10 Scriptures to Prayerfully Consider For Your Wedding Ceremony
Nowhere in the construction of a wedding is there a more beautiful opportunity to proclaim your faith than in your ceremony. The exchanging of vows, the act of entering a union, is sacred and precious in God’s sight. Beyond promising love to your spouse, your ceremony provides a tender opportunity to glorify God and bless His name before others.
Below, I am including 10 passages from Scripture and from Christian devotions to prayerfully consider for your wedding ceremony. Whether you encourage your pastor to include these passages or read them yourself, my prayer is that these words, spoken from the heart of faith, deepen your sense of the sacred nature of your promise. May God use your faithfulness as a means of blessing others and ministering to hearts as only He can. And may the moments of your ceremony be blessed with His heavenly light, with a majestic sense of His Presence and nearness, as you commit your union to His care.
Read on for ten beautiful Scriptures and devotions to prayerfully consider for your wedding ceremony.
Isaiah 61:10
“I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with jewels.”
This beautiful passage in Isaiah reminds us that, however blessed we are by our marriages, salvation is the miracle of our lives. Though we are in ourselves undeserving, Christ clothes us with His very righteousness when we accept Him as Savior. The imagery of royal robes, wedding finery, and glittering jewels hints at reward that awaits us in heaven even as it reveals the nature of our identity in Christ—now, in this very moment. This wedding imagery renders this a beautifully appropriate passage for a ceremony, and it also serves as a poignant reminder to look past one another to Christ; to nurture first our union with Him.
Photos, from left to right | The Lane, Emily Riggs
2. Psalm 68:6
“God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.”
This promise is particularly consoling to those who have waited a long time for God’s choice. The lonely single, the widow, and the one who feels overlooked or bereaved will find comfort in these words. God is so kind and merciful to recognize that we thrive in families. No one can understand the complete tenderness of this passage like the one who has suffered without a mate, particularly for a prolonged period: “Never the exquisite pain, then never the exquisite bliss” (L.B. Cowman, from Streams in the Desert).
Imagine looking out from the wedding altar and realizing that, after so many years of loneliness, God has indeed set you in a family. We are reminded of the miracle of grace that transforms us into the adopted children of God—no longer to be left alone, but instead drawn into never-forsaking love (Rom. 8:14-16).
Photos | Studio Mondine, The Lane
“He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.”
-Song of Solomon 2:4
It’s difficult to narrow down passages in Song of Solomon, with its ecstatic praises, lush imagery, and unabashed declarations of love. There is something particularly compelling about this passage—of the idea in the fourth verse of walking beneath the canopy of God’s provisions, beneath a banner of love which can never be dismantled.
Sculptures | Petah Coyne
“My beloved spoke, and said to me:
‘Rise up my love, my fair one,
And come away.
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.”
-Song of Solomon 2:10-12
One of the most beautiful aspects of this passage is the name given to the one to which it is addressed— beloved. Have we heard God call us His beloved? If so, we have an assurance that will strengthen us all our days. What could be more tender, more intimate, what could cause a holier hush over our souls, than hearing Almighty God call us beloved? If we are in Christ, we are indeed accepted in the Beloved, “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6). To become His beloved— this, the treasure of treasures.
The invitation in these verses is filled with such intimacy, with the purest expression of human love (or Christ’s infinite love for His church). One can imagine a pair of beloveds stealing away to be alone, to revel in the beauty of being in love. Perhaps they walk through a field or meadow of flowers, hand in hand, at dusk. The progression of the passage seems to imply that they have survived some great trial, some unremitting pain, and finally arrived at a place of victory. Their joy is exquisite because their sorrow has been intense.
Photos | Cara Mia
It is much like arriving at a beautiful meadow after walking through a dense forest of trees—emerging from a dark enclosure into a field flooded with light. The meadow would not feel so lovely were it not set in relief against the forest; the flowers would not charm us with their beauty had we not, prior to encountering them, felt a little uncertain and afraid. How much more do those experience joy who cling to faith in dark times, exercising belief and clinging to hope when not one circumstance changes, when not one visible piece of evidence is furnished. How deep will be our wonder and gratitude when that hope is revealed. For “it is better when all visible evidence that He is remembering us is withheld. He wants us to realize that His Word—His promise of remembering us—is more real and dependable than any evidence our senses may reveal. It is good when He sends visible evidence, but we appreciate it more after we have trusted Him without it. And those who are the most inclined to trust God without any evidence but His Word always receive the greatest amount of visible evidence of His love” (Charles Gallaudet Trumbull). Our joy will be rapturous when we have trusted in the accomplished reality of a promise long before any visible indication of its fulfillment.
Perhaps you, too, have walked an incredibly painful path to find the one you love, and you know the relief and power of hearing “the winter is past.” Perhaps you trusted that springtime would come, even in the winter of your despair. If so, this is a passage you can claim fully, and with gratitude.
Photos | Alli Woods, Calika Co.
4. Isaiah 62:4-5
“You shall no longer be
termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more
be termed Desolate,
But you shall be called Hephzibah,
And your land Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom
Rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.”
Photos | Sandra Fazzino
There is no reassurance as powerful as our Savior’s promise “I am with you always,” (Matt. 28:20), no words as longed-for as “He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6, Hebrews 13:5-6). In all our wandering and sin, here is grace beyond comprehension. Our fear of being forsaken flees in the light of God’s unconditional love, in the reassurance that His Holy Spirit is with us forever, from the moment of salvation until that of our glorification, and forever onward in heaven (Ephesians 1:13). Probably all of us have struggled with the fear of being forsaken, making these words a balm to every believing heart. The devotion that husbands and wives have for one another should flow from an understanding of God’s loyalty to them; from a sense of wonder over the never-failing, never-forsaking love of God. This love leaves us in awe. May we allow Christ to express His life, loyalty, and devotion through our very lives and into those of others.
When we pledge our devotion and promise our lives to another, it should be with an understanding of what Christ has done and continues to do for us. We do not deserve His Presence with us every day, and yet when our lives become His, He remains. Passages like these remind us of the love and the life to which we aspire, the very life of Christ, which is to be born in us through the process of sanctification (Rom. 8:29).
5. Song of Solomon 4:9
“You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.”
Photos, top left to bottom right | Calika Co, The Lane, Pinterest, Calika Co.
A gorgeous passage for a groom to speak over his bride, reveling in her presence, her beauty, her characteristics, and the way she makes him feel. There’s something so tender and touching about hearing a man celebrate his bride this openly. Passages like these remind us that this is how God intends for us to speak over our spouses—and this is how He views and speaks over His saints. It can be so difficult to really believe that He delights in us—and yet Scripture is full of assurances that He does. How unapologetically He proclaims His love! He can no more restrain Himself from praising His Bride than men and women can, at the height of their love. May we return passionate praises to Him and rejoice in a God who, unimaginably, undeservedly, and yet undeniably rejoices over us (Zephaniah 3:17).
6. Song of Solomon 6:3
“I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.”
Photos | Wedded Wonderland, Sassflower
Isn’t this the essence of love? I belong to you, and you to me. Given the option to leave or choose another, I choose to remain and delight in you. I forsake all others for the joy of walking with you. This is what love looks like in the heavenlies and it’s what it looks like here. Divine love compels us to leave all and follow Christ, though it requires us to carry a cross. And godly love persuades us to deny all others and devote ourselves to our spouse, though such shared life will surely include pain. We are heartened when we remember that, when we promised our devotion, it was because we were drawn into profound, intimate love. Every child of God is the special object of His devotion, the apple of His eye (Isaiah 43:7). So should it be with husbands and wives; a sense of belonging specially to one another knits their hearts in steadfast love.
Photos | Sarah Winward, Loho Bride
7. Selections from A.B. Simpson
“As a bride entrusts herself to the groom at the marriage altar, our commitment to Christ must be once and for all, without reservation or reversal.”
Photography | Clara & Oriol, Matt Godkin, Pinterest, Petah Coyne
This passage highlights the beauty of loyalty to Christ, of wholehearted, everlasting, and steadfast commitment. If loyalty is an attractive—indeed, an indispensable—quality in a spouse, how much more in a saint. The devotional from which this passage is excerpted concludes with an exhortation to dwell in the acts of “choosing, believing, abiding, and remaining steadfast in our walk with God.” These active qualities of faith allow us to advance forward and are “essential to the working of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification and in our healing” (from Days of Heaven Upon Earth). If marriages mirror our covenant with God, then we must also give ourselves “once and for all, without reservation or reversal” in a wholehearted act of will, and continue steadfastly, in grace.
8. Ephesians 4:32
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Photos | The Lane, Pinterest
A passage both beautifully tender and difficult in its application. Forgiveness is the most beautiful theme of Christian life—the act that leaves us most in awe. And yet how difficult forgiveness is to practice! Remembering how grace has touched our own lives encourages us to give grace to others. A tender heart and a quiet spirit is very precious in God’s eyes (1 Peter 3:4), and we glorify Him when we extend to others the forgiveness of which we have so freely partaken.
9. 1 Peter 4:8
Photos | L’eto Bridal, Anya Gallaccio
“And above all love things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Writes Dr. Stanley in a corresponding note with this passage: “How does love cover a multitude of sins? Because it stops a transgression before it can multiply. For example, if someone wrongs you, you might be tempted to react in anger or vengeance, and may even gossip about it to others. In that case, the iniquity reproduces itself. If you respond with God’s love and forgive the person, you not only stop the sin from going any further, you may even lead the offender to the healing he or she needs (Prov. 10:12, 17:9, 1 Cor. 12:4-7; James 5:20).
In our marriages, we must certainly strive to stop offenses and sins from multiplying. We must resist the fleshly tendency to be ‘right,’ and, with the aid of Divine grace, be forgiving. In doing so, we return down the correct and true path, instead of wandering further down the path that leads to destruction. Responding in a sweet, gentle, Christlike way is hard perhaps precisely because we place too much value on our own desires, comfort, and needs.
10. Selections from Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening Devotions
Photos | Sandra Fazzino, The Lane
“Thou art all fair, my love.” – Sol. Song iv. 7.
“The Lord’s admiration of His Church is very wonderful, and His description of her beauty is very glowing. She is not merely fair, but ‘all fair.’ He views her in Himself, washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His meritorious righteousness, and He considers her to be full of comeliness and beauty. No wonder that such is the case, since it is but His own perfect excellency that He admires; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of His church are His own glorious garments on the back of His own well-beloved spouse. She is not simply pure or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which she has an actual beauty conferred upon her. Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become ‘accepted in the Beloved.’ (Ephesians i.6.). Nor is the Church barely lovely, she is superlatively so. Her Lord styles her ‘Thou fairest among women.’ Like the moon she far outshines the stars. Nor is this an opinion which He is ashamed of, for He invites all men to hear it. He sets a ‘behold’ before it, a special note of exclamation, inviting and arresting attention. ‘Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair’ (Sol. Song iv. 1.).
His opinion He publishes abroad even now and one day from the throne of His glory He will avow the truth of it before the assembled universe. ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father,’ (Matt. xxv. 34), will be the solemn affirmation of the loveliness of His elect.”
Photo | Dias de Vino y Rosas
“There is no spot in thee.” -Sol. Song iv. 7
“Having pronounced His church positively full of beauty, our Lord confirms His praise by a precious negative, ‘There is no spot in thee.’ As if the thought occurred to the Bridegroom that the carping world would insinuate that He had only mentioned her comely parts, and had purposely omitted those features that were deformed or defiled, He sums up all by declaring her universally and entirely fair, and utterly devoid of stain. A spot may soon be removed, and is the very least thing which can disfigure beauty, but even from this little blemish the believer is delivered in the Lord’s sight. If He had said there is no hideous scar, no horrible deformity, no deadly ulcer, we might even then have marvelled; but when He testifies that she is free from the slightest spot, all these other forms of defilement are included, and the depth of wonder is increased. If He had but promised to remove all spots by-and-by, we should have had eternal reason for joy; but when He speaks of it as already done, who can restrain the most intense emotions of satisfaction and delight? O my soul, here is marrow and fatness for thee; eat thy full, and be satisfied with royal dainties.
Christ Jesus has no quarrel with His spouse. She often wanders from Him, and grieves His Holy Spirit, but He does not allow her faults to affect His love. He sometimes chides, but it is always in the tenderest manner, with the kindest intentions: it is ‘my love’ even then. There is no remembrance of our follies, He does not cherish ill thoughts about us, but He pardons and loves as well after the offence as before it. It is well for us it is so, for if Jesus were as mindful of injuries as we are, how could He commune with us? Many a time a believer will put himself out of humour with the Lord for some slight turn in providence, but our precious Husband knows our silly hearts too well to take any offence at our ill manners.”
