Many couples want to write their own vows. If your church allows this, it can make the
vows more meaningful as well as more memorable.
Even if you are required to use church approved vows in your ceremony,
you may want to write your own vows to be read at another place in the ceremony
or simply exchanged privately before or after the service. Before you begin this process, however, it is
a good idea to look at the “traditional” vows.
They have lasted for many years because they include the most important
reasons for the commitment of marriage.
Follow
these simple steps to write vows with traditional purpose and personal meaning.
1.
Acknowledge the significance of the day.
Why are you standing there? What
will change? What will continue? Traditional: “Today, I take
you to be my husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward to live together in holy matrimony."
2. State your
intention. What will you bring to the
marriage? Will you be faithful? What’s the length of your commitment? Traditional: “I will love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, forsaking all others
as long as we both are living.”
3. Mention one thing you particularly love about
your intended.
4. Tell about a hope you
have for your future together. Traditional: “I will support you
in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health.”
5. Make a personal promise.
Keep your vows short and don’t use
cliché, Hallmark card phrases. Keep your
vows tasteful and appropriate to be read in public.
