Commitment Ceremonies and Vow Renewals are informal ceremonies that celebrate your love. I treat them like a wedding but without the legal content. In some cultures, parents may want their children to register their marriage in their country of birth while the children wish to have a ceremony in Australia. A Commitment Ceremony can be held prior to the legal registration or a Vow Renewal after.
I treat these ceremonies with the same joy and care as a wedding. Let’s create a beautiful,
symbolic celebration of your love and journey together.
A commitment ceremony is like a wedding ceremony except the legal phrasing is removed. You
can still make vows, exchange rings or even wills. The procedures are like a traditional wedding.
I welcome your guests to a celebration of the love and commitment and say a few words about your relationship, or about love/commitment in general.
The couple declares their intent to be a committed couple and may make promises about what that commitment means. You may write your own vows or I can write them for you.
You can have poems, hymns, quotes, personal writing, passages of literature – it’s up to your personal preference and tastes.
You can also choose to exchanges rings, and says a few words about what these rings mean.
I announce to your guests that you as a couple are now joined/united (whatever word you prefer to say).
Most couples will follow the ceremony with a reception of some kind. As with all weddings, there are no rules as to what this should be – it can be very formal and traditional, or as casual as a backyard picnic.
A renewal of marriage vows can be held in many situations. The first is if you were married in another state or country and you wished to have a ceremony shared with local family and friends then a renewal of vows is for you as you can’t have a second legal ceremony.
The second is if you’ve been married a while and want to celebrate a big anniversary. Traditionally Vow Renewals were held to celebrate milestones in a marriage such as 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years of marriage.
As part of these celebrations why not hold a renewal of your marriage vows.
I will work with you to develop a ceremony which may reflect on the road already travelled, or so you can repeat your original vows.