|
Introduction
Good
relationships never stop growing. Like fine wine, they get better with
age. (Name of Groom) and (Name of
Bride), you have come to this beautiful and romantic island
of Jamaica so that you can renew your vow and renew your commitment
of love for each other.
God invented marriage because He knew of your need and desire for companionship,
love and fulfillment. 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 lot of love AND 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
Let me remind you that 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)
Sandburg’s Poem
Poet Carl Sandburg captured the essence of a love, which can grow
and mature for a lifetime 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.”
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), continue to take (Name
of Bride), to be your wife, to live together according to the
Bible? Will you continue to love and cherish her, giving her assistance
in all of life’s labors? Will you continue to 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), continue to take (Name
of Groom), to be your husband, to live together according to
the Bible? Will you continue to love and cherish him, giving him assistance
in all of life’s labors? Will you continue to 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 (Name of Bride)’s
left hand and repeat after me as you make these vows to (Name
of Bride).
“I, (Name of Groom), renew my commitment to you,
(Name of Bride), as your 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 renew my vow of love to you – my wife.”
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), renew my commitment to you,
(Name of Groom), as your wife. 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 renew my vow of love to you—my wife.”
Prayer
(personal prayer by Marriage Officiant)
Proclamation
Now that you, (Name of Groom) and (Name of Bride),
have openly declared your wish to remain 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, I do affirm before
God, that the two of you have today expressed your desires to rekindle
your love and passion and renew your vow of marriage. From this moment
on, let all know of your desire to continue for a lifetime as husband
and wife. May God bless you.
You may kiss the Bride!
Contemporary
Vows Renewal Ceremony | Christian
Vows Renewal Ceremony
Ceremonies of the Heart
Previous
Page
|