Sample Wedding Booklet

This is a sample wedding booklet. If you have decided to have a booklet at your wedding, this booklet will demonstrate the correct order of the Mass. You can also download sample readings, wedding reflections and choices of hymn on the main ‘Getting Married Page’ on our website.

Introductory Rite

[Priest’s name]: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
All: And with your spirit.

Lighting of the Candles

[Bride’s name] and [Groom’s name] each light a candle representing their individuality and uniqueness.

Penitential Rite

[Priest’s name]: Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.

[Priest’s name]: Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.

[Priest’s name]: Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.

The Gloria

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;
You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

Opening Prayer

O God, who consecrated the bond of Marriage by so great a mystery that in the wedding covenant you foreshadow the Sacrament of Christ and his Church, grant, we pray, to these your servants, that what they receive in faith they may live out in deeds.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading (Old Testament only)

[insert First Reading Here]

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm (sung)

Second Reading (New Testament only)

[insert Second Reading Here]

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!
God is love;
let us love one another
as God has loved us.
Alleluia!

Gospel (Feel free to select an alternative Gospel from either of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)

[Priest’s name]: A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
All: Glory to you, Lord.

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said, ‘Woman why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 

There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now,’ he told them, ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink, but you have kept the best wine till now.’
This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

[Priest’s name]: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Rite of Marriage

Rite of Marriage

[Priest’s name]: Dear children of God, you have come today to pledge your love before God and before the Church here present in the person of the priest, your families and friends.
In becoming husband and wife you give yourselves to each other for life. You promise to be true and faithful, to support and cherish each other until death, so that your years together will be the living out in love of the pledge you now make. May your love for each other reflect the enduring love of Christ for his Church.

As you face the future together, keep in mind that the Sacrament of marriage unites you with Christ, and brings you, through the years, the grace and blessing of God our Father. Marriage is from God: he alone can give you the happiness which goes beyond human expectation, and which grows deeper through the difficulties and struggles of life.

Put your trust in God as you set out together in life. Make your home a centre of Christian family life. The Christian home makes Christ and his Church present in the world of everyday things. May all who enter your home find there the presence of the Lord; for he has said: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

[Priest’s name]: Now, as you are about to exchange your marriage vows the Church wishes to be assured that you appreciate the meaning of what you do, and so I ask you:
Have you come here of your own free will and choice to marry each other?

[Bride’s name] & [Groom’s name]: We have.

[Priest’s name]: Will you love and honour each other in marriage all the days of your life?

[Bride’s name] & [Groom’s name]: We will.

[Priest’s name]: Are you willing to accept with love the children God may send you, and bring them up in accordance with the law of Christ, and his Church?

[Bride’s name] & [Groom’s name]: We are.

Declaration of Consent

[Priest’s name]: I invite you then to declare before God and his Church your consent to become husband and wife.

[Priest’s name]: [Groom’s name], do you take [Bride’s name] as your wife,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
all the days of your life.
[Groom’s name]: I do.

[Priest’s name]: [Bride’s name], do you take [Groom’s name] as your husband,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
all the days of your life.
[Bride’s name]: I do.

[Priest’s name]: What God joins together man must not separate.
May the Lord confirm the consent that you have given and enrich you with his blessings.

All: Amen.

Blessing of the Rings

[Priest’s name]: Lord, bless [Bride’s name] and [Groom’s name], and consecrate their married life.
May these rings be a symbol of their faith in each other, and a reminder of their love.
Through Christ, our Lord.
All: Amen.

Exchange of Rings

[Groom’s name]: [Bride’s name], wear this ring as a sign of our faithful love in the Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit.

[Bride’s name]: [Groom’s name], wear this ring as a sign of our faithful love in the Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit.

Lighting of the Marriage Candle

[Groom’s name] and [Bride’s name] light their Marriage Candle which represents their Sacramental Union as husband and wife.

Prayer of the Newly Married Couple

We thank-you, Lord, and we praise you for bringing us to his happy day.  You have given us to each other.  Now, together, we give ourselves to you.  We ask you, Lord: make us one in our love; keep us one in your peace.  Protect our marriage. Bless our home. Make us gentle.  Keep us faithful.  And when life is over unite us again where parting is no more in the kingdom of your love.  There we will praise you in the happiness and peace of your eternal home.

Prayer of the Faithful

For [Bride’s name] and [Groom’s name] that the Lord, who has brought them to this happy day will keep them forever in fidelity and love.

Lord hear us.
All: Lord Graciously Hear us.

For the parents of [Bride’s name] and [Groom’s name] for their friends and all who have helped them to become husband and wife.

Lord hear us.
All: Lord Graciously Hear us.

For married couples everywhere that their lives will be an example to the world of unity, fidelity and love.

Lord hear us.
All: Lord Graciously Hear us.

For the faithful departed and especially for those whom we, ourselves, have loved, that God will one day unite us again in the joys of our eternal home.

Lord hear us.
All: Lord Graciously Hear us.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Preparation of Altar and Gifts

[Priest’s name]: Receive, we pray, O Lord, the offering made on the occasion of this sealing of the sacred bond of Marriage, and, just as your goodness is its origin, may your providence guide its course.

Through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Preface

[Priest’s name]: It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For you have forged the covenant of marriage as a sweet yoke of harmony and an unbreakable bond of peace, so that the chaste and fruitful love of holy Matrimony may serve to increase the children you adopt as your own.

By your providence and grace, O Lord, you accomplish the wonder of this twofold design: that, while the birth of children brings beauty to the world, their rebirth in Baptism gives increase to the Church, through Christ our Lord

Through him, with the Angels and all the Saints, we sing the hymn of your praise, as without end we acclaim:

All: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
Hosanna in the highest.

The Eucharistic Prayer

You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT, FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME

The mystery of faith.

All: When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.

Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.

Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.

Remember, Lord, your Church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Francis our Pope and Eamon our Bishop and all the clergy.

Be mindful also, Lord of [Groom’s name] and [Bride’s name]., whom you have brought to their wedding day, so that by your grace they may abide in mutual love and in peace.

Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Saint Joseph her spouse, with the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through him, and with him, and in him,O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, forever and ever.

All: Amen.

Communion Rite

Lord’s Prayer

[Priest’s name]: Let us pray with confidence to the Father, in the words our Saviour gave us.

All: Our Father…

Nuptial Blessing

[Priest’s name]: Let us humbly invoke by our prayers, dear brothers and sisters, God’s blessing upon this bride and groom that in his kindness he may favour with his help those on whom he has bestowed the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Holy Father maker of the whole world who created man and woman in your own image and willed that their union be crowned with your blessing, we humbly beseech you for these your servants, who are joined today in the Sacrament of Matrimony.

May your abundant blessing, Lord, come down upon this bride, [Bride’s name] and upon [Groom’s name] her companion for life, and may the power of your Holy Spirit set their hearts aflame from on high, so that, living out together the gift of Matrimony, they may (adorn their family with children and) enrich the Church.

In happiness may they praise you, O Lord, in sorrow may they seek you out; may they have the joy of your presence to assist them in their toil, and know that you are near to comfort them in their need; let them pray to you in the holy assembly and bear witness to you in the world, and after a happy old age, together with the circle of friends that surrounds them, may they come to the Kingdom of Heaven,

Through Christ our Lord
All: Amen.

[Priest’s name]: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give to you.

Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church,

And grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom, 

Where you live forever and ever

Celebrant: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

All: And also with you.

Celebrant: Let us offer the sign of peace.

All: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

Grant us peace.

[Priest’s name]: This is the Lamb of God who takes away 

the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called 

to His supper.

All: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,

But only say the word and I shall be healed.

Communion Antiphon

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you, says the Lord.

Prayer after Communion

[Priest’s name]: Let us pray.

By the power of this sacrifice, O Lord, accompany with your loving favour what in your providence you have instituted, so has to make of one heart in love those you have already joined in this holy union (and replenished with the one Bread and the one Chalice).

Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Concluding Rite

Blessing at the End of Mass

[Priest’s name]: May God the eternal Father keep you of one heart in love for one another, that the peace of Christ may dwell in you and abide always in your home.

All: Amen.

[Priest’s name]: May you be blessed in your children, have solace in your friends and enjoy true peace with everyone.

All: Amen.

[Priest’s name]: May you be witnesses in the world to God’s charity, so that the afflicted and needy who have known your kindness may one day receive you thankfully into the eternal dwelling of God.

All: Amen.

[Priest’s name]: And may almighty God bless all of you, who are gathered here, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit

All: Amen.

Dismissal

[Priest’s name]: Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

All: Thanks be to God. 

When you have completed your wedding booklet, forward it to your priest before you send it to be printed. He can advise you on any queries you might have or any changes that you might need to make.