Ladies and gentlemen,
We are gathered here today in recognition of the renewal of vows of say your name and your partners.
Both have come here today to not only proclaim their love and devotion to one another,
But also to anyone that need listen.
It can be easy to think that a relationship is a natural event,
But it is hard for me to think so.
That you can find someone to love and cherish who also wants to love and cherish you is in my mind a miraculous event.
The poet Rilke once said,
For one human being to love another,
That is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks,
The ultimate,
The last test and proof,
The work for which all other work is but preparation.
In choosing to become married today,
I know that you not only recognize this truth,
But you've answered the call.
In preparing wedding ceremonies,
I usually like to ask the following questions in personalizing each one.
What qualities do you most admire about your partner?
What qualities does your partner most inspire in you?
What do you want others to know about your relationship?
What does marriage mean to you?
I invite you to take some time to think about these questions,
And if appropriate,
To share them with your partner.
As miraculous as marriage is,
It can also be challenging.
Nothing like marriage calls you to be your best self and at the same time selfless.
You must be present,
Loving and strong,
Yet at the same time unselfish,
Willing to see things from your spouse's point of view.
As great an accomplishment as renewing these vows today is,
Know that it will not compare to the days,
The months,
And the years ahead.
Emmy Bloom said,
Love at first sight is easy to understand.
It's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.
Be it in moments unforgettable or in the small and everyday tasks,
The love between you is something you must continue to learn to nurture and cultivate as much as any goals or dreams you have in your lives.
Not just in the vows you take here today,
But in what you do and say from this day forward.
Recognize that the vows you take today are not just to each other,
But to yourself,
To always remember your commitment to love and to realizing it with your partner.
Know that as this marriage is something you have grown into,
It is something that will now continue to grow each of you.
Do you take your partner to be your wife,
To have and to hold,
To love and to cherish,
For better or for worse,
From this day forward and every day again anew?
Do you take your partner to be your husband,
To have and to hold,
To love and to cherish,
For better or for worse,
From this day forward and every day again anew?
Know that even in marriage you still remain two independent beings,
Yet you have now chosen to be as one together.
The minister and writer Frederick Buechner said,
Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave,
And unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you,
There can be no real peace or joy or freedom for me.
To see reality not as we expect it to be but as it is,
Is to see that unless we live for each other and in and through each other,
We do not really live very satisfactorily,
That there can really be life only where there really is,
In just this sense,
Love.
Know that from this moment forward,
You are one.
Your needs are now each other's needs,
Your joy,
Your sorrow,
Your dreams and your love is now shared.
I now invite you to re-give your rings or something of similar meaning to you.
Take this ring,
Place it on your partner's finger and repeat after me.
With this ring,
I thee wed.
Partner realize that this ring represents an endless circle between you and your partner.
Partner realize that this ring represents an endless circle of love between you and your partner.
It is a symbol of elation you both feel right now and the happiness you co-create in this life together.
I now invite you to re-give your rings or something of similar meaning to you.
Take this ring,
Place it on your partner's finger and repeat after me.
With this ring,
I thee wed.
Partner realize that this ring represents an endless circle of love between you and your partner.
It is a symbol of elation you both feel right now and the happiness you co-create in this life together.
At this time,
It is my pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife,
Or husband and husband,
Or wife and wife.
You may kiss and celebrate in this deep love.
Kiss,
Hug,
And hey,
Since no one else is probably watching,
Maybe even more than that,
Congratulations.
