Closing Words or Benediction
The benediction marks the end of the ceremony.
Sample 1
May the blessing that rests upon all who love, rest also upon you and fill you with all spiritual grace. May the bond that unites you ever be strengthened. May you so love and work together in the days that are to come that your lives shall be enriched and ennobled by a true and deepening comradeship of mind and heart.
Sample 2
And now, with a perfect and abiding confidence, with a trust and affection which knows no limitation, we send you forth upon your journey of life to laugh for joy, to suffer pain, to seek, to serve, to find. So be it.
Sample 3
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Sample 4
_______ and _______, may you establish a home of warmth and understanding; may your lives be filled with peace and beauty; may you always exhibit to one another truth, sympathy and love, and may the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace this day and forever more.
Sample 5
May the spirit which has been in all the great prophets and teachers of humanity in every age and tradition be also in us, that the deepest in us may seek the loftiest in the universe, and that we may dwell in love and joy with one another.
Sample 6
May the love in your hearts give you joy. May the greatness of life bring you peace.
May your days be good, and your lives be long upon the earth.
Sample 7
May all that is noble and lovely and true abide with you forever. Amen.
Sample 8
May the sun bring you new energy by day;
May the moon softly restore you by night;
May the rain wash away your worries
And the breezes blow new strength into your being,
And all the days of your life may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.
Now you can feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now there will be no more loneliness,
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together,
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Traditional Apache
Sample 1
May the blessing that rests upon all who love, rest also upon you and fill you with all spiritual grace. May the bond that unites you ever be strengthened. May you so love and work together in the days that are to come that your lives shall be enriched and ennobled by a true and deepening comradeship of mind and heart.
Sample 2
And now, with a perfect and abiding confidence, with a trust and affection which knows no limitation, we send you forth upon your journey of life to laugh for joy, to suffer pain, to seek, to serve, to find. So be it.
Sample 3
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Sample 4
_______ and _______, may you establish a home of warmth and understanding; may your lives be filled with peace and beauty; may you always exhibit to one another truth, sympathy and love, and may the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace this day and forever more.
Sample 5
May the spirit which has been in all the great prophets and teachers of humanity in every age and tradition be also in us, that the deepest in us may seek the loftiest in the universe, and that we may dwell in love and joy with one another.
Sample 6
May the love in your hearts give you joy. May the greatness of life bring you peace.
May your days be good, and your lives be long upon the earth.
Sample 7
May all that is noble and lovely and true abide with you forever. Amen.
Sample 8
May the sun bring you new energy by day;
May the moon softly restore you by night;
May the rain wash away your worries
And the breezes blow new strength into your being,
And all the days of your life may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.
Now you can feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now there will be no more loneliness,
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life together,
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Traditional Apache