Vow Renewal Ceremony
Names: ______and______
Location
Date
Welcome & Opening
____and______when you first joined hands and hearts in marriage ___years ago today, you did not know where life would take you.
You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surelybrought you both wonderful blessings and probably a few challenges.
But here you are today, having fulfilled the vows to love, honor and cherish you made on your wedding day.And that is cause for great celebration!
In many ways a vow renewal is even more meaningful than the original commitment. After __ years, you truly know each other in all dimensions – all has been revealed! Having seen each other’s' vulnerabilities, idiosyncrasies, and crazy habits, you knowingly and willingly agree to go forward together! You boldly do so because you have also come to know deeply and intimately the sterling qualities and precious nature of each other that are so worthy of a lifetime of love. The challenges you have faced together have deepened your love and the happiness you’ve shared over the years has sealed your bond into an unbreakable tie. This tie that binds at your __h anniversary is the confidence in your ability to love each other well and the assurance of your unwavering commitment to each other. This is a rare and beautiful gift and we celebrate it with you enthusiastically!.
As you continue on your journey together, practice what you have discovered works:
Let your love be stronger than your anger.
Practice the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than to break.
Always search for the best in your partner while embracing imperfections.
Confide honestly with your partner and be a careful listener, showing you care deeply about your partners needs and wishes even if they are different from your own.
Keep your friendship strong and your agreements honored so your intimacy will thrive.
Remember the power of the golden rule, “Act toward each other as you would have the other act toward you.”
Always speak the truth in love and forgive seventy times seven.
Never tire of hearing or saying, “I love you.”
Allow your love to overflow to all those who need you and look to you as an example."
Reading by
Celtic Wedding Vow
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 cannon command me, for I am a free person
But I shall serve you in those ways you require
and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand.
I pledge to you that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night
and the eyes into which I smile in the morning
I pledge to you the first bite of my meat and the first drink from my cup
I pledge to you 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 slander 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.
This is my wedding vow to you.
This is the marriage of equals.
Vow Renewal
____and______please face each other and join hands.
As you celebrate here today, and as you reflect back over all the years as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the vows you took __ years ago?WE DO!
______, will you continue to have _____ as your wife and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?
Husband: I WILL
Do you reaffirm your love for her, and will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?
Husband: I DO
Wife, will you continue to have ______as your husband and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?
Wife: I WILL
Do you reaffirm your love for him, and will you love, honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?
Wife: I DO
Reading by
Apache Blessing
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years,
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth.
Ring Renewal
_____ and ______, On your wedding day you exchanged rings as a symbol of the never-ending circle that symbolizes the eternal quality of God, unending strength, and unending love!.
May you always wear your rings as a reminder of your wedding vows to each other, and your commitment to continue to live in unity, love and happiness.
God bless these rings and the two who exchanged them in love on their wedding day. Keep _____ and _____safe in the circle of your protection and love.
BLESSING OF COUPLES (if other couples are there)
Because ____ and _____ have experienced the blessing of ___ years of marriage, their fondest wish is to share today with the other married couples here, their very special friends, the blessing of your own renewal. So they ask you to celebrate your own relationships and renew your commitments today as you remember:
Marriage is a commitment to learning to care for one another in mutually fulfilling ways. It is not an act but a life-long relationship always in the making.
Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly.
Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise made in the hearts of two people who love each other and the potential of marriage requires a lifetime to fulfill.
Couples Stand for Blessing:
Committed couples present, please stand and step forward.
At this time, we offer a special blessing upon all married couples celebrating their lives together who are here today.
May you be blessed with the guidance, strength and direction to make your relationships grow and blossom in the years ahead. May your homes be blessed with joy and happiness, and may you strive together to make your hopes and dreams come true.
Most of all, we hope that all of your will be blessed by the love and support of family and friends as you continue life together as husband and wife.
And, from this day forth, may your worries be few, may your joys be many, and may your love grow more abundantly with each passing day. Amen.
Re-commitment to the Family:
One of the great blessings of marriage is the joy and responsibility of raising a family. ____ and ____have truly been blessed to be the parents of ______. As they renew their vows of marriage today, they also renew their commitment to be loving and caring parents recognizing with gratefulness the happiness and fulfillment that these three children brought to their marriage and family life.
PRONOUNCEMENT
___and___, today you have renewed the promises and vows you made to each other on your wedding day. You have symbolized the renewal of the marriage union by the joining of hands, the taking of vows, and by exchanging of rings
It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that joined you and forever binds you as husband and wife.
Kiss
Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a sign of affection…. You may share your renewal kiss!
Final Blessing
May your love deepen and strengthen as you walk the road ahead together.
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