Wedding Vows
Throughout history the wording of wedding vows was quite traditional, carefully treasured and preserved by minister, priests and rabbis. Whenever these clergymen were called on to perform a wedding, the couple accepted the traditional wording without question. In recent times wedding vows began to evolve from traditional to non-traditional. In fact, today most couples personalize their vows, composing them from their hearts to express their deep feelings of love and commitment to one another. The following are possibilities to consider and work from to create your own. They are broken down in two ways; to 'REPEAT ' after the officiant or to answer as a simple 'I DO'
EXCHANGE OF VOWS
REPEAT
1. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my wedded wife / husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish you from this day forward, until death do us part.
2. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my soul mate and best friend for life. To love you always both through our likenesses and through our differences. To grow in admiration and respect, as we begin the story of our life together.
3. I, ___, pledge to you, ___, to continue the ways that brought us together, to continue to grow with you, to continue to learn from our differences, to continue to by your soul mate in life, to have faith in what brought us here, and to be true and good to each other for eternity, with these vows I have just said, I promise my love to you forever.
4. Today I am marrying my best friend, ___. You are my strength, my joy, my life. You have made my life complete and I am so thankful to have you. I promise to take care of you, to have faith in you and to grow with you. This day is a new beginning for us. I will love you always.
5. I will give to you and accept from you what is offered, without hesitation. I will give you space to grow and room to change as an individual. I will learn with you, share with you, and be your lifelong friend. I will love you always.
6. I loved you before this ceremony. I love you more because of it. I promise to be a true and loyal friend, to walk, beside you and to keep my heart ever open to you. I do not expect you to fulfill my dreams; I only ask that you share them with me. I accept you without reservation as my wife/husband.
7. ___, I ask for nothing more from this good life than to stand by your side and live out its' days with you. I offer here my hand, my heart, my soul and trust. They will be safe with you. Let us walk as one from this day forward.
8. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my lawfully wedded wife/husband. To have and to hold from this day forward. For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and cherish forever.
9. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow, to grow with you in love, serving one another and our world in hope and in strength, so long as we both shall live.
10. I, ___, take you, ___, in all that I have learned of you and all that I hope to know. It is my desire to be by your side through all of our days ahead, as we continue our journey together. In all that life brings to us, I pledge my friendship and my love always, throughout all the days of our lives.
11. In the company of our dear family and friends and with their love and support. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my husband / wife. To love you and cherish you, to nurture and support you. To stand by your side as we share life's joys and sorrows, laughter and pain. To respect the unique person that you are and help you to become who you will be. Throughout our lives, I promise to stand by you side and support you always.
12. I take you for my wife/husband from this time onward. To join with you and share all that is to come. To give and receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond. To love and respect you all the days of my life.
13. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my partner in life. I will cherish our friendship, and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.
14. I love you with my entire being and I want you to be my wife/husband. Today I give myself to you without reservation and ask that you share your life with me for all time and eternity. During health and illness, good times and bad and in joy and sorrow. I promise to you, ___, to love you as no other can, to be your best friend and to give you my complete loyalty, fidelity, and trust throughout all the seasons of our lives.
15. I, ___, take you, ___, to be my husband / wife. I promise to walk by your side forever, as your best friend, you lover and your soul mate. I will honor you, respect you, love and cherish you as my husband / wife from this day forward and until the end of time.
16. I, ___, vow to love you no matter what challenges may come our way. I will try to understand all your needs, respect your wishes and desires, cope with your burdens and anger, give myself to our happiness, accept you with open arms, touch you with all my heart, share with you my joys and my fears, stand by you in all your endeavors, share in your joys and your fears, I will be there whenever you need me. I promise to love and respect you with all my heart for all our days.
17. ___, Today I join my life to yours. From this moment on I will be your partner and companion, for you are my dearest love and my best friend. I look forward to the joy we will find in each other’s separate successes as well as our shared ones. I welcome the challenge of the obstacles we will encounter, for I know that whatever we face, we face it together. I vow that I will listen to you when you speak, encourage you in times of doubt, comfort you in times of doubt, comfort you in times of sadness and be your source of strength in times of need. I will be faithful to you all of my days, honest with you always, and will cherish and adore you every moment of my life. This is my promise to you.
18. I acknowledge my love for you and invite you to share my life as I hope to share yours. I promise to walk by your side, to love, help and encourage you. I vow to take the time to share with you, to listen and to care. I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner. I promise always to respect you and know you as an individual and to always be conscious of your needs. I shall seek through kindness and compassion to achieve the life we have planned together.
19. I take you hand in mine. This symbolizes friendship and I promise now to be your loyal and true friend. It symbolizes union and I promise to keep our union uppermost in my life. It symbolizes help and caring. I promise to help and care for you whenever you need me. Most of all it symbolizes love and love is what I feel for you now and forever. I take you hand in mine for this hour, for this day, for this lifetime. I do not pledge my love until death does us part, I pledge it for all eternity because I believe that you and I will be together always.
20. I, ___, take you, ___, not only for my wife, but for my best friend as well... Don't walk behind me because I don't want to lead. Don't walk in front of me because I don't want to follow. Walk beside me and share with me what life has to offer us. There will be good times; there will be bad times. There will be happy times and sad times. I love you and I promise to be there for you for all the days of out lives.
I, ___, take you, ____, to be my husband. If I could I would give you the world, but instead I give you my self. I give you my smile, which I have because you are with me. I give you my heart, which is full of love for you and I give you my life because you are my life. I love you and will always love you and I commit myself to you for all the days of my life.
21. I take you, ___, to share my life, my love, my dreams...to live with you to grow with you for all time.
22. Today I give myself to you and ask for your tomorrows. I promise to love you above all others, to give you my strength and ask for yours in return. I will stand by you in good times and in bad. You are my best friend and you make my life complete. I offer here my hand, my heart, my soul and trust that they will be safe with you always.
23. In the company of our dear family and friends and with their love and support. I, ___, take you, ___, to by my husband / wife. To love you and cherish you, to nurture and support you. To stand by your side as we share life’s joys and sorrows, laughter and pain. I promise to respect the unique person that you are and help you to become who you will be. Throughout our lives I promise to stand by your side and support you always.
24. DUET VOWS..... One reads: I never thought that I could meet someone like you. You are my friend. You are my smile. You are my everything. You are a breath taking reflection of God's heart for me... Of how he pursued me....and Love me even when I didn't love myself. You held my hand in the darkness and you pulled me out into the light. I love you...
The other responds. You are my light. And it doesn't matter what happens in this life as long as you're with me. When I look at you I know that there's a God and that he loved me so much that he took the time to create you....just for me. I love you.....past my mind.....beyond my heart. I love you for my soul. And that's the space where only you and God dwell.
25. DUET VOWS ... Groom...This is our wedding day. Bride... The day we have looked forward to for so long. G...I come to you reverently this day desiring to be your husband. B...I come to your reverently this day desiring to be your wife. G...Because of our love, we will be blessed with all the joys and comforts of marriage. B...Because of our love, we will endure all life’s trials and cares. G...I will respect and honor you. B... I will cherish and protect you. G...I will be a tender and affectionate husband. B... I will be a patient and understanding wife. G... As I hold your hand in mine I feel your love. B... And I feel your love, our love is not only for this moment, but also for our lifetimes. G... As God is my witness, I commit my life to yours for all the days of my life. B... As God is my witness, I commit my life to yours for all the days of my life.
26. DUET VOWS...Bride...I promise, before our family and friends to be your faithful wife. Groom...And I promise, before our family and friends to be your faithful husband. B...I will do everything in my power to keep our love as fresh and strong as it is today. G...And I will be true to you, with my body and my mind, always putting you first in my life. B...Your love has changed my life and I'm a better person because of you. G...Your faith in me has given me confidence and an unexplainable joy. B...I thank God for you and I will love you always. G...And I will love you always, this is my pledge as God is my Witness.
27. You are my best friend. I stand here with you now to join our lives in marriage. To love each other as husband and wife and to adore each other as true friends. You are my forever friend and I am yours. Love can only live between equals, between friends. So I offer my love to you, I offer my heart to you, and I promise always to be your faithful friend and (husband/wife) forever.
28. Written in 1160 (Frau Ava and translated by Willis Barnstone)
Groom...In your eyes, I have found my home; in your heart, I have found my love. In your soul, I have found my mate. With you I am whole, full, alive. You make me laugh. You let me cry. You are my breath, my every heartbeat. I am yours, you are mine of this we are certain. You are lodged in my heart. The small key is lost. You must stay there forever.
Bride...You are my inspiration and my soul's fire. You are the magic of my days. You help me laugh, you teach me love. You provide a safe place for me unlike any I've ever known. You free me to sing my own song. You are more of an amazement to me, each day I rediscover you. You are my greatest boon. I am yours, you are mine. Of this we are certain. You are lodged in my heart. The small key is lost. You must stay there forever.
29. I, ___, wish to join my life with yours. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To be a joy to your heart and food to your soul. To work as partners and live as a family. While we grow together, I vow to love, honor and respect you. To hold you to my heart but not bind you to my will. I promise to listen carefully and to speak the truth. To stay with your through struggles and pleasures. All the days of my life
30. ___, I take you to be my _____. I pledge my everlasting love to you...To share with you every hope and dream...To be with you in times of triumph and in sorrow...To care for you in sickness and in health...To remain with you in times of plenty and in times of want... You are my life and I will love you for as long as I live.
31. ___, I take you to be my ____, to laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow, to grow with you in love, as long as we both shall live.
I DO only
1. Do you, ____, take ____ for your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?
2. Will you have this ____ to be your wedded ____, to live together in holy matrimony? Will you love (him or her), comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
3. Do you, ___, take ___ to be your wedded ____, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance.
4. ____, will you take ____ to be your ______, love, honor and cherish _____now and forevermore?
5. _____, will you have ____ to be your _____, to live together in creating an abiding marriage? Will you love and honor, comfort and cherish ____ in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy,, from this day forward?
6. ___, will you take ___ to by your wedded husband? Will you give yourself to him, will you share completely with him your life together, will you promise to be open and honest in your relationship, will you give him all comfort and support and strength throughout all the days of your lives?
