talk things out. Make things right with each other quickly, before the sun disappears. That’s the best way to keep small misunderstands from growing into relationship breaking problems.

Prayer (personal prayer by Marriage Officiant)

(Optional) Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Sandburg’s Poem

While marriages are founded and built upon love, emotions are often fickle. Poet Carl Sandburg captured the essence of a love, which can stand the test of time when he wrote:

“I love you. I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be. I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals. I pray for your desires, that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little.

A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall. But the most beautiful rose is one, hardly more than a bud, wherein the pangs and ecstasies are working for larger and finer growth. Not always shall you be what you are now. You are going forward toward something great. I am on the way with you and…I love you.”

MINISTER

Friends, (Name of Groom) and (Name of Bride),stand before us to be united in marriage. If anyone can show any just cause why they should not be joined together in marriage, let him now speak or else forever hold his peace.

His Vows
(Rose Ceremony is Optional)

(Name of Groom), please take this rose and give it to (Name of Bride). (Name of Groom), let this beautiful flower that you have given to (Name of Bride), remind you of the beautiful and fragile nature of your relationship with (Name of Bride). Cherish her always, treating her as your princess.

Do you, (Name of Groom), take (Name of Bride), to be your wife, to live together according to the Bible? Will you love and cherish her, giving her assistance in all of life’s labors? Will you be true to her both in sickness and health, when things are going well and when there are problems? And, will you be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? If so, you may answer, “I WILL”.

Her Vows
(Rose Ceremony is Optional)

(Name of Bride), please take this rose and give it to (Name of Groom). (Name of Bride), let this beautiful flower that you have given to (Name of Groom), remind you of the beautiful and fragile nature of your relationship with (Name of Groom). Cherish him always, treating him as your prince.

Do you, (Name of Bride), take (Name of Groom), to be your husband, to live together according to the Bible? Will you love and cherish him, giving him assistance in all of life’s labors? Will you be true to him both in sickness and health, when things are going well and when there are problems? And, will you be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? If so, you may answer, “I WILL”.

Her Ring

(Name of Groom), may I have the ring that is the lasting symbol of your vows to (Name of Bride)?

This gold ring has been subjected to tremendous heat so that the waste could be removed and the metal purified into a fit token of your commitment of love. (Name of Groom), let this ring symbolize your willingness to build your character through your self-sacrificial love for (Name of Bride).

Place the ring on the third finger of (Name of Bride)’S left hand and repeat after me as you make these vows to (Name of Bride).

“I, (Name of Groom), from this day forward, take you, (Name of Bride), to be my lawfully wedded wife. I will love you, I will cherish you, I will be true to you, no matter what comes, whether we become rich or poor, whether there is sickness or health, until we are parted by death, and with this ring, as a symbol of this pledge, I now marry.”

His Ring

(Name of Bride), may I have the ring that is the lasting symbol of your vows to (Name of Groom).

This ring is a circle, which symbolizes eternity—for a circle has no ending. (Name of Bride), let this ring remind you of a new lifetime relationship that you are entering with (Name of Groom). Place the ring on the third finger of (Name of Groom)’s left hand and repeat after me as you make these vows to (Name of Groom).

“I, (Name of Bride), from this day forward, take you, (Name of Groom), to be my lawfully wedded husband. I will love you, I will cherish you, and I will be true to you, no matter what comes. Whether we become rich or poor, whether there is sickness or health, until we are parted by death, and with this ring, as a symbol of this pledge, I now marry you.”

Prayer (personal prayer by Marriage Officiant)

Proclamation

Now that you, (Name of Groom) and (Name of Bride), have openly declared your wish to be united in the covenant of marriage, and as you have made these promises to each other before God and these witnesses, and have given each other rings to confirm your vows:

By the power and authority given to me as a minister, according to the laws of the Country of Jamaica, do now pronounce you to be: Husband and Wife!

God has joined you together—let no one tear you apart.

You may kiss the Bride!

Contemporary Ceremony | Christian Ceremony | Ceremonies of the Heart

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