Amy and James - A Private, Christian, Elopement ceremony script.

Amy and James have been together for a long time.  It took them several years to finally find the time to become husband and wife. Work, schedules, kids, dogs, all sorts of things can get in the way of finally saying "I do!"  When they did, they chose to rent a beautiful, modern, hotel suite and got married by the fire with a view of the city.  It was an amazing winder's day.  

OPENING PRAYER
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Let us pray, Faithful God, we invoke Your name in this glad moment, because we know you are the Creator of humanity in your image and in all our diversity.  You are the Author of love, the Source of passion, the Model of commitment. You stand with us, through all of life’s experiences, challenges, worries, defeats, and victories.  We pray for your presence now, confident that divine blessing comes to rest wherever hearts are woven together with fidelity and love. Bless this hour for Amy and James, and let Your peace uphold all who love them and who have contributed to the lives embracing this sacred moment.  Amen.

WORDS ABOUT LOVE AND MARRIAGE
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Amy and James, We are here today to celebrate your uniting in marriage and taking the first step of your new beginning: your new life together.  The ability and desire for one human being to love another is perhaps the most precious and fulfilling gift that has been entrusted to us. It is an all-consuming task, a lifelong endeavor — the journey we’ve been preparing for all of our lives. Loving someone is a reason to stretch beyond our limits, to become more for the sake of the other.  It is to look into the soul of your beloved and accept what you see. Loving is the ultimate commitment which challenges human beings to become all that we are meant to be. As you join in marriage today, you are announcing to the world that you are welcoming that challenge with open arms and glad hearts.

MOMENT OF SILENCE
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At this time, let us take a moment of silence to remember those who are not here to celebrate with us, due to distance, other commitments, or having been called home to God.  Even though they are not here physically, they are a fundamental part of the foundation that makes Amy and James the people they are today. May we always remember (Insert name here) and the other souls who have imprinted upon this couple the unparalleled importance of love and family in this world. Please cherish the memories of these friends and family and all others who live on in our hearts.  Help them to bear witness to this union and to share in the joy of these two hearts uniting. Amen.

DECLARATION OF INTENT
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Do you, James, promise to love Amy and respect her, to share your life and your dreams, to build with her a home that is a place of love, happiness, commitment, and growth?   James: I do.

Do you promise to be a companion to her in all of her successes and failures, her happiness and sadness, to always give to her your unwavering support and above all else, the knowledge that she will always be loved for whom she truly is? 
James:  I do. 

Do you, Amy, promise to love James and respect him, to share your life and your dreams, to build with him a home that is a place of love, happiness, commitment, and growth?  Amy: I do. 

Do you promise to be a companion to him in all of his successes and failures, his happiness and sadness, to always give to him your unwavering support and above all else, the knowledge that he will always be loved for whom he truly is?
Amy:  I do.

WEDDING VOWS
Amy and James share their vows for each other

MEANING OF THE RINGS
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The rings are the universal symbols of marriage.  They mean many things. 
From now on, you will wear these rings and they will remind you. They will remind you of the endless circle that they are.  Like love, there is no beginning and no end. They will remind you daily that there is someone who needs you, who wants you beside them, someone whose heart you complete.  Sometimes these rings will remind you of the commitment that you have made - for better or for worse, in times that define our character and arc. May they always remind you that there is one other person in the world who has pledged to love you forever, through thick and through thin and with all that they have. 

Please repeat after me.... 
Amy, 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 always and forever. 

James, 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 always and forever.

FINAL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
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Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be a 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 a companion to the other. 
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. 
Go now to your dwelling place to enter the days of your togetherness. 
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. 
May happiness be your companion, and may your days together be good and long upon the earth.

MARRIAGE PRONOUNCEMENT
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Forasmuch as you have openly declared your wishes to be united in marriage, and have pledged your love to each other, and have confirmed the same by joining hands, exchanging rings and declaring vows, by the power vested in me by the State of Indiana and the Lord, our God, I do now pronounce you husband and wife.  
You may now kiss the Bride!

I am very happy to pronounce you Mr. and Mrs…!

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