Mr & Mrs Darcy Vow Renewal

Setting

Narration
A summer’s afternoon at Pemberley. The garden is in bloom; the air scented with roses and lavender. A small gathering of family and close friends is assembled beneath a white canvas awning. A celebrant (perhaps the local vicar or a trusted family friend but definitely not Mr Collins!) stands before the couple.

Celebrant’s Welcome

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, we are gathered on this most felicitous of days to witness a celebration of enduring affection and mutual esteem. Twenty years ago, Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy stood before their company and pledged themselves to one another in matrimony. Since that day, they have shared in life’s prosperity and adversity, in its laughter and its trials, and today they come to reaffirm, with glad hearts, the vows they once made.

Reflections by the Celebrant

It is no small thing to love another for two decades. It requires not only a tender regard but patience, fortitude, and a generous sense of humour. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy have found in each other both a worthy companion and a true friend — each willing to speak honestly, to forgive readily, and to hold fast to the other when the road is uneven. Such constancy is to be admired, and today, it is to be celebrated.

Elizabeth’s Vows

When first we met, I confess, I judged you with too much haste and too little charity. In the years since, I have learned that love grows not merely from admiration, but from the daily choosing of one another — in fair weather and in storms.

You have been my steadfast companion, my equal in both mind and heart, and the dearest friend I could ever claim. Today, after twenty years, I take you once more as my husband, with gratitude for the man you are and the life we have built together.

May we continue to meet each day with honesty, laughter, and love — and perhaps, now and then, a spirited debate to keep us young.

Darcy’s Vows

Elizabeth, when I first asked you to be my wife, I did so with all the pride of a man certain of his affections, yet unaware of how much more there was to learn of love.

In our twenty years together, you have taught me patience, humility, and joy beyond measure. You have been my confidante, my greatest challenge, and my truest home.

I vow again to cherish and honour you, to listen and to speak with kindness, and to stand beside you in all seasons. My heart is, and always will be, yours.

Exchange of Rings

These rings, placed upon your hands twenty years ago, have been the constant sign of your enduring union. May they remain a daily reminder of the promises you renew this day, and of the affection that shall guide you in the years to come.

Pronouncement

It is with the greatest satisfaction that I now affirm before all present that Mr. and Mrs. Darcy have renewed their vows of marriage. May their home remain a place of hospitality, wit, and warmth; may their lives continue to be enriched by each other’s counsel; and may the affection that first bloomed between them never fade but flourish still. You may, sir, kiss your wife.