Your wedding promises are one of the most important parts of your special ceremony. Sure, it's what you promise each other but are you aware that under the Australian Marriage Act of 1961 they must contain certain words or they're not legal!
The official words are:
"I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. , take thee, C.D. to be my lawful wedded wife (or husband)."
There are also some other words that may legally be used. On their own they conform to legal requirements and with an additional few optional words they can really reflect the commitment that you both are making to each other.
Some changes we are able to make are to change:
"Call upon" can be changed to "ask", "persons" can be changed to "people", "thee" can be changed to "you" and "husband" or "wife" can be changed to "spouse"
You can also opt to use your full names here or merely your first and middle names.
The new vow might read:"I ask the persons here present to witness that I, Lillian Eve take you Steven Michael, to be my lawful wedded husband."
Most couples love to add something special to make their vows more personal. It might be the traditional "I will cherish and care for you in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer" or something a bit different like;"Steven, you are my inspiration and soul-mate"
So ultimately we have:
"I ask the people here present to witness that I, Jane Elizabeth take you John William, to be my lawful married husband." John, you are my inspiration and soul mate, I share with you a relationship of love, passion and laughter."
As you can see, apart from the requirements above, the rest is down to you and your wedding celebrant who will confirm your promises are legal and reflect what you want to promise to each other. Certainly, you want your wedding to be legal so you are indeed married at the finish, but it needs to reflect your own personalities and your particular relationship, too.
The official words are:
"I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. , take thee, C.D. to be my lawful wedded wife (or husband)."
There are also some other words that may legally be used. On their own they conform to legal requirements and with an additional few optional words they can really reflect the commitment that you both are making to each other.
Some changes we are able to make are to change:
"Call upon" can be changed to "ask", "persons" can be changed to "people", "thee" can be changed to "you" and "husband" or "wife" can be changed to "spouse"
You can also opt to use your full names here or merely your first and middle names.
The new vow might read:"I ask the persons here present to witness that I, Lillian Eve take you Steven Michael, to be my lawful wedded husband."
Most couples love to add something special to make their vows more personal. It might be the traditional "I will cherish and care for you in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer" or something a bit different like;"Steven, you are my inspiration and soul-mate"
So ultimately we have:
"I ask the people here present to witness that I, Jane Elizabeth take you John William, to be my lawful married husband." John, you are my inspiration and soul mate, I share with you a relationship of love, passion and laughter."
As you can see, apart from the requirements above, the rest is down to you and your wedding celebrant who will confirm your promises are legal and reflect what you want to promise to each other. Certainly, you want your wedding to be legal so you are indeed married at the finish, but it needs to reflect your own personalities and your particular relationship, too.
About the Author:
Peter Harris is a Canberra celebrant who loves making sure you have the most amazing (and legal!) wedding ceremony possible.
