Civil Wedding Ceremony

What is a civil wedding ceremony? More and more couples are opting to get married in this manner. Basically, a civil ceremony is a legal marriage ceremony which is conducted by a Superintendent Registrar in a Registry Office or a location where they have a Civil License. This is because some couples do not wish to include any religious traditions and aspects to their wedding. Before the ceremony is conducted, the registrar needs to receive an authority to go ahead with the process. This authority can be gained by submitting a notice of the couple's marriage 15 days prior the wedding date through the local register office.

Becoming one of the more popular wedding ceremony ideas, a civil wedding is actually more relaxed and quite simple to handle. In the following article, we will go over a typical civil ceremony outline so you can understand what to look forward to.

Wedding Ceremony Sample

Since this is not a traditional Catholic wedding ceremony or any other religious wedding, there are in fact tons of choices as to how you want the ceremony to be held. Here's a small structure as to how the wedding day would look like.

• Registrar asks bride and groom to take a look at the information filled by them in their marriage authority.
• He/she will ask the names of their natural fathers and what is their occupation (again, fathers').
• If there are any fees to be cleared, it happens at this time.
• Guests, if any, attending the ceremony need to arrive 5 minutes before the ceremony begins.
• Many registry offices let the bride be walked in on a family member's arm before the groom sees her.
• Depending on which country, city you reside in, the superintendent registrar will explain the laws and legal aspects to the bride and the groom.
• The bride and the groom are asked to make their declarations about the marriage and exchange wedding vows (it could be written by them as well).
• If the bride and groom wishes, they can also exchange wedding rings at this moment as well.
• The superintendent registrar then asks the bride and the groom to check the register properly before they sign it.
• Two witnesses (family members or friends) are required to sign as well in the register.
• And once all the signatures are complete, the superintendent registrar announces the ceremony to be finalized.
• The bride and groom can lead the guests out and begin their celebrations in their own manner.

Wedding Ceremony Script

If you wanted to organize your wedding ceremony in a different manner, here's a sample wedding ceremony script. In here, you will see what the roles of the bride, the groom, and the registrar are. Also, the wedding vows are included in the script below.

We are gathered here today because this couple has decided to be joined in marriage. The essence of marriage lies in committing oneself to the other person entirely as a friend, confidant, companion, and lover. This decision should never be made lightly, but should be considered with utmost care, respect, and loyalty. (Bride's name) and (Groom's name) are taking a step together and celebrating their love with the sanctity of marriage. And that is why, we are here to share their love with one another and give our blessings and wishes to them for a beautiful and happy marriage. (Bride's name) and (Groom's name), today you have come here with an intention to marry one another and join hands forever in a holy relationship. If you have any personal wedding vows written, you can do so here or else, repeat what the registrar will ask you to say. Registrar to the Groom - Please, repeat after me... "I, (Groom's name), take you, (Bride's name), to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise from this day forward to be your faithful husband, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as I shall live". OR "I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, (Groom's name), may not be joined in matrimony/marriage to, (Bride's name)." Registrar to the Bride - Please, repeat after me... "I, (Bride's name), take you, (Groom's name), to be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise from this day forward to be your faithful wife, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as I shall live". OR "I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, (Bride's name), may not be joined in matrimony/marriage to, (Groom's name)." Next is the ring ceremony, if the bride and the groom wishes, to declare it as a symbol of their marriage and love for one another. The registrar will ask the bride and the groom to repeat these words as the rings are being exchanged... "With this ring, I wed thee. I shall love you, honor you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live. This is a symbol of my undying love for you." I, (Superintendent Registrar/name), by the power vested in me by the Marriage Act, pronounce (Groom's name) and (Bride's name) to be married. You may now kiss your bride.

That was a simplified script for a civil wedding ceremony. As I mentioned earlier, you can definitely script your wedding in your own manner. There are no rules that keep you from having a wedding of your dreams just because you chose a civil ceremony. This is where I end my article and also congratulate you on your upcoming wedding.