Welcome to the marriage of ____________ and _____________.

My name is Jeff Oates and I am duly authorised by law to solemnize marriages according to Australian law.

________________ and _____________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.

____________, when you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. That is impossible. It is even a lie to pretend it is possible. And yet that is exactly what most of us demand. We insist on permanence, on duration, on continuity. The only continuity possible in life as in love is in growth, in fluidity, and in freedom, as dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in creating the same pattern.

____________, the only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not even in hoping. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back nostalgically to what it was, nor forward in dread or anticipation to what it might be. It is loving in the present relationship, accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, which one must accept for what they are here and now with their limits, islands surrounded and interrupted by the sea, continually visited and abandoned by the tide. One must accept the security of the ebb and flow of intimacy.

The Bride and Groom pour each other a glass of wine.

The years of our lives are a cup of wine poured out for us to drink. The grapes when they are pressed give forth good juices for the wine. Under the winepress of time, our lives give forth labour and honour and love. Many days you will sit at the same table and eat and drink together. Drink now and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to running over.

The Bride and Groom touch their glasses and drink a sip of wine.

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?

I do.

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?

I do.

Now, ____________ and ____________, will you take vows here, before all of us, which symbolize the many unseated vows you have already made and will continue to make to each other throughout your relationship.

I ask everyone here today to witness that I _____________ take you ______________ as my lawful wedded wife.  I promise to stand by you, to be there when you need me, and to share the happiness and sadness of my life with you. If the secret of life is to enjoy the passage of time, then let us share our time together from this day forward. I come to this place today as a man standing alone; I will walk from it by your side. Today, I shall carry you across the threshold and enter into a new and lasting lifetime commitment. I commit myself to you, ____________, as your husband.

Take this ring and wear it as a sign of my commitment.

The words I say to you now are ones I have waited a lifetime to utter, words I say in love and in confidence I therefore ask everyone here today to witness that I _____________ take you ______________ as my lawful wedded husband.  I see you as a strong, growing partner, the person with whom I wish to share my life. I offer you all the days before me, no matter what may come our way. I freely take you, ____________, as my husband.

Take this ring and wear it as a sign of my commitment.

When you share a joy, it is doubled, and when you share a sorrow, it is halved. You have booth pledged your love to each other before these witnesses. Therefore, by the authority granted to me, I joyfully pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss your bride.

I invite the bridal party and the parents to come forward and congratulate the couple.

The Celebrant invites the bride and groom with the bridal party and the parents to retire to sign the register and certificates.

Ladies and gentlemen please be up-standing and welcome for the first time Mr and Mrs _____________________.