Candle Ceremony Wedding Script

Bride and groom holding unity candle at wedding

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~12 Minute Ceremony

A candle ceremony unites the bride and groom with their covenant marriage. Three candles are displayed at the beginning of the ceremony – the first candle represents one partner, the second represents the other partner, and the last one (in the middle) represents their marriage. Including a candle lighting adds a wonderful layer of meaning to a wedding ceremony.

Introduction/Welcome/Wedding Sermon

Officiant (to guests):

Welcome, family, friends, and associates of the bride and groom. The couple before you has chosen to become wed with a Unity Candle ceremony today. The candles on either side represent the wedding couple, and the candle in the middle represents their marriage to come as a single unit. We will now begin the ceremony.

Officiant (to couple):

You both have chosen the Unity Candle for your symbolic wedding ceremony today. The candle on the far left represents _______________. The candle on the far right represents _______________. The candle in the center here represents your covenant of marriage, which you will light together shortly.

Up until this point, you both have led separate lives as your own unique individuals. But now your paths will cross into this unified marriage once you light this candle. The fire of the candle represents the passion and love that you have for one another as you unify as a married couple. Remember that your individuality remains so even as you enter this marriage and to support one another in your separate endeavors but strive to come together as a team in everything you do.

Reading

Officiant (to guests):

I will now share a brief reading on the nature of love.

May your love be firm,

And may your dream of a life together

be a river between two shores

by day bathed in sunlight, and by night

illuminated from within. May the heron

carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring

the sea’s blue grace. May your twin thoughts spiral upward

like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind,

and be as noble as the Douglas fir.

May you never find yourselves back to back

without love pulling you around

into each other’s arms.”

-A Wedding Toast by James Bertolino

Exchanging of Vows

Officiant (to couple):

Before you both light the center candle together, it is time for the bride and groom to exchange vows.

(To one partner) _______________, you can say your vows first.

Partner 1:

(Optional: share any personal vows that may have been written.)

I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my lawfully wedded spouse/wife/husband. I vow to love and cherish you through the best and worst we may face. From this day, and forevermore, I am yours.

Officiant (to the other partner):

_______________, you can now say your vows.

Partner 2:

(Optional: share any personal vows that may have been written.)

Officiant (to couple)

Now that you have exchanged your vows, it is time to light the center candle. Each of you takes one candle and places the flame on the wick in the center candle. At this moment, your lives will be united into one marriage covenant in this symbolic lighting of the center candle.

Exchanging of Rings

Officiant (to couple):

Now it’s time to exchange the rings.

Officiant (to Partner 1):

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love you until death do us part.”

Partner 1:

With this ring, I promise to love you until death does us part.

Officiant (to Partner 2):

_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise to love you until death do us part.”

Partner 2:

With this ring, I promise to love you until death does us part.

Declaration of Intent

Officiant (to couple):

_______________ and _______________, please join hands. _______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 1:

I do.

Officiant (to Partner 2):

_______________, do you take _______________ to be your lawfully wedded partner?

Partner 2:

I do.

Pronouncement

Officiant (to couple):

_______________ and _______________, you have vowed your love to one another and lit the unity candle in symbolism of this passion for each other.

By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church Ministries, I now pronounce you married! You may kiss if you wish to do so.