Welcome family, friends, and loved ones. **bride** and **groom** have asked that we first take
a few moments to acknowledge those family members who are not here with us today to witness
their union.
In the spirit of this day, we wish to honor all ancestors family and dear friends, those who could
not be with us here today. There are those who could not make the trip. Some have left us long
ago. There are those ancestors that are unknown to us, who have been the forbearers of the two
now before us. Please bring to mind any and all of your loved ones. With our thoughts, we can
add them to our gathering.
We have been invited here today to share with **Bride** and **Groom** a very important
moment in their lives. In the years they have been together, their love for one another has grown
and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife.
Who offers their blessing for this woman to be married to this man?
**FOB**: Her mother and I.
Who offers their blessing for this man to be married to this woman?
**FOG**: I do.
Marriage is one of the most important commitments two people can make in their lifetime. A
successful marriage is dependent upon many factors, the most important being a strong bond of
friendship and respect. Your love for each other will grow with each passing day, yet it is your
willingness to accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses, with patience and understanding, is
the true foundation of a healthy marriage.
**Groom**, please face **Bride** and repeat after me.
I **Groom**, take you **Bride** to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will
cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and
respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad,
regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from
this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
Now **Bride** please repeat after me.
I **Bride**, take you **Groom** to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will
cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and
respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad,
regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from
this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
May I have the rings please? **Groom**, **Bride**, please take each other’s hands.
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love. These are the hands
that will work along side yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that even
when wrinkled with age will still be reaching for yours, still giving the same unspoken tenderness
with each adoring touch.
**Groom**, place this ring on **Bride** 's finger and say, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
**Groom**: With this ring, I thee wed.
Now **Bride**, place this ring on **Groom** 's finger and say, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
**Bride**: With this ring, I thee wed.
At this time, I'd like **child/ren** ** to join us at the Sand Ceremony Table
Through love, a marriage can bring the lives of two families into perfect harmony, building and
enriching each person as they share their dreams, fears, and memories as one. Along your journey
together, enjoy your similarities, and cherish your differences. Love and support each other as you
continue to grow as a husband, as a wife, and as a person and a family.
This ceremony represents the importance of the individuals within this marriage and the joining of
two lives and two families into one entity. Each layer of sand represents a different aspect of the
marriage. We begin with a layer of sand from this beach, which symbolizes that the marriage is
grounded. **Officiate pours a thick layer of sand**A grounded marriage is comforting in good
times, unwavering in bad, and a constant source of assurance and faith. Upon this foundation, we
layer the sands of the new couple, **Bride**, will you please pour a thick layer of sand in on top of
mine? This symbolizes the binding of hearts, minds, and souls. Now **Groom**, please pour a
thick layer of sand on top of **Bride** ’s. Each grain represents a quality, an experience, an
ambition, a strength, or a weakness that makes them the person they are today. **child/ren**
chooses a sand color. This represents his/her life within the marriage.
Now everyone gather in close. We will now combine all the colors, symbolizing the combining of
three souls and one family. **Bride**, **Groom** and Alice, please pour the remainder of your
sand in together. As this new family combines their colors, they forever join their lives as one.
Finally, I will pour the remaining beach sand in on top to seal and bind the marriage. **Bride**
and **Groom**, I would ask only that you take this jar as a symbol of your commitment to your
new family. Keep it in a very special place in your home to remind yourselves often of this special
day.
As you begin this new chapter in your lives, remember, your yesterdays have led you to today, and
your love will lead you into tomorrow.
**Carolyn & Patrick** Please kiss, and find happiness everafter.
Ladies & Gentlemen may I present the new couple and family The **Sullivans**