Ke & Xijia李可 & 魏熙佳

Good morning to everyone present today. On behalf of Xijia and Ke, I would like to wish you the warmest welcome to Chelsea Old Town Hall, here in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, for this very special occasion — their marriage ceremony.

Xijia and Ke are delighted that you could all be here to witness their vows and join in the celebrations on this happy day. Through their vows they make a public declaration of their love for each other; and through your presence, their family and friends express their love and support for them both.

This place in which we are met has been duly sanctioned according to law for the celebration of marriages. We are gathered here today to witness the joining in matrimony of Xijia and Ke.

Marriage is a desire by two people to share themselves and their experiences with each other, and a willingness to accept each other for who they are.

Marriage means making a commitment to developing co-operation, friendship and mutual respect. It calls for understanding, honesty, patience and, of course, humour. It is where each partner cares for the other and supports them in all that they do.

It demands courage — the courage to be open, to grow and to change, and to sort out together the tasks of everyday living. It requires both closeness and distance: closeness for a couple growing together, yet enough distance to allow each to remain an individual. A good partner in such a marriage is loving and caring and, above all, a best friend.

It is in this spirit that Xijia and Ke are now before us. In each other's company they have found happiness, fulfilment and love, and they now wish to affirm their relationship with this marriage.

William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare · Shake-speares Sonnets (1609)

Before you are joined in matrimony, I must remind you of the solemn and binding character of the vows you are about to make. Marriage in this country means the union of two people, voluntarily entered into, for life, to the exclusion of all others.

Each in turn, please repeat after me:

“I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Xijia, may not be joined in matrimony to Ke.”

“I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Ke, may not be joined in matrimony to Xijia.”

We have now reached the solemn moment when Xijia and Ke will contract their marriage before you, their witnesses.

Xijia, do you take Ke to be your lawful wife; do you promise to love, cherish and respect her, and to be loyal, faithful and kind to her for the rest of your lives together? — I do.

Ke, do you take Xijia to be your lawful husband; do you promise to love, cherish and respect him, and to be loyal, faithful and kind to him for the rest of your lives together? — I do.

Now turn to face each other and repeat after me:

“I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, Xijia, do take thee, Ke, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, Ke, do take thee, Xijia, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

The wedding ring is the ancient and traditional way of sealing the marriage contract you have just made. It is an unbroken circle, symbolising unending and everlasting love, and an outward sign of the vows and life-long promises you have made to one another today.

Please repeat after me:

“I give you this ring as a symbol of our marriage and as a token of my love, now and always.”

Xijia and Ke, you have made the solemn and binding vows and declarations prescribed by the law of this country, and have made promises of love, loyalty and commitment. You have sealed your vows by the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, in the presence of your family and friends gathered here today.

Today will be a milestone in your lives, one you will look back upon with love and happiness. May all those gathered here uphold, support and celebrate your marriage, and may your love continue to deepen and strengthen for the rest of your lives together.

And so it now gives me great pleasure to congratulate you both and to declare that, under the law of this country, you are now legally united in marriage. You may kiss.

Your first duty as a married couple is to sign the register. Xijia and Ke will sign first, followed by their two witnesses, Yuanda Gao and Dong Zhang.

Guests, please stand. On behalf of the registrars, we wish you all the best for a long and happy life together. Your certificate is handed to you both for safe-keeping. Please give a round of applause to the newlyweds — Xijia and Ke — and then gather on the stone steps outside to congratulate them.