Why do I include an Acknowledgement of Country in a wedding ceremony?
- Sally Bruce
- Apr 30
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 23
I include an Acknowledgement of Country in my marriage ceremonies - but you may be wondering why.
As a Marriage Celebrant performing wedding and elopement ceremonies as my job, I understand and value the importance of ceremony.
Humans have an innate need for ceremony. For as long as people have been on this earth, we have been gathering in ceremonies of connection, celebration, mourning and renewal.
Most of my ceremonies are held on Whadjuk Nyoongar boodja. And it’s pretty amazing to remember that people have been gathering together in ceremony on the Country on which your marriage will be held, for more than sixty thousand years.
Taking the time to Acknowledge Country, or including a Welcome to Country at an event, reminds us that every day we live, work, and dream on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands.
"But I don't need to be welcomed to my own country?!"
This rhetoric became prevalent around the 2025 federal election, fuelled by Clive Palmer's political party, Trumpet of Patriots. I'm not going to provide a link to them here because their values and beliefs are the opposite of my own, and I don't want to give them any more airtime or have my website linked to them.
Reconciliation Australia explains that "Traditional owners are not welcoming people to Australia, they are welcoming to the land within their cultural boundaries which their ancestors have cared for, and lived on, for millennia."
What is Acknowledgement of Country?
Acknowledgement of Country is an opportunity for anyone to show respect for Traditional Custodians, and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country. It can be given by both non-Indigenous people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
What is Welcome to Country?
Welcome to Country occurs at the beginning of a formal event and can take many forms including singing, dancing, smoking ceremonies, and/or a speech.
I cannot give Welcome to Country. Welcome to Country is delivered by Traditional Owners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been given permission from Traditional Owners, to welcome visitors to their Country.
If you'd like to engage someone to give Welcome to Country to begin your ceremony, I'd be delighted!
What do you say to Acknowledge Country in a wedding ceremony?
I include an Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of all my ceremonies by saying something like (this example is for a Perth wedding ceremony): “As we join here in this celebration of marriage, we follow in the footsteps of all those who have held ceremonies on this land, going back to ancient times. We recognise the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.”
Your marriage ceremony is part of a long line of ceremonies that have been held on Country, and will form another thread in the fabric of memories held by the land. Let's take a moment to honour that with an Acknowledgement of Country at the start of your ceremony.
