Ceremonies & Licenses

Below you will find links to the marriage license application, license form, example letter to the courthouse and courthouse instructions on  how to apply for your USVI Marriage License

Marriage Application

License Form

Letter to Courthouse

Courthouse Instructions

All of our officiates have warm and welcoming personalities, creating a relaxed and happy atmosphere for you & your guests. Many couples say the felt like they’ve known them for years! Below are some examples of the ceremonies that they use but please know they are happy to incorporate your own vows, readings, poems or prayers. We want the ceremony to be reflection of your love for each other and to have it beautifully delivered to you, not just read off a piece of paper. Vow renewals will also be customized to reflect your lives & history together.

stthomaswedding

Island Wedding Ceremony

Welcome, we are gathered here on this beautiful Caribbean island to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, the uniting of 2 hearts in marriage. In the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. _____________ met each other, fell in love and are finalizing it with their wedding today. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more important and rare. What we are celebrating here today is their desire to bind their love, and each other, together for life. Let us all take a deep breath as we take a second to appreciate the natural beauty around us, to feel the warmth of the sun, and to gaze at this beautiful view.

The bond of marriage is the deepest, most precious, and enduring relationship on earth. Marriage is a life long commitment not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, seriously, and thoughtfully.

_________________ may you both be granted the patience to listen, the capacity to understand, the compassion to give comfort, the joy to laugh, and to just be yourselves. May you both always have happiness, and may you find it by making one another happy. May you have everlasting love, and may you find it in loving one another. Let your marriage make a home where neither of you is ever lonely. Let your marriage offer illumination and the nourishment of shared experiences. May your union be strong enough to endure the difficult times, and to enjoy the happy times. May life’s challenges not separate you; may you always be able to turn to each other.

(Reading – Marriage is a Promise of Love by Edmund O’Neill)

Marriage is a commitment to life—to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth no other relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.

Within the circle of love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and counselor. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, and commitment is stronger.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of life.

When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.

__________________________, do you take ___________________________ to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, honor him, comfort him and keep him in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

__________________________, do you take ___________________________ to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, honor her, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

_________ I take you to be my wedded wife:
To be no other than yourself
From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.
I promise to always be there
To share with you my laughter
And to be there to kiss away the tears
And to give you all the love in my heart
As long as we both shall live

____________ I take you to be my wedded husband:
To be no other than yourself
From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.
I promise to always be there
To share with you my laughter
And to be there to kiss away the tears
And to give you all the love in my heart
As long as we both shall live

Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life – Chris Ardis
Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It’s laughing with each other about silly little things, and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trust, honesty, and openness. It’s getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It’s the realization that there is no one else in this world that you’d rather be with than the one you’re married to. It’s thinking of new things to do together; It’s growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.

The ring is a symbol of the commitment you are making to each other. Your rings are sacred circles. A circle is the symbol of wholeness, peace, and unity. As circles, your rings have no beginning and no ending. They are the symbols of this growing relationship you have come here to celebrate and confirm. You wear them with the blessing that you have a partner in love and in life. These rings seal your vows of marriage to each other. As a sign of your love for and faithfulness to each other repeat after me, then place the ring on their finger.

_________ with this ring – I give you my heart and undying love – I have no greater gift to share –I feel so honored to call you my wife – and blessed to call you mine – when you look at this ring – may you be reminded that you are deeply loved – and may you never feel alone – because I will always be at your side – I love you with all that I am – for everything that you are – With this ring – I thee wed

_________ with this ring – I give you my heart and undying love – I have no greater gift to share –I feel so honored to call you my husband – and blessed to call you mine – when you look at this ring – may you be reminded that you are deeply loved – and may you never feel alone – because I will always be at your side – I love you with all that I am – for everything that you are – With this ring – I thee wed

Blessing
I would ask that you both remember to give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage – as they do to every relationship from time to time – focus on the love that brought you both here today. This way when clouds of trouble darken the sun in your lives, you can remember that the sun is still there.

A lot of people will give you marriage advice, and since I have your undivided attention right now, I will give you mine. Always remember a successful marriage is not about finding the perfect partner, it’s about being a perfect partner, and lots of people say a good marriage is 50-50 and I disagree. I say a successful marriage is 100% and 100%. You both need to give 100% effort in order to make this marriage thrive, grow, and succeed. Care for each other truly and deeply, and put your commitment before all else. My favorite saying is “If you live for your love…your love will live forever.”

Remember to live your life with passion, compassion and excitement. Play, dance, share in life’s long journey, make footprints in the sand, sail in the gentleness of the winds, climb mountains together, laugh together, cry together, smile often, be happy, be silly, rejoice in the beauty of life, and from now on and into all of your tomorrows you will be partners in love and in life, and most importantly be each other’s best friend.

.Having heard the vows you have just made with each other, in front of all these wonderful friends and family, and made under this gorgeous Caribbean sky, and by the power vested in me by the Territorial Court of the United States Virgin Islands, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now kiss the bride.

Thelen #12

Religious Wedding Ceremony

Welcome, we are gathered here on this beautiful Caribbean island to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, the uniting of 2 hearts in marriage. In the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. _____________ met each other, fell in love and are finalizing it with their wedding today. Romance is fun, but true love is something far more important and rare. What we are celebrating here today is their desire to bind their love, and each other, together for life. Let us all take a deep breath as we take a second to appreciate the natural beauty around us, to feel the warmth of the sun, and to gaze at this beautiful view.

The bond of marriage is the deepest, most precious, and enduring relationship on earth. Marriage is a life long commitment not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, seriously, and in the eyes of God.

_________________ may you both be granted the patience to listen, the capacity to understand, the compassion to give comfort, the joy to laugh, and to just be yourselves. May you both always have happiness, and may you find it by making one another happy. May you have everlasting love, and may you find it in loving one another. Let your marriage make a home where neither of you is ever lonely. Let your marriage offer illumination and the nourishment of shared experiences. May your union be strong enough to endure the difficult times, and to enjoy the happy times. May life’s challenges not separate you; may you always be able to turn to each other.

As timeless as the tropical sky above us and powerful as the seas, is the love that underpins a true marriage. Today we bear witness as you agree in love, making your marriage covenant. And so it is right that we should speak of the meaning of love.

I Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

Let us pray….
O gracious and ever-living God, you have created us male and female in your image. Look mercifully upon this man and this woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make; through Jesus Christ our savior. Amen.

__________________________, do you take ___________________________ to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, honor him, comfort him and keep him in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

__________________________, do you take ___________________________ to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, honor her, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?

_________ I take you to be my wedded wife:
To be no other than yourself
From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.
I promise to always be there
To share with you my laughter
And to be there to kiss away the tears
And to give you all the love in my heart
As long as we both shall live

____________ I take you to be my wedded husband:
To be no other than yourself
From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home.
I promise to always be there
To share with you my laughter
And to be there to kiss away the tears
And to give you all the love in my heart
As long as we both shall live

Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life – Chris Ardis
Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It’s laughing with each other about silly little things, and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trust, honesty, and openness. It’s getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It’s the realization that there is no one else in this world that you’d rather be with than the one you’re married to. It’s thinking of new things to do together; It’s growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.

RINGS

The ring is a symbol of the commitment you are making to each other. Your rings are sacred circles. A circle is the symbol of wholeness, peace, and unity. As circles, your rings have no beginning and no ending. They are the symbols of this growing relationship you have come here to celebrate and confirm. You wear them with the blessing that you have a partner in love and in life. These rings seal your vows of marriage to each other. As a sign of your love for and faithfulness to each other repeat after me, then place the ring on their finger.

_________ with this ring – I give you my heart and undying love – I have no greater gift to share –I feel so honored to call you my wife – and blessed to call you mine – when you look at this ring – may you be reminded that you are deeply loved – and may you never feel alone – because I will always be at your side – I love you with all that I am – for everything that you are – With this ring – I thee wed

_________ with this ring – I give you my heart and undying love – I have no greater gift to share –I feel so honored to call you my husband – and blessed to call you mine – when you look at this ring – may you be reminded that you are deeply loved – and may you never feel alone – because I will always be at your side – I love you with all that I am – for everything that you are – With this ring – I thee wed

Blessing

__________I would ask that you both remember to give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage, as they do to every relationship from time to time; focus on the love that brought you to this beautiful Caribbean island today. This way when clouds of trouble darken the sun in your lives, you can remember that the sun is still there.

A lot of people will give you marriage advice, and since I have your undivided attention, I get the benefit of being first. Always remember a successful marriage is not about finding the perfect partner, it’s about being a perfect partner, and lots of people say a good marriage is 50-50 and I disagree. I say a successful marriage is 100% and 100%. You both need to give 100% effort in order to make this marriage thrive, grow, and succeed. Care for each other truly and deeply, and put your commitment before all else. As my favorite saying goes “If you live for your love…your love will live forever.”

Remember to live your life with passion, compassion and excitement. Play, dance, share in life’s long journey, make footprints in the sand, sail in the gentleness of the winds, climb mountains together, laugh together, cry together, smile often, be happy, be silly, rejoice in the beauty of life, and from now on and into all of your tomorrows you will be partners in love and in life, and most importantly be each other’s best friend.

May God bless you and keep you.
May God’s countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May God look upon you with favor and grant you peace.

Having heard your vows to each other, witnessed by God and these persons here present, by the power vested in me by the Territorial Court of the United States Virgin Islands I now pronounce you husband and wife.

___________you may now kiss your wife.

Including your mothers in the sand ceremony

Including your mothers in the sand ceremony

The Sand Ceremony

This is a popular alternative to the “unity candle”. As most ceremonies take place outside, it can be difficult to get a candle to stay lit (and a bit awkward when it blows out!). The sand ceremony is a blending of sand, that can never be separated again, must like two souls into marriage. Here is an option for wording for the sand ceremony:

_______________ may your love always be as constant as the never-ending waves, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea. Just as there will never be a morning without the ocean’s tides, there will never be a day without your love for each other. You have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings. You have committed here today to share the rest of your lives with each other. This beautiful union is symbolized through the combining of these two individual containers of sand.

The first container of sand represents you ________, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will be, and the other represents you _________, and all that you were, all that you are and all that you will be. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two sands are blended together they create an entirely new and more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination.

As you pour the sand into the container to symbolize your combined life together, leave a little bit of sand in each of your containers, because as much as you are now united as one, your individuality and uniqueness is also what makes this love special. Please pour the sand into this common container to symbolize the union of your two lives and your love.

Just as these grains of sand can never again be separated, so will your marriage be – a blending of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, and one everlasting love.

Personalizing Your Ceremony

There are so many great ways to truly personalize your wedding ceremony. From the sand ceremony to the wine ceremony, hand warming and knot tying, there’s so many unique ways to make it special to you. Do not feel any pressure on yourselves though! The majority of our couples arrive with nothing special prepared, no personal vows, etc. and our officiates are still going to make it a fantastic memorable moment.

Here are some links to additional ideas on specialized ceremonies:

Ring Warming Ceremony

Knot Tying Ceremony

Unity Glass Ceremony (what a cool souvenir!)

Beer Unity Ceremony (for those over the champagne! We have great Virgin Islands Beer that would be great with this)

Unity Painting Ceremony (mix in some sand for a unique piece of art to take home!)

Wine Box Ceremony

Including Children