Sample Ceremony Scripts // Ceremony Elements // Ring Exchange Prelude // Non-Religious Ring Exchange Prelude
The wedding ring is a traditional symbol of lasting commitment and enduring love, a universal expression of that which is without beginning and without end. These rings express two other ideals – the ring itself, appealing to hand and eye, and the center, less tangible, and yet it has essence. The ring symbolizes the unbroken circle of your love and at its center lies love itself. And it is this love on which your marriage puts its faith, and from which it draws its sustenance and inspiration.
Bride and Groom's rings are an external and visible sign of the internal and spiritual bond of love which unites their two hearts. May they serve as a seal of the vows Bride and Groom have made to one another. Bless these rings, symbols of eternity, beauty and strength. Bless the couple who give them and wear them—may they ever live in harmony, unity, love, and happiness from this day forward.
This circlet of precious metal is justly regarded as a fitting emblem of the purity and perpetuity of the Marriage State. The ancients were reminded by the circle of eternity, as it is so fashioned as to have neither beginning nor end; while gold is so incorruptible that it cannot be tarnished by use or time. So may the union, at this time solemnized, be incorruptible in its purity and more lasting that time itself.
The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken.
The wedding ring seals the vows of marriage as a signature bears witness to a written covenant. As the ring is
placed upon the finger, will you repeat these words: