A Short and Sweet Wedding Ceremony Script Celebrating the Groom's Hindu Culture.

A Hindu Wedding Celebration.

I marry a lot of international couples.  Sometimes, I perform the legal and/or American parts of the ceremony, other times we include hints of each culture in the ceremony.  
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Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We are gathered here today, to celebrate the wedding of Allison and Rohith. You have come here from nearby and from far away to share in this commitment now they make to one another, to offer your love and support to their union, and to allow Allison and Rohith to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

As they promise to love, trust in that love, honor one another as individuals, and anticipate with joy spending the rest of their lives together. They are surrounded by you - their friends and family. They ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married.

They also remember other loved ones who cannot be here to share this moment with them today. Those people too, they hold dear in their hearts.

(Brief moment of silence)

Allison and Rohith, marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together. It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, and memories, their joys and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life. A strong marriage also nurtures each of you as separate individuals and allows you to maintain your unique identity and grow in your own way through the years ahead. It is a safe haven for each of you to become your best self while together you become better than ever could be alone. You are adding to your life not only the affection of each other but also the companionship and blessing of a deep trust. You are agreeing to share strength, responsibilities, and love. To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both.

Reading

In the Hindu faith, weddings include the Saptapadi [sup-thu-putty], or seven steps. These steps represent the promises the couple make to each other. Rohit and Allison wish to honor this tradition with a reading.


May this couple be blessed with an abundance of resources and comforts and be helpful to one another in all ways. 
May this couple be strong and complement one another. 
May this couple be blessed with prosperity and riches on all levels. 
May this couple be eternally happy. 
May this couple be blessed with a happy family life. 
May this couple live in perfect harmony… true to their personal values and their joint promises. 
May this couple always be the best of friends.

Vows

Do you Rohit, take Allison, to be your wife, to have and to hold, in good times and bad, to love without reservation? Do you promise to comfort her and encourage her, to laugh and to cry, to be honest, and open, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part or at least 200 more years?

(I do.)

Do you Allison, take Rohit, to be your husband, to have and to hold, in good times and bad, to love without reservation? Do you promise to comfort him and encourage him, to laugh and to cry, to be honest, and open, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part or at least 200 more years?

(I do.)


Exchange of Rings

May we have the rings, please...

(Rohit will have both rings. Victoria will ask for them?)

As you exchange these rings, may they be symbols of your promises to each other and remind you of your devotion. May you feel honored to call each other husband and wife. May you remember that from this day the one you love is always beside you.  

Rohit, place the ring on Allison’s finger and repeat after me:

(Rohit): Allison, I give you this ring with all that I am and all that I ever will be. Wear it and know that I love you.

Allison, place the ring on Rohit’s finger and repeat after me:
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(Allison): Rohit, I give you this ring with all that I am and all that I ever will be. Wear it and know that I love you.


Closing

Allison and Rohit, you came here today to affirm your love for one another and formally acknowledge that which your hearts already knew…that your lives are meant to be shared as one, that you are stronger together than you are apart, and that, for all the days yet to come, you wish to share together all life’s joys and challenges, committed one to the other.

You have made this affirmation and commitment in the presence of the most important people in your lives. 

May you forever feel that the life you share is the life you have always wanted.

By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now share your first kiss.

(Kiss)

Congratulations!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you, for the first time as husband and wife, Rohit and Allison!​

I am open to marrying any couple. It is my goal to meet each couple where they are and help them to have a positive wedding experience.  In order to meet you where you are, I approach every wedding with an open mind - I don’t know anything about you until you tell me and that’s only if you choose to tell me.  Wedding ceremony scripts have been written for years for brides and grooms. Now, bride and bride or groom and groom are very common. Some couples are choosing to forego traditional gender roles altogether and are  using the terms spouse or partner. If you have made the choice to use non-traditional pronouns, please let me know and I am happy to honor your preferences.   Any wedding ceremony script can be changed to reflect your personal preferences.