Offiicial wedding vows of New York City

June 8, 2004 2:43 PM

Official Wedding Vows. My google-fu is no match for the frenzied hothouse that is the online wedding industry. I'm trying to find the official wedding vows of the city of New York--or whatever the text is called they read you when you get married at City Hall. Thanks.
posted by muckster to law & government (9 comments total)

It's somewhere in here, or linked from here.
posted by amberglow at 2:49 PM on June 8, 2004

I don't see it, amber.
posted by muckster at 3:40 PM on June 8, 2004

Not that it helps at all, but I got married in Manhattan City Hall.

Don't remember the actual vow, but it seemed pretty freeform, parts of it in English, parts in Spanish.

2 years ago yesterday, as a matter of fact.
posted by signal at 3:56 PM on June 8, 2004

you know something--i'm thinking there aren't official words they say (or anyone says). In the faq on that site it says: Q.
What form of ceremony is necessary?
A. There is no particular form or ceremony required except that the parties must state in the presence of an authorized member of the clergy or public official and at least one other witness who must be at least eighteen years old that they take each other as husband and wife. In fact, pursuant to Section 11(4) of the Domestic Relations Law, a marriage may be solemnized by a written contract. The contract must be signed by both parties and at least two witnesses and all signatures must be given within the state. The contract must state the place of residence of each party and of each witness and must state the date and place of marriage. The contract must be acknowledged by both the parties and the witnesses before a judge of a court of record of the State of New York.


Maybe they can say what they want, as long as they include the pertinent info.

If you can find the text of that law mentioned, it may spell out what has to be said, but that there's not a script.

and happy anniversary, signal : >
posted by amberglow at 3:57 PM on June 8, 2004

Illinois and twenty plus years ago, but the federal judge who married us said there didn't need to be any words at all, he just had to be convinced that we both knew what we were agreeing to and that we both consented, then he would sign the license. I have never come across anything that contradicts him; civil marriage has no form of words necessary -- religious rights are, of course, another matter.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 4:33 PM on June 8, 2004

2 years ago yesterday, as a matter of fact.

I can beat that -- my wife and I got married there three years ago today! (And yes, I came home with flowers and chocolates.) They do have a standard text, but they're willing to incorporate something you bring along -- but keep it short! (We used a bit of the old Book of Common Prayer ceremony: "With this ring I thee wed" &c.) It's really quite a nice experience, waiting with people of all ages and ethnicities, all wildly happy, but once they call your name and you go into the little room, that lady wants to get you in and out ASAP, with due respect to making it a good experience, of course. She did a great job, but she wouldn't have reacted well to a long passage of purple prose.

And if you're asking for yourself: congratulations!
posted by languagehat at 5:47 PM on June 8, 2004

Yep, according to my experience, it's the signatures on the license, and the filing of the license after that, that makes you married in the eyes of the state, not the spoken words.

And it's states, not cities, that control marriages. Here is NY state's FAQ about marriage, and here's the relevant part of the statutes.
posted by JanetLand at 8:01 PM on June 8, 2004

Congrats l-hat and signal. I got married there in November of 2000. The clerk did read the text from a piece of paper, and it sounded to me like the most basic, secular vow possible. Do you - do you - I hereby pronounce you. I'm trying to do something with it and would love to have the actual text of whatever standard thing they use. It happened incredibly fast--we were in and out in less than a minute, I swear.
posted by muckster at 10:24 PM on June 8, 2004

Ah. In that case, maybe go back to the site amberglow linked and call one of these phone numbers. I bet they could fax it to you.
posted by JanetLand at 9:20 AM on June 9, 2004