COMMITMENT CEREMONY
WELCOME
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this evening in this beautiful setting where the sky is our only ceiling, the earth our only floor, and the horizons our only walls to celebrate the love and commitment (life partners) have for each other.
GATHERING WORDS
If you ask most couples who have a strong and abiding love what they like most about their partner, usually they will say that they don't have to pretend to be anything other than what they are. They are able to express themselves without fear of being rejected or judged. There is room in the relationship for both of them to be unique individuals. They are free to surrender to the possibility of profound intimacy--to be known and loved without conditions.
(life partners), for quite some time you have known and loved each other. You have been strengthed by your love and have received many blessings through its beauty and tenderness. You have learned that you can depend on each other and on the power of your love and that through each other your are becoming better people.
Today, you come before us to declare your commitment to each other as life partners, voiwing to share the trials and triumphs of your shared life. You are declaring to each other and to all of us present that you will be by each other's side no matter what the world brings your way.
Love has gathered us here tonight. We are here to celebrate the love (life partners) have for each other, as well as the love that each of you has given them throughout their lives. As families and friends, you are the ones who have taught (life partners) how to love. You have shown them the blessings that come through loving one another.
Having planted this seed of love in them, we are now gethered to support them as they embark upon their voyage of discovery as life partners. We are here to see them off on this journey. Let us also be there to see them through.
RING VOWS
May I have the rings please? These ring symbolize the holiness, perfection, and peace that is available to you in your union. They are symbols of the love, friendship, and faithfulness that you share. As circles, they have no beginning or end. They are round like the sun, the moon, the earth, and the universe. Just as these rings have no points of weakness, may your union be strong, and may you be blessed with joy as you journey through life together surrounded by the circle of your love.
(life partners, each in turn), please place the ring you have chosen for your partner on her finger and repeat affter me: I choose you to be my life partner, in equal love, as a mirror for my true self, as a partner on my path, to honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, throughout our days together. This ring is my gift to you. May it always remind you that from this day forward you are surrounded by my love.
BLESSING
May all that you are, always be in love. May all that is love always be in you. May your love be as beautiful on each day you share as it is on this day of celebration, and may each day that you share be as precious as the day you first fell in love. May you always see and encourage the best in each other. May life's challenges serve to strengthen the bond between you. And may you always be each other's best friend and greatest love.
PRONOUNCEMENT
(life partners), you have spoken solemn and sacred vows to each other and have sealed this pledge by the giving and receiving of rings. It is not a minister standing before you that makes your union real. It is the love, honesty, and sincerity with which you have said and done those things tonight. It is now my honor and privilege to pronounce what your souls have known forever that you are indeed life partners!
You may now kiss!