By Clyde Noel
Town Crier Correspondent
It was one of the most important days in Harry and Sally’s lives. When you get married, you deserve a personalized ceremony that reflects the feelings you share with the one you love.
No two ministers perform a wedding ceremony alike. When preparing for the wedding, they usually meet with the bride and groom and go over the exact wording. The words to be used in the ceremony are discussed throughout counseling sessions.
There are many wedding ceremonies performed in Los Altos and not all of them in churches. This was the ceremony for Harry and Sally as performed by a nondenominational minister:
“We are gathered here this afternoon to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments and to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love which shall unite Harry and Sally in marriage.
“Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace.”
James Veitch, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, said they only perform two to three weddings a year in the church because they don’t have the proper facilities. The church has no center aisle and brides prefer them.
“Who is it that brings this woman to this man?
Cathy Peglow, wedding coordinator at the Los Altos Lutheran Church, said the church usually performs five to 10 weddings during the year.
“Harry, do you take Sally to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live?”
Harry: “I do.”
“Sally, do you take Harry to be your wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love him, to honor and cherish him, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to him in all things a good and faithful wife as long as you both shall live?”
Sally: “I do.”
Susana Leung, secretary to the minister, said Foothills Congregational Church performed about 20 weddings last year.
The wedding ring is the most significant ring a person wears in this day and time.
Harry: “Sally, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with it pledge my loyalty.”
Sally: “Harry, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with it pledge my loyalty and devotion as long as we both shall live.”
Charlotte Best, coordinator of ceremonies at Los Altos United Methodist Church, said the five ministers at the church perform more than 100 weddings each year in the church.
“What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. For as much as Harry and Sally have consented together in holy matrimony, and have witnessed the same before God and this company and have pledged their love and loyalty to each other, and have declared the same by the joining and the giving of rings, I, therefore, by the authority of the church, pronounce they are husband and wife.”
“For As Long As We Both Shall Live” by Roger Fritts (Avon, 1993) is a helpful book on ceremonies because it includes sample Jewish, Catholic and Protestant ceremonies and suggestions for combining them into interfaith services.
“Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. The little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
