Officiate:
As a representative of this community I need to ask you to affirm that you are ready to accept the legal
parameters of marriage. By becoming marriage partners you are entrusting one another to serve as legal
guardian over one another's bodies, both in sickness and at death. Do you accept responsibility to make all
decisions for one another during sickness and at death?
Man One:
I would be honored to sit at your bedside when it is time for you to leave this realm, and to be the one who
cares for you in times of sickness.
Man One:
I would likewise be honored to be the one who cares for you when you are unable to care for yourself, and I
want to be the one who sprinkles your ashes to the wind.
Officiate:
Marriage is considered by this community to be a joining of your life energies. Thus, henceforth all that you
each come to own will belong to you jointly. If you someday, for any reason, choose to divorce, your marital
estate will be divided equitably between you. Do you understand this legal merging of assets and do you each
consent to this legal merging of your resources?
Man:1:
In taking you as my spouse, I hereby declare that everything I come to own will belong equally to you.
Man Two:
I hereby merge my life with you. Whatever is mine is yours. I consider you my partner in all that I do in my
life.
NOTE: If you disagree with the idea of totally communalizing your resources in marriage, it is very important
that you state that clearly in a pre-nuptial agreement. It is also a good idea to announce that as part of
your ceremony.¹
Officiate:
This community recognizes the right of every individual to enter into a marital partnership of his/her own
choosing. This community also recognizes an individual's right to terminate a marital partnership in the event
that he/she concludes the marriage has reached a state of incompatibility, and is no longer capable of meeting
his/her needs. As a representative of this community, I need to ask each of you to pledge, as you enter this
marriage, that if you ever decide to sever this union, you will do so with due respect for one another. I need to
also ask you to promise that if you divorce, you will participate in a termination process so that both of you are
able to come to an understanding of why the relationship is no longer workable.
Officiate:
______, do you hereby publicly declare that if you ever decide to sever this bond of marriage that you will
participate in a termination process and treat ______ with honesty and respect if you decide to dissolve this
marital union?
Man One:
We aspire to make this union a lifelong partnership. However we know there is always a chance that, as a
result of our on-going life experiences, we will find ourselves drifting apart in very serious ways. We pledge
that if this happens, we will give our best efforts to repair that breach.
Man Two:
If despite our best efforts, we find that the differences are too great to bridge the gap, we will terminate our
spousal relationship in a respectful and caring manner, without bitterness.
Officiate:
As a representative of this community I also need to ask you to pledge that if you choose to become parents,
that you will honor those responsibilities whether or not you chose to remain marriage partners. I also need you
to pledge that you will continue to treat one another respectfully as you continue to parent your children.
Man One:
If we become parents, I pledge to fulfill that responsibility, regardless of how our lover relationship may
change in the future.
Man Two:
If we become parents, I also promise to view that as a lifelong commitment and to treat you respectfully as
my parenting partner.
Officiate:
Will the witnesses please step forward?
Officiate:
______, do you support ______'s and ______'s desire to merge their lives through this act of marriage?
Would you like to say a few words on behalf of this union?
Witness One:
[Person can share thoughts about the couple, read a poem, sing a song, etc.].
Officiate:
______, do you support ______'s and ______'s desire to merge their lives through this act of marriage?
Witness Two:
[Person can share thoughts about the couple, read a poem, sing a song, etc.].
Officiate:
______, with family and friends as witnesses, do you hereby declare that you take this man as your loving
mate and life partner? Do you pledge to cherish, nurture, and support him?
Man One:
I do.
Officiate:
______, with family and friends as witnesses, do you hereby declare that you take this man as your loving
mate and life partner? Do you pledge to cherish, nurture, and support him?
Man Two:
I do.
Man One:
______ please accept this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to this marriage.
Man Two:
______ please accept this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to this marriage.
Officiate:
As a spokesperson for the people who know and love you both, we hereby bless and celebrate this union of
your deepest selves and pronounce you a legally married couple.
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