Declaration of Intent - The "I Do's!"

I Do!

The only thing I really have to do when I marry a couple is to obtain their verbal consent to the marriage. 

"Do you?" "I Do!"  "Do you?"  "I Do!"  "We're done!"  Or, I now pronounce you married! 

Many think of these as wedding vows, and they are.  Some couples think of wedding vows as something you write yourself, your thoughts and feelings about each other.   We often use these options as a declaration of intent, followed by your own vows, or use them, and they serve very easily as both the Declaration of Intent and the vows.  

Many couples may use these as prompts for writing their own vows, because sometimes you need a little help to get your own feelings to flow.

Declaration of Intent Option 1

Name, do you take Name, to be your Wife/Husband/Partner in Marriage  To have and to hold, For better, for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others from this day forward,  until death do you part?*

*You can also end with:
Forever and always.
From now until the end of time.
For all your days.
To infinity and beyond!

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Declaration of Intent Option 2

​Name, from this day onward, do you choose Name to be your Wife/Husband/Partner-in-Marriage, your best friend and your only love? To live together, play together and laugh together; To work by his/her/their side and dream in his/her/their arms; To fill his/her/their heart and feed her soul; To always seek out the best in his/her/their Always loving his/her/their with all your heart, until the end of your forever?
If so, Say, “I do!”

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Declaration of Intent Option 3

​​Will you, Name, keep Name as your favorite person — to laugh with him/her/them, go on adventures with him/her/them, support him/her/them through life's tough moments, be proud of him/her/them, grow old with him/her/them and find new reasons to love him/her/them every day?

Name: I will.

Will you, Name, keep Name as your favorite person — to laugh with him/her/them, go on adventures with him/her/them, support him/her/them through life's tough moments, be proud of him/her/them, grow old with him/her/them and find new reasons to love him/her/them every day?

Name: I will.

Will you, both, be each other's partners from this day forward? Will you bring out the best in one another, share your happiest moments together, and love each other absolutely — for the rest of this lifetime and for whatever may come next?
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Both: We will.

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Declaration of Intent Option 4

​Name, do you take Name, to be the Husband/wife/life-partner of your days, the companion of your heart and the friend of your life?  To stand united in the face of adversity and bask together in the light of good fortune? With these words spoken, and all those as yet unspoken, do you wish to marry Name and join your lives together?

Name:  I do

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Declaration of Intent Option 5

​Name and Name, by coming here today, you have reached a crossroads in your lives. You’re turning away from your yesterdays and looking ahead to your tomorrows. Your past is a distant memory. Your future awaiting adventure. It is a new dawn, a new commitment, a new life. The bonds you are forging today will change your lives forever.

Do you, Name, promise to take Name to be your Husband/Wife/Partner-in-life? To play with him/her/them and care for him/her/them ; to make him/her/them  laugh, and let him/her/them cry? To offer your best counsel and give your sincerest support with all the love you have to give?

Name: I do

Is it your choice that Name be the one with whom you wish to spend your life?

Name:  It is

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Declaration of Intent Option 6

​I know that I am here today as the officiant of your wedding.  However, that is really just to make it legal. What you are really doing today is making a public proclamation of your love.  Here, in front of these witnesses who will hopefully stand by you. And, even beyond that, you are here to make these promises to each other.  Take this moment to look into each other’s eyes - because it is nearly impossible to look into each other’s eyes and lie.  But even more so, by looking into each other’s eyes you are looking into each other’s soul’s. That is where your love for each other truly flows from. Take this time to have your souls speak in their language as I speak these words...

Name and Name?  Do you  choose to be husband/wife/partners in life? 
Do You promise to give the best of yourselves  and to ask for no more than you can give? Do you promise to respect one another as your own person and to realize 
that your interests, needs and desires are no less important than the other’s?  Do you promise to share your time and attention, and to bring joy, strength and imagination to your relationship? Do you promise to keep yourselves open to each other, to allow the other see through the windows of your world and into your innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams? Do you promise to grow along alongside each other, willing to face changes as you both change in order to keep your relationship alive and exciting? Do you promise to love one another in good times and in bad, with all you have to give, and all you feel inside, in the only way you know how ... completely and forever?  
​
Name, do you take Name to be your husband/wife/partner in life?

Name, do you take Name to be your husband/wife/partner in life?

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Declaration of Intent Option 7

Name and Name, On this day do you affirm the love that the two of you share, looking to the future to deepen and strengthen it? Will you affirm that love in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph. Together will you dream and break bread?  When you stumble will you restore one another? Will you share all things, serving one another and your fellow man? Will you cherish and respect, comfort and encourage one another? Be open with one another, and stay with one another as long as you both shall live, bound by your love?

Name, do you choose Name to be your Husband/Wife/Partner-in-marriage, your friend, and your love?
​
Name, do you choose Name to be your Husband/Wife/Partner-in-marriage, your friend, and your love?

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Declaration of Intent Option 8

​Name, do you take Name to be your best friend, your faithful partner and one true love?  Do you promise to encourage and inspire him/her/them and to love him/her/them  truly through good times and bad?  Will you be there forever? to laugh with him/her/them, to lift her up when him/her/them’s down and to love him/her/them unconditionally through all your adventures in life together?

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Declaration of Intent Option 9

Name and Name, do you, with your family and friends as your witnesses, present yourselves willingly and of your own accord to be joined in marriage?

We do

Will you promise to care for each other in the joys and sorrows of life, come what may, and to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment of your life together?

We will

Name, please repeat after me:

I, Name, take you Name, to be my Husband/Wife/Partner-in-marriage
I give to you in the presence of these witnesses
My promise to stay by your side,
In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow,
As well as through the good times and the bad.
I promise to love you without reservation,
Comfort you in times of distress
Encourage you to achieve all of your goals,
Laugh with you and cry with you,
Grow with you in mind and spirit
Always be open and honest with you,
And cherish you for as long as we both shall live​​

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Declaration of Intent Option 10

Do you, Name, promise to give Name, your deepest love, and your truest thoughts,As you create a home together that is a place of joy and comfort, being his/her/their faithful champion, partner, and best friend? Do you commit yourself to Name in Marriage? 

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Declaration of Intent Option 11

Do you, Name, take, Name, to be your partner for life. Do you promise to walk by her/his/their side forever, and to love, help, and encourage her/him/them in all she/he/they(do) does? Do you promise to take time to talk with her/him/them, to listen to  her/him/them, and to care for her/him/them? Will you share her/his/their laughter, and her/his/their tears, as her/his/their partner, lover, and best friend?

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Declaration of Intent Option 12

Name, will you keep Name as your partner, favorite person, and best friend for life - to live together, play together, and laugh together? To respect him/her/them, be proud of him/her/them, and find new reasons to love him/her/them every day? To always give him/her/them your unconditional love, unwavering support, and, above all else, the freedom to be himself/herself/themselves? To build with him/her/them a life that is full of love, laughter, happiness, commitment, respect, and growth?

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Declaration of Intent Option 13

Dear friends, marriage is a legal relationship that is one of the foundations of community and society. It is, therefore, a public and civil relationship that expects all other people to honor and respect it. Marriage is also a spiritual relationship – a covenant of heart and soul, and a shelter for love and intimacy.  Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but is to be understood by all as a lifelong connection of two lives, two hearts, two fortunes, and two futures. Marriage involves both privileges and obligations. Because of this, I ask you:

Do each of you enter this union freely and without coercion?   We do

Are you prepared to accept both the rights and responsibilities of married life?  We are

Is it your intention to support, honor, defend, and uphold one another in all circumstances?   Yes

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Declaration of Intent Option 14

Name and Name, of all the people you know, you have chosen one another as life partners. Are you ready to be married? If so, say, “we are.”

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Declaration of Intent Option 15

Name, will you love Name when you are together and when you are apart; when life is peaceful and when it is disordered; when you are proud of her/him/them and when you are disappointed in her/him/them; in times of leisure and in times of work; will you honor her/his/their goals and dreams and help her/him/them fulfill them? If so, say, “I will.”​

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Declaration of Intent Option 16

Will you, Name, have Name, from this day forward, to be your wedded wife/husband/spouse, in times of celebration, in times of sadness, in times of pleasure and in times of pain, in times of sickness and times of health? If so, please say, “I will.”

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Declaration of Intent Option 17

Name and Name, If you are ready to step into the estate of matrimony, assuming all its rights, obligations and abundant joys, please indicate by joining hands.

Do you, Name take Name as your husband/wife, to love him/her/them and to honor him/her/them, to nurture, serve and support him/her/them, in times of joy and in times of difficulty? Do you promise to remain by him/her/them side regardless of what trouble befalls you, and in the presence of temptation to forsake this love, do you promise to remain steadfast and true? Do you promise with all your heart and soul to honor this vow till death do you part?
If so, please say, “I do.”

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Declaration of Intent Option 18

​Having acknowledged the deep value of marriage and recognizing marriage as the convergence of your individual and joint destinies as well as the greatest support for them, do you both choose to marry, to speak the words that will bind you as husband and wife, allowing you to become most fully yourself in each other’s presence for the rest of your days?

Name and Name:   We do

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Declaration of Intent Option 19

This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising and have asked all of these people you love to watch you make this promise, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honor the promises you are making here today. For their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain, too.

Name, do you take Name to be your wife/husband/spouse, promising to love her/him/them, comfort, honor, respect, and care for her/him/them for the rest of your life?
If so, please say, "I do."

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Declaration of Intent Option 20

We are here today to celebrate the love that Name and Name have for each other and to give social recognition to their decision to commit their lives to each other and accept each other totally.

Do you, Name, take Name, to be your lawfully wedded wife/husband/spouse, to share your life openly, standing with her/him/them in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?
​

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Declaration of Intent Option 21

Will you, Name, cherish Name as your lawful wedded wife/husband/spouse, protecting her/him/them, and tending to her/his/their needs through illness and disappointment?

Will you strive to understand her/him/them, giving her/him/them comfort when she/he/they seeks it from you? 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 her/his/their presence at your side and renewed love for her/him/them in your heart?

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** Formal Wedding Ceremony Guide ** Formal Wedding Ceremony Scripts ** Elopement Ceremony Guide ** Elopement Ceremony Scripts ** Parts of a Wedding Ceremony ** Vow Writing Guide ** Unplugged Ceremony ** Opening Prayers ** Welcoming ** Moment of Silence ** Declaration of Support ** About Love and Marriage ** Non-Religious Readings ** Christian Readings ** Secular I-do's! ** Christian I-do-s! ** Ring Meaning ** Ring Blessings ** Secular Ring Exchanges ** Christian Ring Exchanges ** Unity Ceremonies ** Secular Blessings ** Christian Blessings ** The-pronouncement-Secular  ** The Pronouncement - Christian **