Commitment Ceremonies

 

A commitment ceremony is the celebration of love between two people and committing to a loved one is one of the most meaningful moments in a person’s life.

Commitment ceremonies can have the same principles and process as a marriage ceremony as the only major differences is that a commitment ceremony is not legally recognised as a marriage and does not require the legal paperwork or inclusion of specific phrases in the ceremony.

There are numerous reasons why people would like a commitment ceremony and they might include:

• Same sex couples (In Australia, couples of the same gender are not permitted to marry according to the law of the country).

• Couples who do not wish to comply with legal requirements of marriage

• Couples who simply object to the concept of marriage or the terminology husband and wife

 

A commitment ceremony may be formal and traditional or loose and unstructured as it depends on the couples own preferences.

 

The basic elements of a commitment ceremony

• Welcome - to those attending and acknowledging why we are all here. 

• Introduction - Explaining how the couple view commitment and touching on their history, love story, families as required 

• Acknowledging the family and 'giving away' 

• Parental Blessing - an opportunity for parents to pledge their love and acceptance of the commitment. Often used instead of the traditional ‘giving away’

• Reading / Poem 

• The Asking - "Will you..." 

• Special Ritual 

• The Vows – declare their intent to be committed to each other

• Exchanging of the rings. You may choose another symbol or have only one ring or you may have no exchange at all – it’s your choice. 

• Reading / Poem

• Declaration of Commitment

• Presentation of the couple