Declaration of Intent to Marry

Declaration Of Intent To Marry. The "I do's" With PDF's

Over my years at a professional Wedding Officiant, I’ve found that no matter how beautiful the wedding ceremony script is, many people are just waiting to hear you say the words “I do!” Once everyone hears those words they are just waiting for you to be pronounced married and share that first big kiss.

What is the Declaration of Consent to Marry?

What is the Declaration of Consent to Marry? The Declaration of Consent is when you verbally consent to the marriage. It’s when you say “I Do.” It is the one legal thing you must do with your Wedding Officiant when you are completing your marriage license.

What is the difference between your Declaration of Consent and your marriage vows?

What is the difference between your Declaration of Consent and your marriage vows? Your Declaration of Consent is a question that is asked to clarify you are formally consenting to the marriage. It can be as simple as “Victoria, do you take Peter to be your husband?” And, “Peter, do you take Victoria to be your wife?” Traditionally, the answer is “I do.” But, you can answer with “Yes!” or “Heck Yes!” or any way you like that gives your affirmative consent. Your wedding vows can be anything you like them to be. Perhaps you add “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others until we are parted by death.”

I have found that more formal ceremonies will have both the Declaration of Consent and the couple with also exchange vows. Perhaps you will add the Declaration of Consent at the beginning of the ceremony, just to make sure before we go any further. Very traditional wedding ceremony scripts that I’ve found have the same words for the Declaration of Consent and the vows. It seemed so redundant the first time I read it.

Why would you ask the question and then have the person also repeat the same words as they exchange rings? It’s the same thing! But is it? It’s one thing to say “I do.” It’s another to speak those words. Marriage is a legal contract. When you go and pick up your marriage license they don’t ask you if you love each other or if you plan to stay together until you are parted by death. They just make sure you meet the requirements for legal marriage. What you choose to do with that legal contract is up to you. I’ve had couples ask me to leave out the “till death do you part.” That’s fine, whatever you agree to is up to you. Some couples just don’t want to talk about death. I’ve also had some people truly not able to speak those words because the knew it wasn’t the truth.

Pro Tip: If your Fiancé can’t speak the words “till death do us part” you might want to just turn around and run now. They should also not be wearing sunglasses inside. Yes, that’s a thing.

Many couples don’t see the need to have the Declaration of Consent and the vows. If couples are writing their own vows they may include their own Declaration of Intent as part of their vows. Or, simply saying “I do” covers it for them on all bases. Often, couples will do both just because they dream of saying “I do.” Dreams come true!!
Here are my current collection of options for your Declaration of Consent. You can use one exactly as it’s written or re-write one, or many, to express yourself they way you choose. Enjoy!

Declaration of Intent 1

You can download this jpg file, the PDF below or
click here to cut and paste

the_declaration_of_intent_to_marry_1.pdf
File Size:	50 kb
File Type:	pdf