' I take thee to be my wedded husband (or wife)
To have and hold
from this day forward
For better for worse
For richer for poorer
In sickness and in health
To love and to cherish
Till death do as part
According to God's holy law
And there to I give thee my truth (promise)
Christians have always treasured marriage. The unity of a wife and a husband in holy matrimony is considered to reflect the union of Christ with his followers. Christians consider that in their love for each other, married couples will face and learn of God's purpose was that marriage should be a lifelong union.
In accordance to the Methodist church, marriage service is the life long unification of one man and one woman. The unification of man and woman for companionship and mutual support in equal partnership.
Roman Catholics comprehend marriage as a vocation and reparation.
The father walk down the aisle with the bride because he is saying to the bride by that action, "I am endorsing this young man as God's very best choice of a husband for you, and I am now bringing you to him."
The preacher asks, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man because it indicates the blessing of the parents upon the marriage and the transferral of parental responsibility to the husband for the care of the bride.
The couple hold right hands because it is in the nature of the covenant. In the blood covenant, the participants grasped each other's bleeding right hands, mingling their blood and exchanged an oath committing all their strength and resources to the other person.
Thus, it symbolises the giving of one's strength, resources, and purpose to another. It is also representative of the "cleaving" relationship which takes place.
The groom say his vows first because he is to be the leader and initiator of the covenant. (This is because marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church and Christ initiated His grace toward us by coming to the cross. We didn't think of that, He did.) The groom must be committed to God's purpose for biblical marriage.
The wedding ring means it symbolises Authority -- A ring was used to seal official documents by pressing the ring in wax. Thus to wear a ring means that one is under the authority of God in his/her marriage. A woman is to be under the authority of their husband but a man is to be under the authority of God leading his family to a greater knowledge of the Lord.
Resources -- All material wealth, intellectual knowledge, talents and abilities, physical and emotional resources are given to the other in marriage. This is symbolised by the exchange of rings.
Covenant The most important thing about the ring is that it is a symbol of a covenant relationship. In a blood covenant, belts (which are circular when worn) were exchanged to symbolize the giving of one's assets to another.
The wedding ring reminds us then that God is super-intending and supervising the execution of our covenant. He is vitally interested in our marriages because when we got married we entered into a covenant not only with our spouse but with God.
The bride wears a veil because it shows her modesty (as should her wedding dress), respect for the man and for God, and her respect for the sacredness and sanctity of the covenant. Also, you will remember that the veil in the temple was rent (torn) when Christ died. This was to show us that Christians have free access to God. Since marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the believer, the removing of the veil after being pronounced husband and wife represents the fact that a sinner who comes to Christ no longer is separated from God.
(It also indicates the husband and wife now have full access to one another which they should not have had prior to marriage.)
The pastor pronounce the couple "husband and wife Because This establishes the exact beginning of the covenant. It is at that moment that the two people are married in the eyes of God. From that point onward the covenant is to be honoured and cannot be broken in the eyes of God.
The couple sign the wedding papers because some weddings will end with the couple signing the wedding papers in view of the congregation. This establishes a public record of the covenant. In Genesis 31:43-55, Jacob and Laban left a pile of stones as a record of their covenant.
The guests sign a guest book because they are attesting to the fact that they have witnessed the covenant and pledge their support to helping the couple continue in that covenant.
Food is served at the wedding reception because one Hebrew word for covenant I believe is "to feed." Also, the best method of fellowship is a meal. Another reason is that Revelation 19:6-10 speaks of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which believers will attend in heaven.
The groom and bride feed each other cake because This says, "I give you all I am. I am now becoming a part of you and you are becoming a part of me." It shows the truth of being one flesh.
Rice is thrown as the couple is leaving because originally, seed was used instead of rice. This was to remind the couple that they were leaving to begin a life as a family and would raise a Godly seed to the Lord. We must never forget that procreation (or reproduction) is one of the basic commands of God for marriage.
