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WEDDING: ADDRESS THE PEOPLE

A short statement to your wedding guests about marriage
What {Name 1} and {Name 2} mean to each other is obvious in their lives, but not easily expressed in the language of a ceremony. Marriage, and the union it symbolizes, can be the most intriguing of human experiences, for love in its many forms is what life is all about. To share their lives, to encourage creativity and inspire each other to reach beyond the limits of the ordinary - not at the expense of each partner’s individuality, but rather, by the strength of the common bond - that is the hope in which {Name 1} and {Name 2} come to be married. For the Christian, this occasion is not a spectacle, but worship; it is not a mere formal observance, but a participation in the will of God for life. A wedding is the celebration of the highest we know in human love, the pledging of the deepest human fidelity, the expression of the highest human aspiration. A relationship so sacred must not be entered into casually, but thoughtfully, deliberately and freely.
Marriage is a joyful covenanting in which two very independent beings proclaim, before God and human witnesses, their commitment to live together in Spiritual, physical and material unity. In this covenant they acknowledge that the great love God has shown for each of them enables them to love each other. They affirm that God's gracious presence and abiding power are needed for them to keep their vows, to continue to live in love, and to be faithful to God and each other in this world. We all affirm that the promise of God is eternal and the love of God is what brings strength to human love. Therefore marriage must not be entered into lightly or thoughtlessly, but with mutual respect and with reverence for God
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