Welcome Message (OPTIONAL) Family and Friends, on behalf of GROOM and BRIDE I would like to welcome you all here today and I call upon you to be fellow witnesses with me in their marriage.   We are not here to only witness their commitment to each other, but also to wish them well and every happiness in their life together. GROOM and BRIDE believe that marriage is founded on the sort of sincerity and understanding that leads to tolerance, confidence and trust.    They also believe that those qualities that have attracted them to each other can best be developed during a life spent together. So we celebrate with them the love they have discovered in each other and we support their decision to commit themselves to one another for the rest of their lives.

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A happy marriage will enable them to establish a home where there will be love and stability, where you, their family and their friends, will find welcome, peace and support and which will be a base from which the influence of their life can extend.


Giving Away the Bride (OPTIONAL)
Who brings this Woman to be married to this Man?
Person giving away says “I Do”, places BRIDE’s hand into GROOM’s hand and then he returns to the other guests.


Monitum (COMPULSORY)
My name is Tim Addison and I am authorized by law to solemnize marriages according to law.   Now GROOM and BRIDE, 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 woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life


First Reading by the Marriage Celebrant, a Relative or a Friend (OPTIONAL)
GROOM and BRIDE as the two of you come into this marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other.


The Asking (OPTIONAL)
GROOM do you take BRIDE to be your lawfully wedded wife, will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto her, so long as you both shall live?
GROOM Replies – “I DO”

and BRIDE will you take GROOM to be your lawfully wedded husband, will you love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto him, so long as you both shall live?
BRIDE Replies – “I DO”


The Marriage Vows (COMPULSORY and OPTIONAL sections)
GROOM, Please repeat after me.
I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, GROOM, take thee, BRIDE, to be my lawful wedded Wife.
To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, while we both shall live.

And, BRIDE, will you now also please repeat after me.
I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, BRIDE, take thee, GROOM, to be my lawful wedded Husband.
To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, while we both shall live.


Ring Blessing (OPTIONAL)
May these rings represent your love for one another.   These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle.   Wherever they go may they always return to one another.   May these two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn.   May they grow in understanding and in compassion.      May the home that they establish together be such a place that many will find there a friend.   May these rings on their fingers symbolise their love.


Exchange of Wedding Rings (OPTIONAL)
GROOM, please place your ring on BRIDES finger and repeat after me.
BRIDE, with this ring, I thee wed.   Take it and wear it as a token of my love and as a symbol of all we share.

BRIDE, please place your ring on GROOMS finger and repeat after me.
GROOM, with this ring, I thee wed.   Take it and wear it as a token of my love and as a symbol of all we share.

The vows that have been exchanged by GROOM and BRIDE have been offered in our hearing but words are fleeting and the sound of them are soon gone, therefore the wedding ring becomes an enduring symbol of the promises that have been made.    May these wedding rings be a reminder to GROOM and BRIDE of the vows they have shared today and a witness to all the world of their commitment in marriage.


Second Reading by the Marriage Celebrant, a Relative or a Friend
or, you may want to have a ROSE or SAND Ceremony Inserted Here
(OPTIONAL)
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together.   Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.   When frustration, difficult and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong.   In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives, remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment the sun is still there and   if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together it will be marked by abundance and delight.


Blessing the Marriage (OPTIONAL)
So live your lives with passion, compassion and excitement.   Play, dance and share in life's long journey.   Make footprints in the sand and sail in the gentleness of the winds.   Climb mountains together, laugh together, cry together and smile often.   Make life magical and extraordinary.   Be happy, be silly; rejoice in life's beauty from now on and into all of your tomorrows for you will be partners in love for life, remembering while sailing on the great ocean of marriage to always be one other's best friend.


Declaration of Marriage (OPTIONAL)
Family and Friends… GROOM and BRIDE have declared before all of us that they will live together in marriage.   Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and physical union between two people.   Marriage has been described as the best and the most important relationship that can exist between them.   It is a moral commitment that requires and deserves daily attention.

GROOM and BRIDE, you have made special promises to each other.   You have symbolised them by joining hands, taking vows and by the giving and receiving of rings so therefore, by the authority vested in me, it is my great honour and privilege to declare you to be husband and wife.


Kissing the Bride (OPTIONAL - but hey, who's Complaining)


Signing the Marriage Certificates