Write a Ceremony Fit For Royalty With Inspiration From Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Wedding Transcript

Add a dash of royal inspiration to your wedding ceremony script in honor of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 10 year anniversary. 

 

 

Hear ye, hear ye!

 

Give the next wedding ceremony script you write the royal treatment, with inspiration from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s official vows and ceremony transcript. William and Kate celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary this spring, reminding us that time is a construct and has no meaning. 

 

Whether you’ve been asked to officiate a friend’s wedding, or you’re a professional officiant working with a new couple, these highbrow vows and words on marriage will add a polished feel to a formal ceremony. 

 

The royal couple’s wedding was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, meaning it was certainly traditional and very religious -- qualities that many couples will love but just as many others will find totally unappealing. Keep this in mind, and save this inspiration for those looking for something solemn and dignified -- a Christian wedding befitting a king and queen (or duke and duchess). 

 

(For inspiration of the nonreligious or casual variety, visit our Ceremony Script Library. We have many civil wedding ceremony scripts and templates to choose from!)

 

This royal script has been annotated for your amusement and assistance. 

 

 

 

Archbishop to Prince William: 
William Arthur Philip Louis, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony?

 

[Using this many middle names definitely has an ‘angry parent’ vibe … It’s ok to stick with your couple’s first names only, in fact we’d recommend it unless they say otherwise.]

 

Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?

 

 

He answers: I will.

 

 

Archbishop to Catherine: 
Catherine Elizabeth, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?

 

[She’ll always be Kate to us...]

 

 

She answers: I will.

 

 

The Archbishop continues: Who giveth this woman to be married to this man? 

 

 

Catherine’s father ‘gives her away’ and Prince William takes her hand.

 

[Want to mix up the procession? Or avoid the ‘end of aisle question’ all together? Read Walking Down The Aisle Together: A Modern Wedding Procession]

 

Prince William says, repeating after the Archbishop:

I, William Arthur Philip Louis, take thee, Catherine Elizabeth to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law; and thereto I give thee my troth.

 

 

Catherine says, repeating after the Archbishop:

I, Catherine Elizabeth, take thee, William Arthur Philip Louis, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law; and thereto I give thee my troth.

 

 

The Archbishop blesses the ring:
Bless, O Lord, this ring, and grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other, and abide in thy peace and favour, and live together in love until their lives' end. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

[This formal spin on the ring exchange turns the ring itself into a magical object, which is kind of cool! If your couple wants to write their own vows, you can keep them on index cards and hand them over when it’s time.]

 

Prince William takes the ring and slips it onto Catherine's left hand. 

 

 

Prince William says, repeating after the Archbishop:

With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honour; and all my worldly goods with thee I share: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

 

[Does William not get a ring? We didn’t know that, but it seems a little unfair. If both parties in your couple get to have a ring, you can just repeat this last bit.]

 

The couple kneels, and the Archbishop says: 
Let us pray.

 

O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, giver of all spiritual grace, the author of everlasting life: send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in thy name; that, living faithfully together, they may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, whereof this ring given and received is a token and pledge; and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

The Archbishop joins their right hands together and says: Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

 

 

The Archbishop speaks to the congregation:

Forasmuch as William and Catherine have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

 

 

[Every couple will have an idea of how they want to be ‘pronounced’ at the end of the ceremony, and good officiants know not to assume. Ask your couple what they want to be called, it’s a big deal: The Pronouncement Explained]

 

The Archbishop offers a blessing:

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favour look upon you; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that ye may so live together in this life, that in the world to come ye may have life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

We’d like to thank BBC for providing Royal fans everywhere with the original version of this transcript. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You might also like: 

 

• Your Religion, My Religion, or No Religion - Make Sure Your Officiant Knows!

 

• Christian Wedding Ceremony Script With Recognition Of Children

 

• Christian Ceremony Script With Reading From Corinthians

 

• An Officiant’s Guide to Covenant Marriages

 

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