CIVIL CEREMONY #26
BASIC CIVIL CEREMONY – HAPPILY, I DO — simplified language (ESL)
PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE
Is there one of her family who is prepared to present _(Bride)_ to _(Groom)_? / I do. / Her Mom and I do.
INTRODUCTION
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ are honored to have you as their guests and are pleased that you have come to share these happy and sacred moments with them. As they enter into marriage, they do so with thoughtfulness and reverence. They give thanks for the past, which has brought them to this place, and look forward with hope for what the future will bring.
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ the moment to which you have looked forward has now come. We have come together in this place to witness the exchange of your vows as you commit yourselves to one another in marriage.
DECLARATION
If anyone can show any reason why they may not be legally married, let him say so now.
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_, please face each other and join hands.
GROOM’S VOWS >> X repeat
_(Groom)_ , do you take _(Bride)_ to be your wife
to live together as a married couple?
Do you promise to love her,
cherish her, comfort her,
honour and keep her
in whatever happiness or sadness,
sickness or health.
poverty or wealth,
troubled times or good times
that may be a part of your lives.
Do you promise that your life
shall be joined with _(Bride)_’s
and that you will stay faithful to her
as long as you both shall live? / I do.
May I have the bride’s ring please?
_(Bride)_ , with this ring I take you as my wife.
BRIDE’S VOWS >> X repeat
_(Bride)_, do you take _(Groom)_ to be your husband
to live together as a married couple?
Do you promise to love him,
cherish him, comfort him,
honour and keep him
in whatever happiness or sadness,
sickness or health.
poverty or wealth,
troubled times or good times
that may be a part of your lives.
Do you promise that your life
shall be joined with _(Groom)_’s
and that you will stay faithful to him
as long as you both shall live? / I do.
May if have the groom’s ring please?
_(Groom)_, with this ring I take you as my husband.
CLOSING
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_, may the demands of your life together be met with courage and hopefulness. May you learn from your challenges and grow in your success. May life bless you with friends and family who are supportive and whom you enjoy being with.
May your love and care for one another last through all of your moments together, so that in the triumphs and the trials that lie ahead, you will feel just as happy as you do now – happy to be in love and married to one another. Go then in peace, and live more and more in the present, which is beautiful and bountiful and stretches beyond the past toward the future.
PRONOUNCEMENT
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_, you have openly declared your wishes to be united in marriage and in the presence of these witnesses have pledged your love to one another. You have confirmed the same by each giving and receiving a ring and by joining hands. By virtue of the powers vested in me by the Province of Ontario, it is my honor and delight to pronounce that you are husband and wife.
Please seal your vows with a kiss.
DOCUMENTS
PRESENTATION OF THE COUPLE
Family and friends, it is my pleasure to present to you the newly married couple, Mr. & Mrs. ——.
RECESSIONAL
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