welcome to the wedding of

Partner A + Partner B

Entrance Rite
As the entrance song is played, the assembly stands while the priest, ministers, and servers take their
places, followed by the wedding party. The rest of this part of the processional can take two forms.

In the first form, the vested priests and servers greet the bridal party at the door of the church, then all
enter as is customary for Mass. In the second form, the priest and servers wait in the area of the
sanctuary prepared for the couple to greet them when they arrive. In both forms, the priest always
leads the procession. The following script is based on the second form, or the order of a Catholic
wedding ceremony without Mass.

Greeting
(Priest) “In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit.”

[Assembly responds “Amen.”]

(Priest) “Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

[Assembly responds “And with your spirit.”]

Collect (Opening Prayer)

(Priest) “Be attentive to our prayers, O Lord, and in your kindness uphold what you have established for
the increase of the human race, so that the union you have created may be kept safe by your
assistance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.”
 Liturgy of the Word
First reading (Old Testament)

(Priest) “A reading from the book of Genesis 1:26-28:

Then God said:

‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
The word of the Lord.’

Second reading (from a book of the New Testament other than the Gospel)

(Priest) “A reading from the New Testament, 1 John 4:7-12:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of
God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how
God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through
him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice
for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever
seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

The word of the Lord.”

(All respond) “Thanks be to God.”

Third reading (the Gospel)

(Priest) “A reading from the Gospel, Matthew 5:13-16:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no
longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the
world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(All respond) “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” Assembly is seated.

Homily
(Priest) "John 3:30 says ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’

Those simple, direct words of St. John the Baptist, whose feast we celebrate today, summarize the life
of the Christian disciple. In all things, we want Jesus to increase and our own will, our own desires, our
own attachments, to decrease. In my heart, in my prayer, in my family, in my parish, in my work, in my
study, in my leisure, in my entertainment - may the Lord Jesus increase!"

Celebration of Matrimony
(Priest) “Dearly beloved, you have come together into the house of the church so that in the presence
of the church’s minister and the community, your intention to enter into marriage may be strengthened
by the Lord with a sacred seal.”

If both parties are Christian: “Christ abundantly blesses the love that binds you. Through a special
sacrament, he enriches and strengthens those he has already consecrated by holy baptism, that you
may be enriched with his blessing, so that you may have the strength to be faithful to each other
forever, and assume all the responsibilities of married life. And so, in the presence of the church, I ask
you to state your intentions.”

Address and Statement of Intentions

(Priest) “ PARTNER A and PARTNER B , have you come here to enter into marriage without
coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?”
(Couple both respond) “I have.”

(Priest) “Are you prepared, as you follow the path of marriage, to love and honor each other for as long
as you both shall live?”

(Couple both respond) “I am.”

Exchange of Consent
(Priest) “Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and
declare your consent before God and his Church.”

[Couple joins their right hands]

(Groom) “I, PARTNER A , take you, PARTNER B , to be my wife. I promise to be faithful to you,
in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my
life.”

(Bride) “I, PARTNER B , take you, PARTNER A , to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to

you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of
my life.”

(Priest) “May the Lord in his kindness strengthen the consent you have declared before the Church and
graciously bring to fulfillment his blessings within you. What God has joined, let no one put asunder.

May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God who joined together our first
parents in paradise, strength and bless in Christ the consent you have declared before the Church, so
that what God joins together, no one may put asunder.

Let us bless the Lord.”

(All respond) “Thanks be to God.”

Blessing and Giving of Rings

(Priest) “Bless, O Lord, these rings
(Priest cont.) which we bless in your name.
so that those who wear them
may remain entirely faithful to each other,
abide in peace and in your will,
and live always in mutual charity.
Through Christ our Lord.”

(Assembly responds) “Amen.”

The priest now sprinkles the wedding rings with holy water before handing them to each partner.

(Groom) “ PARTNER B , receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the father,
and the son, and the holy spirit.”

[Groom places the ring on Bride’s finger]

(Bride) “ PARTNER A , receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the father,
and the son, and the holy spirit.”

[Bride places the ring on Groom’s finger]

Nuptial Blessing
(Priest) “Now let us humbly invoke God’s blessing upon this bride and groom, that in his kindness he
may favor with his help those on whom he has bestowed the Sacrament of Matrimony.”

Pronouncement
(Priest) “In the sight of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may
now kiss!”

Dismissal
(Priest) “Go in peace to glorify the Lord with your life.”

(Assembly responds) “Thanks be to God.”