Vows, readings and music for your wedding

While a civil marriage or civil partnership ceremony has a fairly standard format, there are plenty of  opportunities to personalise your ceremony with vows, promises, readings and music.

Marriage ceremonies

During your marriage ceremony, you must say a legal declaration and contracting vows, which you can choose from the options below. 

Legal marriage declarations

You can choose to say either the traditional, modern or simplified declaration from the list below.

• Traditional - I do solemnly declare, that I know not of any lawful impediment why I (your name) may not be joined in matrimony to (your partner's full name).
• Modern - I declare that I know of no legal reason why I (your name) may not be joined in marriage to (your partner's name).
• Simplified - The Registrar asks: "Are you (your full name) free, lawfully, to marry (your partner's full name)?" You reply "I am."

Contracting marriage vows

You can choose to say either the traditional, modern or simplified contracting marriage vows from the list below.

• TraditionaI - I call upon these persons, here present, to witness that I (your full name) do take thee (your partner's full name) to be my lawful wedded wife/husband.
• Modern - I (your full name), take you (your partner's full name) to be my wedded wife/husband.
• Simplified - I (your full name) take thee (your partner's full name) to be my wedded wife/husband.

Personal marriage promises

After saying the legal declaration and vows, you can make personal promises to each other when exchanging rings or gifts. You can either write your own personal promises, or you may wish to choose one of the promises below:

• I promise that I will respect you as an individual, support you through difficult times, rejoice with you through happy times, be loyal to you always and, above all, love you as my wife/husband and friend.
• I promise to care for you above all others, to give you my love and friendship, support and comfort, and to respect and cherish you throughout our lives together.
• I give you this ring as a token of my love and friendship.
• I give you this ring as a token of our love and marriage, as a symbol of all that we share and in recognition of our life together.
• I promise to love and respect you. Helping our love grow, always being there to listen, comfort and support you, whatever our lives may bring.
• I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage, and as a symbol of our love. I promise to care for you, to respect and cherish you, throughout our lives together.
• I give you this ring as a sign of our love, trust and marriage. I promise to care for you above all others, to give you my love, friendship and support, and to respect and cherish you throughout our life together.
• I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and affection, wear it with happiness and pride – now and always.

If you have chosen to write your own promises, please remember that they must not contain any religious content and will need to be pre-approved by the registrar.

Civil Partnership ceremonies

Legal civil partnership declaration

During the civil partnership ceremony, you can choose to read, repeat or acknowledge the legal declaration below:

• I declare that I know of no legal reason why we may not register as each other’s civil partner. I understand that on signing this document we will be forming a civil partnership with each other. 

Personal civil partnership promises

After the legal declaration you can make personal promises to each other when exchanging rings or gifts. You can either write your own personal promises, or you may wish to choose one of the promises below:

• I will seek to build a strong, loving relationship based on kindness, understanding and trust that are already part of us both.
• I promise to love you in good times and bad, to cherish and care for you, to live with you in love and harmony, whatever the future may bring.
• I promise to share my life with you as an
  equal partner, and to ensure that our love and friendship continue to grow.
• I promise to love you above all others, to cherish and respect you throughout our lives together.

If you have chosen to write your own promises, please remember that they must not contain any religious content and will need to be pre-approved by the registrar.

Readings and poems

A selection of readings and poems that you could use in your wedding or civil partnership ceremony.

You are welcome to include any reading of your choice but they must be non-religious and must be pre-approved by the registrar.

• Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Louis de Bernieres)
• Foxtrot from a Play (WH Auden) 
• From a Native American Indian ceremony
• Knights and Ladies (AA Milne)
• Love is Giving (Anon)
• My Promise (Anon)
• My True Love (Sir Philip Sidney)
• Native American Love Poem (The Ahwahneechee tribe who lived in Yosemite National Park)
• Romance (Robert Louis Stevenson)
• Sonnet 75 (William Shakespeare)

Music

You may wish to personalise your ceremony with music, which can be played at the following times during your ceremony:

• Arrival of guests
• Entrance into the ceremony room
• Signing of the legal schedule
• Depart from the ceremony room

You can choose any music you like but for civil ceremonies you cannot include hymns or any music with religious content. 

If your ceremony is taking place in a register office ceremony room, you must bring your music with you on the day, either on a CD or on a portable device, which can be connected to a Bluetooth speaker. 

If your ceremony is taking place in an approved venue, please check with the venue what facilities they have to play music for you.