How many witnesses are REQUIRED in a CIVIL marriage ceremony in
Ontario, Canada? What are the bride and groom required to bring to the
ceremony? What exactly does the ceremony entail (what does the
non-denominational official say, how long does it last, etc...).
Thanks.

Hi gsautos:

What a pleasure it is to answer this question - my wife and I were
married in a civil ceremony in Goderich, Ontario 12 years ago this
December. :-)

Nonetheless, I did some checking to make sure that the rules hadn't
changed since 1990. ;-)

Witnesses:

"The applicants must also arrange for 2 witnesses to be present at the
ceremony."
From: http://www.renfrewontario.com/municpal/marront.htm

Bringing to the Ceremony:

The only things that the bride and groom need to bring to the ceremony
are themselves, their witnesses, and the marriage license.

"A marriage license can be obtained from the clerk of most cities,
townships, towns or villages (Marriage Licence Issuers)."
From: http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/marriages.htm

What the Ceremony Entails:

The ceremony itself is short and sweet. Ours lasted no more than about
20 - 30 minutes in all. There is some paperwork to fill out (provided
by the official) and then the bride and groom stand side by side while
a short series of "vows" are read out - much like a church wedding,
only much shorter and without the religious overtones.

As far as what is said exactly, it varies from official to official.
I've been at three such ceremonies (including my own), and they've all
been a little bit different. The Marriage Act of Ontario, however,
states that the following things *must* be said during the ceremony:

"I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why
I, AB, may not be joined in matrimony to CD"

and each of the parties shall say to the other:

"I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, AB, do take
you, CD, to be my lawful wedded wife (or husband)"

after which the person solemnizing the marriage shall say:

"I, EF, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Marriage Act, do
hereby pronounce you AB and CD to be husband and wife"

From: http://192.75.156.68/DBLaws/Statutes/English/90m03_e.htm

I hope that this is enough information for your needs. If you are
considering a civil wedding, I highly recommend it. My wife and I
still say that our wedding was the nicest one we've ever been to. So
hassle-free - and we were able to concentrate on each other, not on
everyone else. :-)

Good luck 

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Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 20 Sep 2002 08:35 PDT

Hi gsautos:

Just one more piece of information.....

Both the license AND the ceremony itself have an attached cost. When I
was married, they were each $50 - but I'm sure the price has gone up
since then. So, if you haven't paid for the ceremony before the day
of, make sure that you bring some way to pay for it then. :-)

Good luck!

websearcher-ga

Just what I was looking for.