It is true that the “traditional vows” for both civil and (Christian) religious ceremonies are identical. Some denominations use variations, but the essence remains. The vast majority of my couples opt for a civil, humanist, or generally spiritual ceremony. Justice of the Peace style civil ceremonies are non-religious and contain generally straightforward language defining marriage. They tend to be under five minutes long, although I have also performed twenty minute long civil ceremonies. Humanist ceremonies are a bit more spiritual: usually some theme unites all the threads: the average length is somewhere between ten minutes to twenty minutes. Another nice percentage of my couples wish to honor their intercultural or interfaith/multifaith heritages: in such cases, I advise incorporating at least two special touches from the couple’s individual backgrounds. I also perform single-faith religious wedding ceremonies. While most are Christian or nondenominational, I can easily find a template from your faith, any faith, to use. The couple featured below requested a Christian ceremony with well-known segment from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (“Love is patient; love is kind…”), which I was happy to use.
Below, C + M’s religious ceremony in Shakespeare’s Garden, Central Park.
