WELCOME:
Celebrant:
My name is Jeff Oates and I am very pleased to officiate that is very joyous occasion here today. On behalf of ______________ and ____________ I would like to welcome you all and ask that you join with us in the spirit of love and joy while we join these two people in marriage.
ADDRESS:
Celebrant:
I am duly authorized by law to solemnize marriages according to law.
Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter.
Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of a man and a women to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
So everyone we are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people, ____________ and ____________, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one. They now desire to profess to the world and in front of you all their intention henceforth to walk the road of life together.
To these two young people, this marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone. This "birth of spirit" reminds us of spring, the season when all life is reborn and looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that this wedding of ____________ and ____________ be in the spring, and that it be under the open sky, where we are close to the earth and to the unity of life, the totality of living things of which we are part.
GIVING AWAY:
Celebrant:
Who gives this women to be married today?
Bride’s father responds:
"I do" and then joins his wife.
THE ASKING:
Celebrant to Bride:
Do you ____________, knowing this man's love for you and returning it, realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses and helping him to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully wedded husband?
Bride Response:
I do.
Celebrant to Groom:
Do you ____________, knowing this woman's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning form them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take ____________ to be your lawfully wedded wife?
Groom Response:
I do.
VOWS:
Celebrant says the following which is repeated by the groom:
I call upon the persons here present to witness that I __________ take you __________ to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ‘till death shall part us. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
Celebrant says the following which is repeated by the bride:
I call upon the persons here present to witness that I __________ take you __________ to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ‘till death shall part us. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
THE RING CEREMONY:
Celebrant to the groom
Place the ring on ___________ finger and repeat after me:
____________, with this ring I thee wed. Take it and wear it as a sign of my love and as a symbol of all we share
Celebrant to the bride:
Place the ring on ___________ finger and repeat after me:
____________, with this ring I thee wed. Take it and wear it as a sign of my love and as a symbol of all we share
Celebrant:
Let these rings serve as locks – not binding you together – but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever.
DECLARATION:
Celebrant:
____________________ and _______________ it therefore now gives me great pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife, and my very best wishes for your future together.
Please feel free to celebrate your marriage (with a kiss) and then I invite the bridal party and both sets of parents to come up to congratulate you both.
SIGNING OF REGISTER:
The Celebrant invites the bride and groom with the bridal party and the parents to retire to sign the register and certificates.
PRESENTATION OF THE NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE:
Ladies and gentlemen please be up-standing and welcome for the first time Mr and Mrs _____________________.