Statement of Intent
The Statement of Intent is an optional element of the ceremony.
It’s different from the vows, in which the bride and groom make promises to each other. The Statement of Intent is generally asked by your wedding officiant and ends with your response: “We will” or “We do”. It may begin by the officiant saying: “You fell in love by chance, but you are here today because you are making a choice. You are both choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter” followed by the “will you” or “do you question.
*Sometimes, it is a nice segue into the legally required Declaration (Part 2), in which couples must say to each other, “I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, ______, do take you, _______, to be my lawful wedded wife/husband.
Contemporary Options:
Will you, __________ and __________, keep each other as the favourite person in your life; to laugh with, go on adventures with, supporting one another through life's tough moments, being proud of each other, growing old together, and finding new reasons to love each other every day?
Response: We will.
Will you pledge to each other your love, faith and tenderness, cherishing each other with a partner’s loyalty and devotion?
Response: We will.
Will you, _______ and _________, cherish each other, protect each other, and tend to each other’s needs through illness and disappointment? Will you strive to understand each other, giving comfort when needed? Will you try never to say in anger that which you wouldn’t say in friendship? And when each night comes, will you go to sleep with thanks for each other’s presence at your side and renewed love for each other in your heart?
Response: We will.
Do you offer each other, your love and encouragement, your trust and respect, as together you create your future?
Response: We do.
We are here today, to celebrate the love, which _______ and _________ have for each other, and to give social recognition to their decision to commit their lives to each other and accept each other totally. _________ and ____________ will you share your life openly, standing with each other in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love each other forever more?
Response: We will.
Do you _______ and ________, promise to love and respect each other, to share your life and your dreams, to build a home together that is a place of love, happiness, commitment and growth? Do you promise to be a companion in all of your successes and failures, happiness and sadness, to always give your unwavering support and above all else, the freedom to be yourselves?
Response: We do.
__________and ____________, do you promise to love comfort, honour, respect each other and care for each other for the rest of your lives?
Response: We do.
________ and _______, do you come here today, in the presence of these witnesses, with love in your heart? Do you promise to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment of your lives together and to give each other all the loving support needed to become the person each of you is destined to be?
Response: We do.
__________ and __________, in the presence of your family and friends, do you both declare your love and commitment to each other, choosing one another as life partners and soulmates? Do you freely offer yourselves to each other and willingly accept the gift of self that you each offer?
Response: We do.
From this day onward, do you both choose each other to be your best friend, and only love?
To live together, play together, and laugh together,
To work side by side and dream in each other’s arms,
To fill each other’s heart and nourish each other’s soul,
To always seek out the best in one another and to love each other with all your hearts, for all the days ahead?Responds: We do.
Traditional Options:
________, will you have this woman/man to be your husband/wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him/her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others to be faithful to him/her as long as you both shall live?
Response: I will.
__________, will you embrace __________, as your husband/wife? As your companion and best friend for life? Will you treat him/her with love and devotion, honour and respect? Will you stand by him/her in the triumphs and tragedies of life, as a faithful and caring husband/wife?
Response: I will.
__________, do you come before this gathering to proclaim your love and devotion for __________? Do you promise to affirm him/her, respect him/her, and care for him/her during times of joy and hardship? Do you commit yourself to share your feelings of happiness and sadness? Do you pledge to remain faithful to him/her?
Response: I do.
___________, do you take ____________, to be your husband/wife? Do you promise to love, adore, and encourage him/her; share the good times and achievements as well as the challenging times and disappointments; keep him/her in sickness and in sorrow and to be loyal to him/her forevermore?
Response: I do.
__________, will you take __________, whose hands you now hold, choosing him/her alone to be your husband/wife? Will you love him/her, comfort him/her and show him/her kindness, understanding and respect throughout your lives?
Response: I will.
__________, will you have __________, to be your wedded husband/wife to live together after God’s ordinance in Holy matrimony? Will you love him/her, comfort and keep him/her, and forsaking all others remain true to him/her as long as you both shall live?
Response: I will.
________ and _________, are you ready to enter into this marriage believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things?
Response: We are.
__________, do you take ___________, to be your husband/wife? Do you promise to love him/her, respect him/her and care for him/her, under all conditions and circumstances of life to be a faithful husband/wife to him/her for the rest of your lives together?
Response: I do.
Options for Vow Renewal:
Will you, __________ re-affirm __________ as your husband/wife? Will you continue to live your life openly with him/her, and speak the truth to him/her with love? Will you continue to honour and tenderly care for him/her? And will you continue to cherish and encourage his/her fulfillment as an individual throughout all the years ahead of you in your shared life?
Response: I will.
__________ and _________, do you now take each other to continue to be your wedded spouse; to continue to love and be loved for who you actually are; to celebrate your similarities and to rejoice in your differences; to approach your last years with the same joy as you approached the first?
Couple Responds: We do.
Do you promise to create a new awareness of what to expect and what to forgive? To plan your future together, based more upon what you now know as reality and less on what you thought might be?
Couple Responds: We do.
________ and __________, you have rejoiced in the highs and endured all the lows of marriage. You have shown the strength and wisdom it takes to persevere. With an intimate knowledge of what such a union entails, do you still choose each other and reaffirm your promises of marriage?
Response: We do.
Do you still desire to love each other, to hold each above all others, to claim the other’s heart and declare yourselves partners for life?
Response: We do.