"By the power vested in me": pronouncement and closing lines for officiants
Runtime: About 2 minutes
Updated October 2026
The pronouncement is the one sentence everyone is waiting for, and the one most first-time officiants have never said aloud. It has three parts: the authority you speak with, the declaration, and the invitation to kiss. Then you present the couple and send the room out. Below are twelve complete pronouncements and the lines that follow them. Pick one of each, read it standing up, and change nothing on the day.
The phrase "by the power vested in me" is customary, not required. Say the authority the way your state and the couple would recognize; the issuing office can tell you whether anything specific must be spoken where you are.
The ceremony, step by step
The traditional pronouncement
20 secondsSlow down. This is the line the photographer is waiting for; pause after "married" before the kiss.
By the power vested in me by the State of [state], and by the far greater power of the love you have shown each other today, I now pronounce you married.
[[Pause. Look at the couple, not the room.]]
You may kiss.
The traditional pronouncement, husband and wife
20 secondsOnly if the couple asked for these words; confirm it a week before.
By the authority vested in me by the State of [state], I now pronounce you husband and wife.
[[Pause.]]
You may kiss the bride.
The secular pronouncement
20 secondsNo "vested"; the authority is the promises just made.
[Name] and [Name], you have declared your love and your intent before the people who matter most to you. By the authority of those promises and the laws of this state, I pronounce you married.
[[Pause.]]
Go ahead and kiss.
The plain-register pronouncement
15 secondsFor a courthouse-style or very small ceremony. Say it at a conversational volume.
Having heard your vows and witnessed your rings, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss.
The interfaith pronouncement
25 secondsLet the two traditions sit side by side without explaining them.
In the presence of your families, your friends and the faiths that raised you, and by the authority granted to me, I pronounce you married. May the blessing you each brought here today go with you both.
[[Pause.]]
You may kiss.
The pronouncement for a couple keeping their names
20 secondsNames, not titles; it is what they asked for.
[Name] and [Name], by the authority vested in me and by the promises you have just made to each other, I pronounce you married.
[[Pause.]]
You may kiss each other.
The pronouncement with the guests as witnesses
25 secondsLift your eyes to the room on "all of you"; it is the only time you look away from the couple.
Before all of you who have come to stand with them, and by the authority vested in me, I declare that [Name] and [Name] are married.
[[Turn back to the couple.]]
Kiss, please.
The pronouncement for an elopement
15 secondsThere may be two witnesses and a dog. Keep it close and quiet.
There is nobody here but us, and that is exactly enough. By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you married. Kiss.
The pronouncement for a second marriage
25 secondsThe children, if there are children, are named by the couple's choice, not yours.
You both know what a promise costs and what it is worth, and you have made one anyway, with your whole hearts. By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you married.
[[Pause.]]
You may kiss.
The pronouncement for a bilingual room
30 secondsSay the declaration twice, once in each language, the same words; do not translate the kiss.
By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you married.
Por la autoridad que me ha sido conferida, los declaro casados.
[[Pause.]]
You may kiss.
The pronouncement after a handfasting
25 secondsTheir hands are still bound; the pronouncement comes before the cord is lifted.
Your hands are bound as your lives now are. By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you married. When the cord is lifted, the knot remains.
[[Lift the cord. Pause.]]
You may kiss.
The pronouncement for a vow renewal
20 secondsNo legal declaration; this is a blessing of what already is.
You were married then and you are married now. Before everyone who has watched you keep your word, I bless the years behind you and the years ahead.
Kiss, as you did the first time.
The kiss, said three ways
5 secondsOne line; do not stack them. Step back half a pace so the photograph is theirs.
You may kiss.
You may now kiss each other.
Go on, then.
The presentation
15 secondsWait for the kiss to finish and the room to settle, then lift your voice. Use the names the couple chose, exactly as they asked.
Friends and family, it is my honor to present to you, for the first time as a married couple, [Name] and [Name].
The presentation, shorter
10 secondsFor a standing room or a windy field.
Please stand and welcome [Name] and [Name], married.
A closing line for a secular room
15 secondsSay it to the couple, then let the music take it.
Go out and be good to each other, and let the rest of us be good to you. Congratulations.
A closing line for a traditional room
15 secondsSlow, even; it is the last thing the grandparents will hear you say.
May the years ahead be kind, may your home be full, and may you always find your way back to each other. Congratulations.
A closing line for an interfaith room
15 secondsNo tradition named; both are in it.
Two families stood up today and became one more. Go with every blessing in this room. Congratulations.
Officiant’s notes
Why the last two minutes are the hard ones
Everything before the pronouncement has a script in your hand. The pronouncement is the first moment the room looks at you expecting you to know the words by heart, and most first-time officiants do not. Pick one version from the list above and read it aloud ten times the week before, standing, at the volume you will use in the room. It will feel absurd. On the day it will be the one sentence you do not stumble on.
The structure is the same in every version: the authority, the declaration, the kiss. Keep the three in that order. If you say "you may kiss" before you have declared them married, you have reversed the one moment the whole day is for, and the photographer will be the first to notice.
Say the names you were given, exactly
Ask the couple a week before how they want to be presented, and write the answer on the card in their own words. If one of them is changing a name, the presentation is the first time it is said aloud in public, and they will remember whether you got it right. If they are keeping separate names, present them as the names they walked in with, and never guess at a hyphen.
Practice the surnames out loud with the couple in the room. A name you have only read is a name you will mispronounce under pressure.
The kiss is theirs, not yours
Give the invitation in one short line and then move. Half a pace back and slightly to the side takes you out of the photograph; the couple should be the only two people in the frame. Do not announce the kiss twice, do not count them in, and do not fill the pause with a joke. The pause is the point.
Do not announce the recessional
After the presentation, cue the music with a look to the DJ or the player, then step aside. The couple walks first, then the wedding party in the order you rehearsed. You follow after the last of them, not before. If the room is applauding, let it; your job is finished the moment you step aside.
What must be spoken, if anything
Whether any particular words are required for the marriage to be recorded where you are is a question for the issuing office, not for a web page. When you call about the paperwork, ask them. Most will tell you that the declaration of intent and the pronouncement are the moments that matter, and that the exact wording is yours. Write their answer down with the rest of your notes and read the version here that fits it.
Write and perform every ceremony from one desk
RiteBinder is the booking desk and the writing desk in one: interview the couple, draft and personalize the script, and read from a podium that needs no signal on the day. Free to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I have to say "by the power vested in me"?
- No. It is customary, not required. Say the authority in words you are comfortable with. The issuing office can confirm whether your state asks for anything specific to be spoken.
- What comes right after the kiss?
- The presentation. You introduce the couple to the room by the names they chose, then cue the music and step aside for the recessional. You do not announce the recessional.
- How do I present a couple who are keeping their own names?
- By those names: "[Name] and [Name], married." Ask them a week before and write the answer on your card so you are not deciding at the altar.
- Can I combine two of these pronouncements?
- Pick one. Each has the three parts in order, and stacking two means saying the declaration twice. If you want a longer moment, add a closing line after the presentation instead.