Wedding Vows - Civil ceremony

redfragglebiker

Guys I'm hoping you can help me with some vows for a civil ceremony.

After an email conversation with our registrar I have discovered that I will not be able to say the traditional "for better for worse" etc vows as they are part of a religious ceremony so cannot be used for a civil one. I;m a bit sad about this as I always pictured myself saying those words. I am doing some research online to find acceptable alternatives for a civil ceremony but wondered if you guys had any alternatives you knew of or sites that may have some suggestions. We've got a year to go until the wedding so I'm not panicking yet but it has thrown me a bit that I can't say the words that I always thought I would

Si_Clist

For starters, ask your registrars what alternatives they will allow.

Btw, it's not them that rules out any religious content, but the law. What is up to them though is their own interpretation of the law e.g. most registrars will rule out a couple doing a Jewish breaking of the glass during a civil ceremony on the grounds that it's a religious act, but I've known a registrar allow it on the grounds that it's traditional so it's OK!

Jo_F

When we booked our wedding, we were given a booklet about the ceremony, and it had vows and speeches in it, which we could pick from for the registrar to use at the relevant points (the no impediment, vows, ring exchange etc), and also allowed us to use our own if needed.

We each picked what we wanted from what was available as some of them were really nice and had meaning for us (promising to respect each others dreams etc).

So it may pay to ask them if they have options available for you to choose from.

redfragglebiker

Thanks guys.

Our regisrars have just been pretty unhelpful. They've said if we want an alternative they would have to approve it but have given us no suggestions. The booklet they have given us just states the legal wording required and nothing else really.