Option 11

Good afternoon and welcome. My name is _celebrant_ and I am a qualified marriage celebrant and authorized by law to officiate this marriage today. I am honoured to be here and to be a part of this very special occasion.

Marriage is an opportunity for happiness. Two people who choose the partnership of love and loyalty need patience, kindness, generosity, good humour and the ability to compromise. They need persistence, nurturing, trust, discretion and the willingness to be vulnerable.

But when marriage works, it justifies all the effort. Life is richer when experience is shared. We are more ourselves when we are responding to the stimulus of others, especially when we are responding to the fit of love. A truly loving relationship brings out the best in each other. If romance leads to friendship, if coming together makes room for individual space, if dreams turn into realistic expectations, if the dazzle of beginnings yields long term commitment, if one is always willing to demand of oneself what one demands of others, then love becomes more profound, and the bond of marriage is strengthened.

To choose marriage is to accept a challenge, the challenge that love provides when it wants to grow.