A Nuptial Ceremony includes the Gathering Rite, Liturgy of the Word, The Rite of Marriage, and Concluding Rite. On this page, you’ll find the many options that you can choose for your Nuptial Ceremony. This list is not exhaustive, so please contact [email protected] should you have any questions.
Instrumental Processional:
This is when the parents, bridesmaids, and wedding party processes down the aisle.
Click each song for a sample.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Roundeau (Mouret)
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell )
Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
O God Beyond All Praising (Holst)
Butterfly Waltz (Crain)
The Giving (Michael W. Smith)
The River Flows in You (Yiruma)
Be Thou My Vision (SLANE)
Bridal Processional:
This is when the congregation stands, and the bride processes down the aisle.
Click each song for a sample.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Roundeau (Mouret)
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell )
Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
O God Beyond All Praising (Holst)
Air on a G String (Bach)
Contemporary Bridal March (Wagner/Jonathan Cain)
Butterfly Waltz (Crain)
The Giving (Michael W. Smith)
The River Flows in You (Yiruma)
Be Thou My Vision (SLANE)
First Reading:
The couple can choose a family member who is accustomed to proclaiming the Word of God to proclaim this reading. Often, it is from the Old Testament except for
during the Easter Season.
- Male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-28, 31)
- The two of them become one body. (Genesis 2:18-24)
- In his love for Rebekah, Isaac found solace after the death of his mother. (Genesis 24:48-51, 58-67)
- May the Lord of heaven prosper you both; May he grant you mercy and peace. (Tobit 7:6-14)
- Allow us to live together to a happy old age. (Tobit 8:4b-8)
- The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31)
- Stern as death is love. (Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16; 8:6-7)
- Like the sun rising in the Lord’s heavens, the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home. (Sirach 26:1-4, 13-16)
- I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 31:31-32a, 33-34a)
Responsorial Psalm:
This is a song proclaimed by the cantor and repeated by the congregation.
Psalm 33: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Bolduc)
Psalm 33: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Capasso)
Psalm 34: Taste and See (Kendzia)
Psalm 34: I Will Always Thank the Lord (Soper)
Psalm 103: The Lord is Kind and Merciful (Colson)
Psalm 103: The Lord is Kind and Merciful (Haugen)
Psalm 128: May the Lord Bless You All the Days of Your Life (Nardino)
Psalm 128: Blest Are Those Who Love You (Haugen)
Psalm 128: May the Lord Bless You (Capasso)
Psalm 145: I Will Praise Your Name (Haas)
Second Reading:
The couple can choose a family member who is accustomed to proclaiming the Word of God to proclaim this reading from the New Testament.
- What will separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:31-35, 37-39)
- Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1-2, 9-18 [long form]
- Welcome one another as Christ welcomed you. (Romans 15:1b-3a, 5-7, 13)
- Your body is a temple of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20)
- If I do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:8)
- One Body and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6)
- This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:2, 21-33 [long form]
- The God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)
- And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:12-17)
- Let marriage be held in honor by all. (Hebrews 13:1-4a, 5-6b)
- Be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another. (1 Peter 3:1-9)
- Love in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18-24)
- God is love (1 John 4:7-12)
- Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:1, 5-9)
Gospel
Everyone will stand and your presider will proclaim a reading from one of the four Gospels. Your presider chooses this reading.
Homily
Everyone will be seated and your presider will share insight and wisdom through the scriptures about your vocation of marriage.
Universal Prayer
The couple can choose a family member to read these prayers. Also, the couple is encouraged to personalize these prayers to include names of deceased loved ones.
The Celebration of Matrimony
Exchange of Consent
Blessing and Giving of Rings
The Lord’s Prayer
The congregation will be invited to stand and to pray this together.
The Nuptial Blessing
This is a special blessing for the couple on their wedding day. We ask the Lord to give the couple special graces- including fidelity, the blessing of children, and a long life together.
Instrumental Recessional:
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
Roundeau (Mouret)
Te Deum (Charpentier)
The Hornpipe (Handel )
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell )
Wedding March (Mendelssohn)
Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
Wedding March (Mendelssohn)
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