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Getting Married in France 
The religious ceremony
has to be performed after the civil ceremony (never before). The
minister will
require a certificate of civil marriage before any religious ceremony
takes place. The service is prepared with the minister, here are
some texts for the wedding service. Wedding Service
Here are some examples of texts which could be used during the
service (several proposals are made for each moment. It is possible
to mix them, or find other texts too)
Music
The minister invites the assembly to stand
Opening words
1.
Grace & Peace to you all in the name of God our Father, and
of Jesus-Christ, our Lord.
2.
This is the day the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it ( Ps. 118:24)
3.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
His love endures for ever (Ps106.1)
Welcome
1.
(You are all welcome in this church where) We are gathered together
in joy & prayer to be with Juliet & Romeo who have given
their word, one to another, and have come her, to ask God to bless
their union. The church rejoices with them in their joy.
At this special & important time of your life, we hold you
in our friendship. With you, we express our thanksgiving to God.
2.
Juliet & Romeo, today you declare publicly your love and your
desire to marry each other. You have chosen this church for the
ceremony. Our community shares your joy, and hopes that you will
always feel home here.
3. (If there is an Ecumenical celebration)
Juliet & Romeo, you are welcome in this house of prayer where
you have come to ask the Lord to bless your union. Juliet/Romeo
it is in another church that you learnt about Jesus-Christ, and
worship God. We are happy to welcome you together with your family.
Our churches are still separated, but we believe together that
there is "One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism ". Thus we
hope that your marriage will grow, founded in communion with Jesus-Christ,
and help us along the path to unity.
4.
Grace & Peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son &
the Holy Spirit. Juliet & Romeo, the church, and all those
around you rejoice in your faith & love.
We welcome the life shared together that you are beginning , and
ask for God’s blessing on your union.
5.
We are gathered for this time of thanksgiving and meditation with
Juliet & Romeo who love each other and have committed themselves
to each other. They have chosen to place this crucial life-choice
before God for his blessing.
Juliet & Romeo, our church which accompanied you in your preparation
for this wedding, assures you of their affection & prayerful
support. We share your happiness and are glad to welcome you along
with your parents, family & friends ( and the Priest who is
with you, for you have chosen to live this moment in communion
with the Catholic Church to whom you, Juliet/Romeo & your
family belong.
Praise
Together let us praise the Lord:
1.
God, our Father be with us. Welcome us into your presence, as
it is you we seek. You are our strength & hope. You are the
Lord of our past, present & future and we trust in you.
We bring Juliet & Romeo before you. You gave them the love
that binds them to each other, the happiness to be the couple
through which they will carry on the work your creation. You are
the witness and the support of their union. Today you speak to
them & give them your word and you are with them as you will
be with them and with each of us always.
We give you thanks.
Amen
2.
God, our father, here we are in your presence. Help us to quieten
our spirits & to direct our thoughts to you. Two of your children,
Juliet & Romeo love each other. They are marrying to share
the joys & hardships of life, to share its responsibilities
together and bring happiness to each other. We praise you: Your
love opens the way where you go with them.
It is from you that all blessings come. Prepare our hearts to
receive the blessing of your word. Through Jesus-Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
3.
Who are we, Lord, for you to turn your face to us ?
How can we express our thanks for all you are, and all you do
?
To encounter you makes us aware of the joy of all our encounters.
Praise you for this reflection of your glory which we see in the
love of Juliet & Romeo.
Confirm the promises which they are about to make, strengthen
them through Your word.
As they seek each other, may they seek you; as they find each
other, may they find you.
May they wish for each other the glorious freedom that you wish
for each of them. Amen.
4.
Lord, our God, we gather to give you thanks.
It is you who hold our lives in your hands
You are Lord of our past, our present and our future.
It is you who gave Juliet & Romeo the love they have for each
other.
It is your wish to bless their union.
It is for this reason that we are gathered together today.
You are the witness of their union , and now you speak to them
through your Word.
You are with them today as you will be with them every day until
the end.
So we lift our grateful hearts towards you.
We praise you Lord. Amen.
5.
Thank you Lord for this day.
Thank you for your Word announced in our midst.
Thank you for every day which comes, for shared moments,
for the affection shown to each other, for each true word,
and for the freedom you give us.
Thank you that we can give you our future with all its questions,
its hopes, its worries.
In prayer and in silence, to be able to communicate our own difficulties,
our defeats, & things we had not planned for.
With you we are happy to know that we have been heard and understood.
In your love, you are willing to renew our love every day. Amen.
6.
Our lord, thank you for bringing us together in your presence.
We praise you for your love revealed to the entire world in Jesus-Christ.
As you are with us today and every day in our life,
you want to be with Juliet & Romeo.
Witness of their union, you give them the happiness of being a
couple
through whom you carry your work of creation.
Happy the man, happy the woman who puts their trust in you !
The minister invites the assembly to sit down.
Hymn / Psalm / Music
[ And now you are invited to listen to some texts that Juliet
& Romeo have chosen in tune with their sensibility, which
speak of the orientation they wish for their married life.]
Explanation concerning Mariage
1.
Juliet and Romeo, you have decided to live as a couple in society.
Married before men at the civil ceremony,
you have chosen to confirm this decision in the church,
to ask God’s blessing on your union,
and to declare your desire to found your relationship day after
day
on God’s presence and on the Good News of Christ.
Here you declare your wish to live together amongst the people
that God guides.
Asked about Marriage, Jesus replied:
"Have you not read that in the beginning
the Creator made them male and female?
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’.
So they are no longer two but one.
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
To marry in a Christian church is to declare a common project:
the desire to live according to the Gospel,
following the vocation that God calls us to.
This ideal of living is summarised by Jesus-Christ himself in
these two commandments:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your mind, with all your strength and with all your soul,
and your neighbour as yourself.”
With God’s help, together you may learn to love the people
whom God puts on your way. From now you are for each other, the
closest of all neighbours.
2.
In the Bible, the book of the Genesis says:
" God created man in his own image,
man and woman he created them and he blessed them. "
God wanted men & women to know true happiness on earth:
the union of two bodies, of two minds, of two sensibilities,
having chosen to share the same life.
The Prophets of Israel saw, in the marriage relation
the image of the union in between God and his people.
The apostle Paul compares the love of a husband for his wife
to the love of Jesus-Christ for the Church.
God calls Juliet & Romeo to grow each day in the strength
of their love
and to live in truth and faithfulness.
[In leaving father & mother], they have committed themselves
to each other
to begin a new story, the story of their family.
They walk side by side with the people that God is building.
3.
Juliet & Romeo, at the Town Hall You manifested your desire
to live as a couple in society. Here you are confirming your wish
to live together among the people of God.
Asked about Marriage, Jesus said :
"Have you not read that in the beginning
the Creator made them male and female?
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’.
So they are no longer two but one.
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
It is God’s will that man and woman should know true happiness
on earth:
the union of two bodies, two minds, two sensibilities,
having chosen to share the same life.
The marital relation is so strong that the prophets of Israel
saw it as
the image of the union between God and His people.
Later, the apostle Paul compare the love of a husband for his
wife
to the love of Jesus-Christ for the Church.
He loved her so much that he gave his own life for her.
The Lord goes with you.
With him, forgiveness is always possible,
joy is always promised, love can always live again.
Juliet & Romeo, This service, on the occasion of your wedding,
includes the Word of God, and his commitment to you as a couple.
You have asked for His blessing and the intercession of all gathered
here.
Let us remember that it is not the church that marries you.
Rather, this ceremony witnesses to your faith;
it invites you to live in His trust.
Bible Texts
In the Bible that we will be giving you later, we are now going
to read the texts which are chosen for today.
Silence / Music / Hymn
Sermon
Silence / Music / Hymn
Invitation
The minister invites the assembly to stand up.
Juliet & Romeo, I invite you to stand up and commit yourselves
to each other before God and his church. (I also invites the best
man and bridesmaid to come closer, and the assembly to stand up
to show that they are witnesses to this commitment.)
Marriage vows
1
Romeo, you have taken Juliet as your wife.
Will you promise to love her, to respect her, to encourage her,
to live with her in truth, and through the good and the bad days,
to stay faithful to her for all your life ?
- Yes (with the help of God)
Juliet, you have taken Romeo as your husband.
Will you promise to love him, to respect him, to encourage him,
to live with him in truth, and through the good and bad days,
to stay faithful to him for all your life?
- Yes (with the help of God)
So, being responsible for each other,
are you willing to receive the responsibilities of parenthood
that may be given to you,
and do you wish to raise any children that you may have in the
Christian faith ?
- Yes we do
2.
Romeo you have taken Juliet as your wife .
Do you promise to love her, to respect her,
to live within the truth, and through the good and bad days,
to stay faithful to her for all your life?
Do you promise to ensure that your children will learn to know
about Jesus- Christ ?
- Yes (with the help of God)
Juliet you have taken Romeo as your husband .
Do you promise to love him, to respect him,
to live within the truth, and through the good and bad days,
to stay faithful to him for all your life?
Do you promise to ensure that your children will learn to know
about Jesus- Christ ?
- Yes (with the help of God)
3.
The wife & then the husband:
Romeo / Juliet, I have chosen you for my wife/husband.
I promise to love you, to respect you, to encourage you,
to live with you in truth,
and stay by you through the good and bad days,
to stay faithful to you for all our life.
I promise to ensure that our children will learn to know about
Jesus- Christ.
4.
The wife & then the husband:
Romeo / Juliet, I declare publicly that I love you,
that I take you as my husband/wife.
I want to share your joy, your worries & your hardships.
I want to live with you in the faith, hope and love
of Jesus-Christ who has conquered death.
I promise to love you, to respect you and to help you to be fulfilled,
to walk faithfully with you toward our unity,
to welcome children with thankfulness,
to ensure that they come to know Jesus-Christ.
Concluding formula
1.
You are now no longer two but one.
"Let not man divide what God has joined."
2.
God is the witness of your promises.
He will give you the strength & joy to fulfil them.
Exchange Of Wedding Rings
1.
From now on, wear these rings
as a sign of your love and your desire to remain faithful to each
other.
2.
Exchange now these rings.
They are the visible sign of your commitment to each other.
May your covenant be as faithful as is God's towards us.
3.
May these rings be the sign & the memory of your promises.
May you read in them the sign of a commitment which goes beyond
time.
May they be the symbol of your turning to each other in love.
Said by the couple :
Juliet/Romeo, I give you this ring,
sign of our love and our faithfulness.
Blessing Of The Couple
Juliet & Romeo receive the blessing of God on your union.
1.
The Lord bless you today, that you may live together,
in his love, all the days of your life.
2.
May the Lord give you to serve him together.
May your marriage be blessed
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his light shine upon you, and give you his love.
May the Lord turn his face to you and give you peace.
4.
God bless you on the road you walk together.
May he light it day after day by his presence & love.
May he give you the happiness promised to those who place their
trust in him.
May the joy of the Lord be your strength.
Giving Of The Bible
1.
Following the tradition of the reformed church, we give you this
Bible.
May its reading fortify you & enlighten you day after day.
In the church we gather together to open this book,
to discover its beauty, its richness, & to find in it the
living Word of God.
We would be happy if you would join us.
2.
I give you this Bible, to testify that there will always be a
place for the word of God
in your home,
and to remind you that whatever may happen,
you will never be alone, but that God will always be with you.
Music / Hymn
Prayer Of Intercession
(This prayer may be written by the minister or the couple, and
said by one of the witnesses or the minister)
1.
Lord, we pray for Juliet & Romeo, May they always live in
the newness of love.
Give them peace, joy and harmony.
May they always be able to count on each other,
and thus build a solid & welcoming home.
If they have children, give them the comfort of raising them in
the light of Christ.
Give them your Spirit, so that they may find in your Word,
sense, strength and joy for their life.
2.
Father, we commend Juliet & Romeo to your care:
May they always live in the newness of the love which unites them
today.
May they know peace, joy and harmony in all circumstances.
May they always be able to count on each other,
and thus build a solid & welcoming home.
[Give them, if they have children,
the desire to make them discover the Word of God
and to raise them in the light of Christ]
[Through the difference of their traditions,
may their union be the sign of the future unity of your church.
]
3.
We pray for Juliet & Romeo, Bless their home.
May it be peaceful, joyful, open to all;
the poor, strangers and those who are suffering...
Support them in their work for them to be full of unity and understanding.
4.
Lord, our God & our Father, it is you who have led Juliet
& Romeo to love each other.
They have decided to unite their lives.
We thank you for the joy that you give them today,
may you keep it ever lasting.
May the love you have for them renew the love which unites them.
5.
Juliet & Romeo have united their lives and want now to build
a home.
Give them the strength to help each other every day
and to overcome together their difficulties & worries.
Bless them, Protect them, and strengthen their love between husband
& wife,
support their faithfulness, make them happy,
and make them discover through Christ
the joy to give themselves to each other.
6.
Lord, we thank you for the presence of this new couple among us.
May they always live in the newness of love.
May their home be peaceful and welcoming.
Give them, if they have children, the joy of raising them in your
light.
May this new couple find in our community a family,
where they may praise you and serve our brothers.
7.
We pray for Juliet & Romeo.
We ask you to make them a sign of the unity of your church.
In their search, may they be brave & modest,
lovers of the truth, and guided by your love.
8.
We pray for our churches.
May they see in this wedding a sign of hope.
May they be more open, more brotherly,
actively desiring the unity that you wish for them.
May they draw towards you in truth & love.
9.
Lord, here are Juliet & Romeo,
who stand before your grace, certain of their commitment to each
other.
They are in love and entrust you with that love.
Help them to love each other even more.
Encourage their hope, increase their generosity.
Strengthen their commitment, enliven their freedom.
They have chosen each other, but they know that they are not the
strongest.
You alone can support their will, and deepen their commitment.
Let them live out their dream with the renewed enthusiasm of the
beginning.
May joy suffuse daily routine, and intelligence win against tiredness
and irritation.
They are offering themselves with enthusiasm: Teach them firmness.
Make of their feelings that light and deep force which keeps tomorrow
always in mind,
but lives each moment as if it were unique.
May they walk side by side, from delight to delight,
from one gift of self to another.
May they always be, kindness, help, forgiveness and simple words
for each other.
Do not let their tenderness fade,
but keep it certain and luminous as the dawn.
Increase their intimacy. Let it be full of shared secrets &
surprises.
May they have enough love to give to a world torn apart by distrust
and abandon.
May their joy never have the loneliness of misfortune..
May their love be, for each and every one of us, a refreshing
spring,
an open table, a frank gesture of fellowship.
Intercession
(following the previous prayer)
1.
We pray for the elderly among us.
Their love has supported us.
We read on their faces faithfulness & strength of their love.
For their presence, we praise you, Lord.
2.
Lord, we are joyful , but we remember before you those who suffer.
Remember those who have never been loved,
those who have lost someone dear to them,
those who are shut in by illness, those imprisoned by loneliness.
May tenderness surround them, go before and after them.
Deliver them from their sadness.
3.
We pray for disunited couples, for those who fear failure,
for those who are exhausted, for those who no longer know how
to start again.
We pray for all children, victims of such dramas.
4.
Lord, it is your wish that life should increase and be beautiful
through marriage.
We bring you our world & its suffering.
Have mercy on those humiliated & offended & for those
who are fighting for justice,
who are hungry, who are dying.
May Juliet & Romeo be of those who help & console with
acts of Peace.
5.
Bring to an end our stubbornness, our cowardice, our defeats,
so that our walk may be renewed.
Give us your strength that we may seek to love rather than be
loved,
to understand rather than be understood,
to forgive rather than be forgiven.
May our love shine and be an instrument of your peace & joy.
6.
On this joyful day, we would like to intercede for all couples.
For those who live their marital life in joy & serenity,
and for those who have deep difficulties.
May you give those who are trapped in monotony a new sense to
their life together.
7.
We pray for happy families.
Do not let them be closed in on themselves,
but make them sources of light and joy before you.
8
We bring before you those couples who de not share our joy,
because they are in difficulty, touched by illness, worries, need,
or questions about their future:
Give them the assurance of your help.
Grant them by meet others who can help.
9.
We pray for single people.
May they not be trapped by loneliness,
but live with you a life full of meaning & joy.
10.
We thank you for older couples who have gone through life,
preserving & building their love for each other.
They are a living sign of your kingdom.
May those whom death has divided, find hope & peace in you.
11.
We pray for the families weighed down by the threat or painful
reality
of hunger, war & violence.
Teach us to share and fight with them for Peace & Justice.
12.
We pray, Lord, for those who are forgotten and unloved,
and thus unloving and who stay indifferent to love.
We pray, Lord, for those who love without being loved in return,
for those who know the pain of loneliness, suffering & abandon.
Lord, we pray: May they be loved,
and may they come across love in such a way as to guide their
life towards you.
13.
It is your wish that life should grow & be beautiful on earth.
We bring to you our world & its suffering.
Be with those women and men who suffer humiliated or injustice,
those who are fighting and are destroying each other,
those who hunger for bread and thirst for tenderness.
May Juliet & Romeo be among those who help and comfort
& contribute to Peace.
Remember all those who have chosen to place their union under
your blessing:
maintain & the flame of your love in them.
We pray for the families who find it difficult to deal with every
day life,
and with the erosion of time.
Remind them that with you, forgiveness is always possible,
joy always promised,
love always called to rise again.
Introduction To The Lord’s Prayer
1.
We would like to address you in the prayer that joins all Christians,
as brothers who recognise in God their Father.
2.
For the whole of their life, we bring before you Juliet &
Romeo,
by saying with them:...
3.
And united by the same Spirit,
we can say with confidence the prayer given us by our Lord:...
Our Father
Traditional version Modern Version
Our Father which art in Heaven Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name, hallowed be your Name,
thy kingdom come, your kingdom come,
thy will be done, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those as we forgive those
who trespass against us. who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, Save us from the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil. and deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, For the kingdom, the power,
and the power, and the glory, and the glory are yours
for ever and ever. Amen. now and for ever. Amen.
Offering
( can also take place during the signature of the register)
Today is a day for joy & celebration, but we wish to remember
those who are in need and in difficulty. It is not enough to simply
pray for them. Now is the time for the collection, when we share
a part of our wealth with those in need, to help them in their
time of difficulty. The offering will go to the social service
of the church, to be used for those whom the church seeks to help.
May this offering be a sign of our joy & communion.
Signing the Register
While the organ plays, we will now proceed to the signature
of the register. I invite the bride & groom, along with the
best man, bridesmaid and their parents to come to the frotn.
Final Hymn
Notices
(for example: “the congratulations will take place in front
of the church, after the blessing that God offers to each of us”)
Dismissal
1.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
(Rom 12:12)
2.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
Bear with each other
and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you,
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
And be thankful (Col 3: 12-15)
3.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3.16-17)
Blessing
I invite you to stand to receive the blessing in the name of
God
1.
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ,
the love of God our Father
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you now and always.
Amen.
2.
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ,
the love of God our Father
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be & remain with us and our families.
Go in the joy of our Lord.
3.
Now Juliet & Romeo, along with us all,
Let us go our different ways,
And may the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ,
the love of God our Father
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with all and each of us. Amen.
4.
May the God of Hope fill us with all joy,
that we may overflow with hope
by the power of the holy Spirit.
Exit & Music
- Merci beaucoup à Quentin Braddock, Pasteur, Eglise
Réformée de Tence (43), pour cette traduction
!
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Wedding Service in the
Oratoire du Louvre
Photo Pascal Deloche © GODONG
Wedding Service in the
Oratoire du Louvre
Photo Pascal Deloche © GODONG
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