Hand Fasting Ceremony for the Perfect Scottish Wedding
Here is an example of a wedding script incorporating the Scottish Hand Fasting Ceremony with the legally required wording.
Please add your own vows, readings, or song as you wish, into your ceremony of your own personal design.
Celebrant Ronald: Hello everyone. I would like to welcome you and thank you for being here today to witness the marriage of Partner1 and Partner2.
Partner1 and Partner2, since you have met you have had many adventures and your friendship has really blossomed. As you have planned and prepared for this marriage you have become aware of your values and expectations.
You have clarified your intentions which will give meaning to both this ceremony and to the marriage itself. Your intentions are that you wish the very best for each other; that you will be kind and considerate to each other; respect each other as the best of friends; that you will grow old together, sharing and caring for each other through whatever may come.
You know however, that there will be times when you falter. With this understanding we make clear your intentions to all present.
With open hearts you are declaring your intentions here today with your family and friends as witnesses and symbolizing your commitment to each other and these ideals by this ritual of handfasting.
This Handfasting ceremony, in ways unseen, will greatly strengthen your union. Recall your words and intentions often and let them guide you and support you throughout your years together.
Do you wish to enter this ceremony?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we do.)
Celebrant Ronald: Partner1 and Partner2, I ask that you face one another, holding both hands, and gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes….
(Required Legal Wording) My name is Ronald Cruickshank and I am duly authorised by law to solemnize marriages according to law.
Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter.
Marriage according to law in Australia, is the union of a two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
Celebrant Ronald: Partner1 and Partner2 have chosen to symbolise their marriage with a Handfasting Ceremony.
The Handfasting Ceremony dates to the time of the ancient Celts. It was used to acknowledge the beginning of a trial period of a year and a day during which time a couple were literally bound together – hand fasted. It was however a temporary agreement which could be made permanent after the trial period if both parties agreed.
Nowadays, the handfasting ceremony is only used symbolically, as marriage according to the law in Australia is a lifetime commitment. Partner2 and Partner1’s hands will now be joined together with these ribbons or symbolic material as they hold hands, the wrists and pulses are touching. These ribbons or symbolic material will be looped and tied over the Partner2 and Partner1’s wrists six times by me.
Partner2 and Partner1, do you come here voluntarily to enter this marriage ceremony?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we do.)
Celebrant Ronald: Partner1 and Partner2, would you please hold hands. (The couple grasp each other's wrists)
Partner2 and Partner1, will you honour and respect one another?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we will.)
The cord or coloured scarf is draped over the couples’ hands (this can be done by a close friend or familyu member)
Celebrant Ronald: Will you support and assist each other in times of pain and sorrow?
The cord is passed again over the couple’s hands, binding them together.
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we will.)
Celebrant Ronald: Will you be present in the difficult and challenging times so that you may grow strong in this union?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we will.)
The cord is passed again over the couple’s hands, binding them securely.
Celebrant Ronald: Will you share each other’s laughter and joy, and look for the brightness and fun in life, and the positive in each other?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we will.)
The cord, or a new cord or ccarf, is passed again over the couple’s hands.
Celebrant Ronald: Is it your intention to bring peace and harmony into your every-day ways of communicating?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, it is.)
The cord is passed again over the couple’s hands.
Celebrant Ronald: And when you falter, will you have the courage and commitment to remember these promises and take a step towards one another with an open heart?
Partner1 and Partner2: (Yes, we will.)
The sixth cord is passed again over the couple’s hands.
Other question ideas:
Are you willing now and always to make this commitment to each other? (We are.)
Will you stand side by side for the rest of your days together? (We will.)
Will you bring fun, laughter, joy and happiness to your relationship? (We will.)
As the years pass and your hands become aged and wrinkled, will you reach out and be there for each other? (We will.)
Celebrant Ronald: And now as your hands are bound together, I ask you to declare your vows to each other.
Partner1: (Required Legal Wording) I call upon the persons here present to witness that I Partner1's full name, take thee, Partner2's full name, to be my lawful wedded partner/wife.
Partner2: (Required Legal Wording) I call upon the persons here present to witness that I Partner2's full name, take thee, Partner1's full name, to be my lawful wedded partner/husband.
Partner1: I, Partner1, take you, Partner2, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquillity, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.
Partner2: I, Partner2, take you, Partner1, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquillity, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.
Celebrant Ronald: Partner1 and Partner2 will now exchange rings. Who bears those rings?
Ring Bearer produces the rings.
Partner1 places Partner2's ring on their wedding finger and says: Partner2, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of Love.
Partner2 places Partner1's ring on their wedding finger and says: Partner1, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of Love.
Celebrant Ronald: You have both chosen to werat these rings as a symbol of the vows and promises you have just made. Your wedding rings are a symbol of the never-ending love you share and of your long journey together. It is the seal of the vows you have just taken to love each other without end.
It is with great pride that I now pronounce you to be husband and wife! Congratulations! You may now kiss!
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the now happily married couple, Partner1 and Partner2!
Celebrant Ronald: We now proceed, with your witnesses, to the signing table to complete the legal documents required by the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, and sign your Certificate of Marriage.
Celebrant Ronald: Partner1 and Partner2, I congratulate you on the beginning of your lives as husband and wife. May your journey as a married couple be filled with happiness, love, peace and joy forever and always! Ladies and gentlemen, it is now official! Mr and Mrs . . . . . . !
