Writing your Vows

 

Your vows are there to express your love, to make promises and show your commitment as a couple.  They are the special words that unite you and represent your future.

 

Writing your own vows is a beautiful way to personalise this intimate part of your ceremony - your chance to speak to your partner, from your heart.  Either way, it's a good idea to talk to one another so you are both on the same track - think about word count, and whether your vows will be serious, funny, the same format with your own words or entirely unique. 

 

To get you started, here's some thought provokers:
 

• At what point did you know you wanted to marry your partner? Why?

• What never fails to make you smile when you think of them?

• What do you respect most about your partner?

• How do you balance one another out?

• What are your hopes for your married future?

• What goals/values do you share?

• What are the little things your partner does for you that you appreciate? Or that you do for them that they appreciate?

 
How do you put all this together into something that sounds good?

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• Start with a statement about who your partner is to you.

• Talk about what you love about them.

• Make promises and vow to stick to them, like: “I vow to always support you,” or “I promise to always put two sugars in your coffee”

• Talk about how you will show your love - whether that's in romantic ways, funny ways or ways only the two of you understand.

• Think about including something about how you’ll be there if times are tough.

• Close with a promise for the future.  Note that this doesn’t have to be “as long as we both shall live”!

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What to do when you're writing all this down...

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• Keep your sentences short

• Try to avoid words that are tricky to pronounce or might trip you up!

• Pause... for effect!

• Write in the way you would normally speak - use words you use in your daily life and the tone true to who you are

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I will print your vows for you, and bring them with me on the day, so you don't have to worry about them, and you'll have a nice keepsake too!