This wedding can fit as part of the "working" section of a Core Order of Ritual rite, or it can stand alone. Most couples have asked that it stand alone.
Bride & Groom
date
Procession
Welcome/Intent
We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of _bride_ and _groom_. Marriage is a central rite of passage, a ceremony marking the movement of two people, each of whom was once on a different path, to join together and follow the same path. Where before they chose their path based on their own feelings and desires, they have now made a conscious choice: as one, they will decide where the path of their life leads.
Today, _bride_ and _groom_ will embark on this journey, each becoming a part of the other's family, while together they will become a family of their own.
Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. As with any aspect of life, it has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of the meaning of this partnership, _bride_ and _groom_ have come here today to be joined as one in marriage.
You are aware of the reality of the vows you are about to speak to one another; of the responsibility and reciprocity that comes when a partnership is created. If there is any reason within your hearts that this ceremony should not continue at this time, I charge you to voice it now, for marriage is based in honesty and trust, and only with those things can you successfully take the first steps on this path.
Sharing the Cup
It is the right of every woman to choose the man she wishes to spend her life with, and the responsibility of every man to accept or refuse this choice. In ancient days, marriage was signified by the offering of a cup of mead by the bride and acceptance by the groom.
Today, we hold forth a cup of mead, consecrating it as the cup by which _bride_ will make her choice and offer her vows to the man she so chooses. His acceptance of the cup signifies an acceptance of her love for him. He will then offer the cup to her, stating his own vows, and her acceptance of the cup from him shall seal this union.
_bride_, the cup is yours. Choose your husband, and speak your vows to him.
_bride_'s vows
_groom_ drinks.
_groom_, _bride_ has given a gift and you have accepted it. It is your turn to gift unto her. The cup is yours. Choose your bride, and speak your vows to her.
_groom_'s vows.
_bride_ drinks.
You have each chosen the other, spoken vows, and willingly accepted the other as equal.
I call out to the ancestors of both families to hear the vows of these two; to the spirits of nature who can carry word of this union on the winds; and to the shining ones to bless the union. Let this cup and its contents be blessed, and let the voices spoken over it resound in its depths and be lifted to the highest heights.
Exchange of Rings
By the exchange of these tokens of your love for one another, so are your lives interlaced. What one experiences, so shall the other; as honesty and love build, so will your bond strengthen and grow.
_bride_: This ring I give to you is a symbol of our love, and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day.
_groom_: I shall wear this ring as a symbol of our love, being always mindful of the vows we have spoken on this day.
_groom_: This ring I give to you is a symbol of our love, and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day.
_bride_: I shall wear this ring as a symbol of our love, being always mindful of the vows we have spoken on this day.
Kiss
Let these rings, endless circles each, remind you of the many turns of the Wheel through which you and your love shall pass, and may everything that is touched by your hand be touched also by love. With lives bound together and hearts tied as one, this couple has declared their love to one another.
_groom_ and _bride_, with joy and love, enflame this union with your kiss.
[kissing]
Blessing/Benediction
By the waters that support and surround us, by the sky that stretches out above us, and by the land that stretches out about us do I bless this union. May the fire that burns at the center of all things burn as one within your hearts for all your days.
Closing
You have bound yourselves to one another's lives and made them one. Step forth into that new life, and rejoice in your love.
Recession
