Question about writing wedding vows

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Becky Writes

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In my WIP, the main characters are getting married. I have them saying their own vows, but when it comes to the stuff the minister says, can I snag some stuff off the internet from one of those wedding planning websites? Or does it all have to be original out of my own head?

Thanks in advance.
 

stephblake24

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I would make it up to protect yourself completely.
 

byElizabeth

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And I was thinking it was okay to use what ministers actually say...is it plagerizing (did I spell that correctly?)? They are just reading out of kind of like a "wedding ceremony handbook" themselves...it's not original and I think that in those books they even have several options for people who choose to have things said a little differently??? (ie: Till death do us part or all the days of my life.) It would be a little strange to hear a preacher in a book say things that are completely uncustomary, wouldn't it?

I'll ask my husband (he's a lawyer) to see if he has any thoughts on the matter... Definitely keep researching...
 

Stacia Kane

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I agree, Elizabeth. I'm fairly certain that stuff is public domain, and people are so familiar with the words of a typical wedding ceremony it will sound odd if your characters use something very different.

(BTW, it's "plagiarizing". Just because you asked.)
 

stephblake24

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If you use something, just make sure you write down the source so you can get the proper permissions later.
 

Becky Writes

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Okay, as it is now, I have used these vows, but tweaked them some to fit my story.

I had never heard a ceremony like this before, but I figured it was public domain since it was online for people to use in real ceremonies.
 

Maprilynne

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If it's online and they ask no fee for it it should be considered public domain. If you even had to sign up to get to that part of the site that would be one thing. But it seems to me that they pretty much said, "here's some vows . . .take 'em!":)

Maprilynne
 

Becky Writes

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Well, I like how this conversation is going!

Thanks everyone for your opinion. I guess in the long run, no one would question if it was the standard, "Dearly beloved," speech, right?
 

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Maprilynne said:
If it's online and they ask no fee for it it should be considered public domain. If you even had to sign up to get to that part of the site that would be one thing. But it seems to me that they pretty much said, "here's some vows . . .take 'em!":)
Well, I would write to the owners of the web site and ask for permission. Just because the vows are provided for couples to use in a wedding ceremony doesn't mean the author has given permission for them to be used in a commercial work.
 

Becky Writes

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Okay, I wrote the owner of the site I got the vows from asking permission. BTW, I have seen it on other sites, too, but this was the first one I found this particular service.

This is the reply I recieved just now.
Hello.

Permission granted conditional of course on source acknowledgement.

Best of luck, Becky.

Dr. Charles W. Laird
President, Wedding Ministers, Inc.


Where do I acknowlege this?
 
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