An interfaith wedding ceremony script

Processional 2–3 min

[Guests are seated. If the families are seated formally, both sets of parents are escorted in first. The wedding party enters, then the couple.]

Welcome 2 min

Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Please, be seated.

We are here for the marriage of [Partner A] and [Partner B]. Take a look around this room for a moment. Two families are in it, from two traditions, each with a long history of doing this day its own way. Today those families become one, and every person here is part of that.

Nothing in this ceremony asks anyone to set aside what they believe. It asks something simpler and harder: that we stay in this room together, generous toward whatever is unfamiliar, while two people we love make their promises.

Two traditions, both of them whole 2–3 min

[Partner A] was raised in [tradition A]. [Partner B] was raised in [tradition B]. They did not choose between them, and they are not asking any of us to. What they built instead is a ceremony where each tradition speaks in its own voice, at its own length, in its own words.

That is not a compromise. It is an honest description of the household they are about to keep, which will hold two sets of holidays, two grandmothers with firm opinions about food, and two ways of marking the days that matter. A marriage roomy enough for both is a real achievement, and you are about to watch one get built.

So you will hear two blessings today, from two people who carry these traditions faithfully. Some of what you hear will be familiar to you. Some of it will not. Both of them belong here.

The first blessing 2–3 min

[Partner A]’s family brings the first of today’s blessings. [Name] will offer it in the words and the language of [tradition A].

[[Name] comes forward and gives the blessing, prayer, reading, or short ritual of that tradition, in their own words. The officiant steps aside and stays silent throughout.]

Thank you, [Name].

The second blessing 2–3 min

And [Partner B]’s family brings the second. [Name] will offer it in the words and the language of [tradition B].

[The second blessing is given, in the same shape and roughly the same length as the first. The officiant steps aside again.]

Thank you, [Name].

Two blessings, two traditions, one marriage. [Partner A] and [Partner B], your families have just said, in their own oldest words, that they want good things for you.

Declaration of intent 1 min

[Partner A], do you take [Partner B] to be your [wife / husband / partner], to honor what they believe and where they come from, to stand with them in good seasons and hard ones, and to choose this marriage for the rest of your life?

[Partner A]: I do.

And [Partner B], do you take [Partner A] to be your [wife / husband / partner], to honor what they believe and where they come from, to stand with them in good seasons and hard ones, and to choose this marriage for the rest of your life?

[Partner B]: I do.

The vows 2–3 min

Please face each other and join hands. [Partner A], repeat after me.

I, [Partner A], take you, [Partner B], to be my [wife / husband / partner]. I will keep our home open to both of the families that made us. I will learn what you hold sacred and treat it gently, tell you the truth, and stand beside you in whatever comes. From today, whatever else I am, I am yours.

And [Partner B], repeat after me.

I, [Partner B], take you, [Partner A], to be my [wife / husband / partner]. I will keep our home open to both of the families that made us. I will learn what you hold sacred and treat it gently, tell you the truth, and stand beside you in whatever comes. From today, whatever else I am, I am yours.

The rings 1–2 min

May we have the rings, please.

A ring says the same thing in every language anyone here grew up speaking: this person is spoken for, gladly, and the promise is meant to outlast the day it was made.

[Partner A], place the ring on [Partner B]’s finger and repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a sign of my love and of everything I promised today. Wear it, and know that I am yours.

And [Partner B], repeat after me.

I give you this ring as a sign of my love and of everything I promised today. Wear it, and know that I am yours.

A shared ritual 2 min

[If the couple has chosen a shared ritual of their own, it happens here.]

The blessings you heard came from where [Partner A] and [Partner B] each came from. This next thing belongs to where they are going, and it is theirs alone.

Pronouncement 1 min

[Partner A] and [Partner B], you have been blessed twice, declared your intention in front of two families, and made your promises to each other. And so, by the power vested in me by the [state / jurisdiction], it is my great joy to declare that you are married.

Please, kiss.

[The couple kisses. The officiant waits for the applause to crest.]

Recessional 1 min

Friends and family, two families and now one: please welcome, for the very first time, [the newly married couple, announced as they wish].

[The couple leads the recessional, the wedding party behind them, the officiant last.]