A wedding marks the beginning of a new chapter in life, an event of equal significance to both the bride and groom. Central to any wedding ceremony are the vows exchanged. However, you might wonder, what exactly does a priest articulate at a wedding in the brief version?
In the below part of the article, we will discuss what does a priest can say at a wedding short version. Along with that, we will share some important and interesting aspects of the wedding ceremony. Keep reading the article to know more about this.
What Does a Priest Say at a Wedding Short Version?
The wedding vows can be both big and small. In case you don’t know, let us discuss what is the marriage vows first. The marriage or wedding vows are the promises between the partners or to-be bride and grooms that they made during the wedding ceremony. Usually, the vows are a crucial part of the western Christian marriage. On the other hand, Eastern Christians are not much skeptical about wedding vows.
During the period of the Roman empire, there were two variations of marriage. The first variation was a free marriage where there were not many formalities. It is all about the father of the bride delivering the bride to the groom. Then they were agreed to be married and keep the vow by mutual consent. On the other hand, the wealthy citizen of the empire had something like the public ceremony to declare the wedding.
The oldest tradition of vows is found in the documents of the medieval church. Nowadays, the vows have become something like a compulsory part of the wedding in most of the branches of Christianity. Below, we will let you know about some short vows that you can consider for the wedding. The short vows are the best choice for couples who want things to be in brief. Let’s see the parts of it.
Opening
In the opening, the priest will say something about the importance of the moment. In wedding short version, the priest can say something like this:
We are gathered here to celebrate and acknowledge the joint of ___________ (Bride Name) and ___________ (Groom Name) in the unity of marriage. There are no obligations on earth sweeter or more tender than those you are about to assume. There are no vows more solemn than those you are about to make.
Note that there can be different variations of the opening. Based on the choice of the priest or the officiant, he can select any opening as he wants.
Right after the opening, the priest can ask who is going to give this woman in marriage? Note that it is something that is optional. That is absolutely not necessary. But it will be nice for a smooth wedding. Once the priest asks the question, the bride's father usually answers that he is giving the woman for the wedding.
Vows
Here comes the important part, the vows. The priest will ask the groom and bride for the vows. Now the vow can be different. As per Wikipedia, here is one of the common vows that you can consider.
I, ____, take you, ____, to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
Wikipedia
As you see this vow is pretty simple. The bride/groom will first need to state their name and then the partner of their name who is going to be their wife or husband. Then he or she will make the promise to be with the partner in any condition, both happiness, and difficulties. He will also state that he will love the bride forever.
Another most popular form of the vow as per Wikipedia is:
I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death does us part.
Wikipedia
As you see both of them are almost the same. The second vow sounds a bit more powerful. It is up to you to pick the right vow as you want. There is no hard and fast rule to follow a specific variation of the vow. It is your special day and you can pick whatever you want.
Sometimes, they will say the vow by starting with something like this “Will you take this woman?....”. In such a case, the bride and groom will require the answer “I will” or “I do”.
Ring Exchange
Once the main part of the vow is complete, it will be time to exchange the wedding ring. The ring bearer will bring the ring. During the ring exchange, the couple might say something like this “I (name of the groom/bride) give you (groom/bride name) this as a symbol of love and commitment to you.” Like the above vows, it is not something like compulsory to say this exact vow. This can be different but it should resemble the same meaning.
Closing
In the closing, the wedding priest or officiant will give a short but meaningful speech. Usually, the speech contains some message or guides for newly married couples. The priest might say something about the duties of the couples for each other as per the teaching of the bible and Jesus. There can be some other life teaching on how to make the wedding life beautiful.
Sometimes, the priest or officiant also shares their personal experience about marriage that has some insights or messages. The takeout here is the priest or the officiant is free to share their thoughts both from real life and teaching of the bible. But it is better if it is related to the wedding. At the end of that, the priest will say something like this,
By the power vested in me by the State (State Name), I now pronounce you ……
Conclusion
Then he might say to the bride and groom that they can kiss each other. After that, he might reintroduce the couples to the guests as part of formalities. This is how the wedding happens traditionally in Chrisitan cultures.
