Good morning. My name is Brian O'Connell and I am a civil marriage celebrant duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages. Welcome to this ceremony which Paul and Karola have chosen for their wedding. Marriage is for the companionship, help, and love which husband and wife ought to have for each other. Within its framework of commitment and loyalty, marriage enables the establishment of a home where, through tolerance, patience and courage, the love and affection of a man and a woman may develop into a deep and lasting relationship.
	Paul and Karola have honoured us by inviting us to be present with them today. What they mean to each other is obvious. Their commitment to each other has been made for some time. They are adult. They have chosen to live together. Their choice is free, responsible, independent and happy. Of all the men and women they know they have chosen each other to journey through life together. It is now time to ask you, Paul, will you take Karola to be your wife, your lifelong partner? Will you constantly try to stay aware of your relationship with her, striving to communicate with her, sensitive to her needs, wanting her success and happiness through all the years ahead? I will
I ask you, Karola, will you take Paul to be your husband, your lifelong partner? Will you constantly try to stay aware of your relationship with her, striving to communicate with her, sensitive to her needs, wanting her success and happiness through all the years ahead? I will

Paul and Karola, would you turn toward each other as you read your special poems.

	(Paul reads to Karola) I wonder by my troth, what thou and I Did, till we lov'd? were we not weane'd till then? But suck'd on countrey pleasures childishly? O snorted we in the seaven sleepers den? 'T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancy bee. If ever any beauty I did see, Which I desir'd and got, t'was but a dream of thee
And now good morrow to our waking soules. Which watch not one another out of feare; For love, all love of other sights controules, And makes one little roome, an everywhere, Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, Let maps to others, worlds on worlds have showne, Let us possesse one world, each hath one and is one.	My face in thine eye, thine in mine appeares, And true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest, Where can we find two better hemispheares, Without sharpe North, without declining West? What ever dyes was not mixed equally; If our two loves be one, or, thou and I Love so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die.

(Karola reads to Paul) How is it I know you, strange one? In what untrammeled sky did we fly? Perhaps I was the air and you the bird. Did you fly through me? Why are we not mated? Give me a sign: will you be mine? Do you see me, feel my desire? Or are you already tired of my song?
Come fly with me; dry thistles sliding through a crystal sky, you and I. Below, mountains hump and clouds hover while cows slumber seven stomachs deep in clover. We glide together in twisting currents of air, caring for nothing. We are each other and we take wind to find fertile fields and silent beaches.	I bring unweathered seeds of joy, and endless coming together. Let us fly. Our time grows from yesterday's tomorrows; we glide gently to our private past. Let us fly.

	Paul and Karola, you have stated your willingness to marry. With trustand faith in each other you pledge your love before us today. Marriage, as most of us understand, is a voluntary commitment of a man to a woman and a woman to a man, with the firm intention that it will last for life. The promises you make to each other are serious because they will bind you together for life in a close and intimate relationship profoundly influencing your whole future. Still facing each other, and with hands joined, please pledge your commitment to each other by repeating your vows after me. Paul, you are first Karola, I want to be with you always, just as you are. I chose you above all others to share your life with me in marriage. I love you for yourself, and I want you to become all that you can be. I promise to honour this pledge as long as I live.
Will you repeat your vows now please Karola? Paul, I want to be with you always, just as you are. I chose you above all others to share your life with me in marriage. I love you for yourself, and I want you to become all that you can be. I promise to honour this pledge as long as I live.
May I have your wedding rings now please? Since ancient times, rings have been used to seal the vows made by the bride and groom at their wedding. A ring is symbolic because of its shape which stands for the endlessness of love and the gold which reminds us of the values which we hold most valuable and dear in life. Please take Karola's left hand in yours and as you place this ring on the third finger repeat these words Karola, this ring means that I give myself to you, a seal of my unending love.
	Karola, please take Paul's left hand in yours and as you place this ring on the third finger repeat these words… Paul, this ring means that I give myself to you, a seal of my unending love. May these two rings symbolise the spirit of unending love in the hearts of both of you. Your two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, may you always return to one another in your togetherness.
Paul and Karola, you have declared before us your love for one another and your desireto live together in the union of marriage. You have symbolised it by the joining of hands, taking of vows and the giving of rings, so therefore I pronounce you husband and wife. Paul, you may kiss your bride.

(The official Signing of the Marriage Register and Marriage Certificate now takes place.)

Friends, shortly, to conclude this ceremony, I will present Karola with the Certificate of Marriage, because it is the custom to hand it to the bride. Before I do, will you join with me in congratulating both Paul and Karola and in these wishes for them
	Our witnesses, Nic Rasmussen and Rachel Ankeny
	In your marriage, may you find the joy and tenderness that comes with true sharing; the freedom to grow, both as individuals and as a couple; the weaving of two lives that really connect, and the deep contentment of a beautiful and lifelong love. In all the years to come, look back on this special day, think of this beautiful place and remember the promises you made to each other as you began your married life. - your marriage certificate.