RENEWAL CEREMONY #1

Greeting / Welcoming Words

Blessings and welcome. We are gathered her today in the beautiful place to celebrate the re-uniting of GROOM and BRIDE in the enduring bonds of marriage.

Let this be a day of gladness, thanksgiving, possibility, and good fortune for all of us, but especially for GROOM and BRIDE, who are here to renew and celebrate their love. Just as spring blossoms anew after a harsh winter, so must spouses renew their love for each other in their daily lives.

Today marks the _____ anniversary of your marriage and today you renew your vows and love as husband and wife. Today begins the new spring of this year's love. So may it be renewed each day in your hearts.

A Poem by James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite
excitement marriage should bring,
and may life grant you also patience,
tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another
not so much to fill your emptiness
as to help you to know your fullness.

A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not make
the mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because
it has a mountain towering over it.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.

May you succeed in all important ways with one another,
and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!"
and take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart,
may both of you hope to have
good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is
the awareness of one another's
presence—no more physical than spiritual,
warm and near when you are
side by side, and warm and near when
you are in separate rooms
or even distant cities.

May you have happiness,
and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

The Charge / Question of Intent

Before we come to the exchange of vows, I will confirm your intent.

GROOM and BRIDE, have you come here freely and with the intention of a renewal of your marriage vows? (We have)

Will you continue to love and honor and comfort each other as man and wife every day as you have promised to do? (We will)

Renewal of Wedding Vows

GROOM and BRIDE, when you first joined hands and hearts (___) years ago, you did not know where life would take you. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult tribulations. Therefore, you have fulfilled your promise.

With this understanding, do you GROOM, continue to take BRIDE as your beloved wife? (I do)

Will you continue to be a tender, faithful husband? Will you continue to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and keep yourself only unto her? (I will)

With this understanding, do you BRIDE, continue to take GROOM as your beloved husband? (I do)

Will you continue to be a tender, faithful wife? Will you continue to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and keep yourself only unto him. (I will)

Re-Dedication of Wedding Rings

The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond, which unites two loyal hearts in endless love. These circles are designed without an ending, so they speak of eternity. May the incorruptible substance of these rings represent a love glowing with increasing luster through the years and may all good and holy beings upon this Earth bless these rings which you give to each other as the sign of your love, trust, faithfulness, respect and devotion.

GROOM, please place the ring on BRIDE's left hand and repeat after me:

With this ring, I continue my promise to you that I will be your faithful partner in life.

BRIDE, please place the ring on GROOM's left hand and repeat after me:

With this ring, I continue my promise to you that I will be your faithful partner in life.

Benediction

GROOM and BRIDE,
May you always remain sweethearts, helpmates and friends.
May your life together be full of kindness and understanding,
thoughtfulness and rejoicing.
May the years bring you happiness and contentment.
May you enter into each other's sorrow by sympathy,
Into each other's joy with gladness,
Into each other's hope with faith and trust,
Into each other's needs with the sure presence of love,
Into each other's lives with enthusiasm and embracing.

Pronouncement as Husband and Wife

GROOM and BRIDE, I now pronounce that you have today reaffirmed your life’s commitment to one another. Go forth in love and friendship for the rest of the days of your lives.

You may seal your vows, and confirm your continued commitment and love for each other, with a kiss.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, once again as husband and wife, GROOM and BRIDE!

RENEWAL CEREMONY #2

Greeting / Welcoming Words

Welcome family and friends... love and relationships are what life is about. We have come here joyfully to celebrate the decision GROOM and BRIDE made ___ years ago to share their love by joining in marriage.

Good relationships never stop growing. Like fine wine, they get better with age. GROOM and BRIDE, you have now been married ____ years and through all the years of your journey together, you have now come to this beautiful setting, so that you could renew your vow and commitment of love for each other.

No marriage is perfect. As you continue in this union, you already know that it will continue to take a lot of love and work to keep your relationship an ongoing success.

As you continue to travel on your journey together, always remember to:

Let your love be stronger than your anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend than
to break.
Believe the best of your beloved rather than the worst.
Confide in your partner and ask for help when you need it.
Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.
Give your spouse the same courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.
And... say "I love you" every day.

A Special Reading of Love

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.

Love is content with the present, it hopes for the future, and it does not brood over the past. It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories and working toward common goals.

If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that are missing. If you don’t have love in your life, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.

Renewal of Wedding Vows

GROOM and BRIDE, when you first joined hands and hearts (___) years ago, you did not know where life would take you. Marriage is a precious gift; a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult tribulations. Therefore, you have fulfilled your promise.

The vows you will now renew are a solemn pledge of love and are a reaffirmation of your commitment to one another. Please face each other and join hands.

GROOM, if you wish to reaffirm your love for BRIDE, then look into her eyes and into her heart and repeat after me:

On this day ___ years ago, I promised to love you and cherish you, all the days of my life. I hereby reaffirm that promise, in the presence our friends and family. BRIDE you have been my best friend and companion, and the revered mother of our children, but most of all, you have been my beautiful loving wife for all these years, and I renew my pledge to you today, of my eternal devotion.

BRIDE, if you wish to reaffirm your love for GROOM, then look into his eyes and into his heart and repeat after me:

On this day ___ years ago, I promised to love you and cherish you, all the days of my life. I hereby reaffirm that promise, in the presence of our friends and family. GROOM you have been my best friend and companion, and the revered father of our children, but most of all you have been my handsome loving husband for all these years, and I renew my pledge to you today of my eternal devotion.

Re-Dedication of Wedding Rings

GROOM and BRIDE, ____ years ago you chose these rings as the symbol of your marriage covenant. They are made of gold, a metal that does not tarnish and is enduring. These rings represent the ties that bind you together as husband and wife. They are an endless circle representing your marriage union which shall be eternal and pure as these rings.

GROOM, please place the ring on BRIDE's left hand and repeat after me:

With this ring, I wed you BRIDE for today, for tomorrow, and for all the years to come. Please wear it as a sign of my love and a notice to all the world that you have chosen me to be your husband.

BRIDE, please place the ring on GROOM's left hand and repeat after me:

With this ring, I wed you GROOM for today, for tomorrow, and for all the years to come. Please wear it as a sign of my love and a notice to all the world that you have chosen me to be your husband.

Let these rings serve as the symbol of your continued love and commitment to each other and may they also serve as a sign of your continued happiness and joy.

Benediction

GROOM and BRIDE, may the sun bring you new energy by day.

May the moon softly restore you by night.

May the rain wash away your worries.

May your joys be sweet as spring flowers that grow

As bright as a fire when winter winds blow

As countless as leaves that float down in the fall

As serene as the love that keeps watch over all.

And may you live the days of your lives in peace, love, and happiness.

Pronouncement as Husband and Wife

GROOM and BRIDE, having witnessed your vows of affirmation with all who are assembled here, and by the authority of love itself, I do affirm that you have expressed your desire to continue your journey as husband and wife.

You may seal your vows, and confirm your continued commitment and love for each other, with a kiss.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, once again as husband and wife, GROOM and BRIDE!