Wedding Ceremony for Fiona and John

We are here together on this beautiful Winters day, with the common purpose of seeing you both, Fiona Murfitt & John Kavanagh joined together in marriage………

# I know You are aware of the reality of the vows you are about  to make to one another and of the responsibility that comes  when a partnership is created. 

Marriage is based in honesty and  trust, and only with these things can you create a  successful partnership.

# A really happy marriage is founded on love.

- True love,
          -  is a commitment of both heart and mind.          
          - There is no stronger Bond.

Relationship in Marriage enables two individuals  to  share their: 
                               * desires,
                               * longings,
                               * dreams and memories,

and to help each other through their uncertainties. It provides the resources to step out and risk more and thus to gain more.  

In marriage husband and wife belong together,
providing mutual support and stability to each other. 

Together, today we recognise and affirm the relationship you both have as you begin your married life together. 

Not because of a contract written on paper,
but a contract written within the heart.

John and Fiona, with these things in mind

Will you take each other in marriage today?
* With love, respect and honesty
* Will you stand by each other through whatever may come?
* Will you make whatever changes you need to make so that
   you can genuinely share your lives together?

Response – We Will

Vows

Now we come to the vows that you have crafted together as your promises to one another.

I John take you Fiona to be my wife,

* my partner in life and my one true love.
* I speak these words of promise to you that I will continue   
* to build with you a life and relationship
* that is healthy and loving.

* I promise to you my honesty, healing, compassion and   
  understanding.

* I promise to encourage your dreams and to listen to your worries.

* I promise to care for you in every way that I can, through the
  best  and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.

* Whatever may come I will always be there.

* As I have given you my hand to hold,
* so I give you my life to share.

* This is my promise to you today, tomorrow and always.

I, Fiona take you John to be my husband,

* my partner in life and my one true love.
* I speak these words of promise to you that I will continue   
* to build with you a life and relationship
* that is healthy and loving.

* I promise to you my honesty, healing, compassion and   
  understanding.

* I promise to encourage your dreams and to listen to your  
  worries.

* I promise to care for you in every way that I can, through the
  best  and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.

* Whatever may come I will always be there.

* As I have given you my hand to hold,
* so I give you my life to share.

* This is my promise to you today, tomorrow and always.

These things you have promised to each other, 

# and at this moment you stand at the gateway between your
   old  life and your new.
 
# May you ever be mindful and strive to keep the vows
   you have made today.  

Honesty, trust, communication, effort, understanding... all these are the building blocks of a firm marriage, and your solemn responsibility to one another.

Blessing and Exchange of rings

The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love.
It is a seal of the vows you have made to one another.

By the exchange of these tokens of your love, so are your lives interlaced. What one experiences, so shall the other;
as love builds, so will your bond strengthen and grow.

May these rings, a token of your love for one another, serve as a reminder that all in life is a cycle,
all comes to pass and passes away and comes to pass again.

May you be blessed by the elements; for your hopes, dreams,
love, harmony, healing and strength. 

John: Fiona, this ring I give to you is a symbol of our love,
and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day.

Fiona: I shall wear this ring as a symbol of our love, being
always mindful of the vows we have spoken on this day.  

Fiona: John, this ring I give to you is a symbol of our love,
and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day.

John: I shall wear this ring as a symbol of our love,
being always mindful of the vows we have spoken on this day. 

BINDING:  (Fiona & Johns hands are loosely bound with the 
                            binding cord by Colin whilst saying.)

Colin:
* As this knot is tied, so are your lives now bound.
* Woven into this cord, imbued into its very fibres,
  are all the hopes of your friends and family
  (that are with you in thought and spirit today),
* and of yourselves, for your new life together.
* With the fashioning of this knot do I tie all the
desires,   dreams,    love, and happiness wished here and from afar to your lives.              

 And to this promise you are bound.

Fiona & John:  We are

Final Blessing

Like a stone should your love be firm,

# like a star should your love be constant.

 - Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide

   you in your marriage,

# let the strength of your wills bind you together,

 - let the power of love and desire make you happy,

# and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable.  - 
 - Possess one another, yet be understanding.

# Have patience with one another, for storms will come,
 - but they will pass quickly.

# Be free in giving affection and warmth.

 - Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you  
   unease.

# May your love look outward and move forward together;

 - Making burdens lighter because you divide them,

# making joys more rewarding because you share them,

# making you stronger so you can reach out and become more

   involved with life in ways you may not dare risk alone.

Closing

John, Fiona, You have made your vows today, one to the other,
and exchanged tokens of your love.

Because of that love and your commitment to each other ,

I pronounce you Husband and Wife.

John, You may now kiss your bride.