On the Wedding Ceremony

I've had several people comment about how I officiate at weddings.

Before the father gives away his daughter to the groom, there are vows of intent, where the parents hear the future couple commit to what they will do. So the question is "Will you..." and they say, "I will." The parents then, formally satisfied (they obviously are already, but this is the formal acting out of it), give her to the guy. They then (later, after the sermon, responding to the gospel) make vows to one another in the present tense: "I take you..." or "I do." Sometimes this leads to no "I do" if the couple repeat vows. "I groom, take you bride..."

This is a pretty minor grammatical point in the scheme of things. Does the groom take the bride before the father gives her? In real life, it often works this way, but ideally not. The words we say at our ceremonies should uphold the best way, and the hard part is living up to those rituals. Improving our baptism, communing with Christ (Lord's Supper), actually being a walking billboard for Christ and the Church in your marriage - these rituals are easy to administer, but hard to live faithfully.