We have come together for many reasons. We have decided that being together will enrich our lives. We have decided that whatever challenges may lie ahead for us, they can be met more easily with our shared love for each other. We know that our joy will be enhanced because of our commitment to each other.

We are taking into our care and keeping, the welfare and happiness of the one person, in all the world, whom we love best. We are agreeing to be a light and strength to each other. We are entering into an act of pure faith in which we give ourselves to the utmost.

Marriage is more than just an acknowledgement of existing love or an expression of hope that love will last. In marriage, people exercise their uniquely human power to shape their world according to their will. Two people may come together and come to love each other by chance. But when they marry, every day thereafter they make and act on the choice to stay together and continue to love one another.

---The Purpose of Marriage