Vows of Love and Commitment
Here is a resource to help those who require inspiration and guidance to write their personal vows.
All Wedding Ceremonies, no matter what culture are steeped in tradition, whether it be ceremonial procedure, superstitions or etiquette. It is respect for generations of usage, which has instilled within us an expectation to continue to use these rituals. But why not get creative as essentially there are no rules other than the legal requirement if you wish to marry.
The speaking, giving and exchanging of vows are one of these traditional components injected into a wedding ceremony, which help create and evoke high emotion.
Vows are personal reflections and promises which one offers to the other during the ceremony. The vows can take a number of forms and can be interspersed at different points.
There are no rules so the couple can repeat the same vow with the same sentiment, they can be different, offering their individual sentiments. They can be brief or, if desired they can make up the main body of the ceremony with the vows become the main star of the ceremony.
A shared vow such as the one below can be used singularly or as a compliment to the personal vow. The last alternative is no vow sharing at all, which is fine if you want something low key.
Couples may decide that they would like to surprise their partner at the altar with their pledges while others may decide beforehand what each will say.
No matter how you decide to include vows in your ceremony it really is the sentiment, which is all important to share your expressions of love publicly is a deeply moving experience for all.
The following are a mix of the traditional and contemporary, perhaps they may inspire you to express everything you want to say in your own way.
Asking Vows
Mary: Groom, will you receive bride as your wife? Will you pledge to him love, faith and tenderness, cherishing her with a husband’s loyalty and devotion?
Groom: I will.
Mary: Will you receive groom as your husband? Will you pledge to her love, faith and tenderness, cherishing her with a wife’s loyalty and devotion?
Bride: I will.
Personal Vows
B or G or both: Standing among friends, I pledge to you my love for today, and all the years to come.
I promise to encourage you to become all that you can be, to help you in all your endeavours, and work with you to achieve yours. I promise you a love that will last for the rest of my life.
B or G or both: I will love you for today, and for all our tomorrows.
B or G or both: I choose you above all others to share my life with me.
I intend to love you as you are, in the hope that you will become, all that you can be. I promise to honour this pledge, as long as life and faith endures.
B or G or both: I, ______, take you, ______, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, in all the ways life may find us.
B or G or both: I choose to take this journey with you, wherever it leads, whatever the outcome, no matter what may befall us, through all the days of our lives.
B or G or both: I ______, take you, ______, as my wife/husband. I pledge to share my life openly with you. I promise always to respect your needs, and to accept you as you are. I will do everything I can to maintain our love. Your success and happiness will be mine.
B or G or both: I will love you, share your disappointments with you, rejoice in your accomplishments, and encourage you in your endeavours.
I commit my life to you, with its sorrows and hardships, triumphs and joys. A commitment made in love, lived in hope, and eternally made new.
B or G or both: I take you to be my partner in life. I will cherish our friendship and love today, tomorrow and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will love faithfully through the difficult and the easy.
As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.
B or G or both: I give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace. The bond that unites our hearts most perfectly is loyalty.
Groom: Will you accept me and all that I am?
Bride: I will.
Bride: Will you accept me and all that I am?
Groom: I will.
Vows for the Seven Steps
The following are vows integrated into Hindu Wedding Ceremonies. Although this ritual originates from India it is beautiful and deeply meaningful in any cultural context.
The couple walks toward the south while the groom holds the little finger of his bride. In other parts of India, the groom holds the hand of his bride as he walks her around a fire (lamp) seven times. Each rotation represents different aspects of marriage.
- Together we will share the responsibilities of home and children
- Together we will develop mental, physical and spiritual growth
- Together we will prosper and share our worldly goods.
- Together we will fill our hearts with great joy, peace and happiness
- Together we will raise strong and virtuous children
- Together we will remain life long partners
- Together we will cherish each other and our families in sorrow and happiness
Joint Vows
Mary: Bride and Groom will you:
commit to each other’s personal growth
be honest with each other
seek each other’s highest interests
encourage laughter in your home
continue supporting each other in the pursuit of harmony
take responsibility for your own happiness so that you can lift each other up
come together instead of walking away
have the intent of forgiving each other even when it feels easier not to
commit to keeping your sacred marriage alive when times get tough and the romance ebbs and flows
keep the spark of passion burning with both kindness and caring actions
Bride and Groom: We will
Joint Vows spoken to each other
Each reading from a card (of memorized if you are brave) and of course even though this was taken from a Traditional Inuit Love Song you can make it your own.
Bride I choose you to be my husband
Groom I choose you to be my wife
Bride My feet run because of you
Groom My feet dance because of you
Bride My heart beats because of you
Groom My eyes see because of you
Bride My mind thinks because of you
Groom And I shall love because of you
Bride And I shall love because of you
Joint Vows with a bit of fun
Mary: bride and groom have written some extra vows that they would like to ask each other.
Mary: groom, do you promise to love bride now and always, despite how many pairs of shoes she buys?
Groom: I do
Mary: Do you pledge to be kind and caring to bride, regardless of how she looks wearing swimming goggles while chopping up onions?
Groom: I do
Mary: Do you accept and treasure your love to bride an to ccept Bride’s choice in movies however stupid and silly they may be?
Groom: I do
Mary: Now that groom has made his promises, it’s time to ask bride some questions.
Mary: Do you, bride promise to love groom now and always, even if he decides to play guitar while you watch re-runs of “Friends” or equivalent?
Bride: I do
Mary: Do you pledge to be kind and caring to groom, no matter how many guitars he buys and hangs on the wall?
Bride: I do
Mary: Do you accept and treasure your love to groom, regardless of his reluctance to do anything about his “floordrobe” alongside the bed?
Bride: I do
Please note, all joint vows should be custom designed.
Blessings as Vows
You are the star of the night.
You are the brightness of each morning.
You are the story of each quest.
We honour mother earth and ask for our marriage to be
abundant and grow stronger through the seasons.
May we grow old together in our love under our
old vine and fig tree watching our children’s children.
Let our days on the earth be long
And may we finish our roads together
We are word and meaning, united.
You are thought and I am sound.
May the peace of the spirit be with us,
And with our children,
From the day that we have here today
To the day of the end of our lives.
May our relationship be built on trust, truth,
and honesty. May we speak our minds and receive
constructive criticism in the spirit it is intended.
May we never live a lie.
Of course if you find a beautiful blessing such as ‘The Apache Wedding Blessing” you can be dissect it to extract the essence and flavour of your intentions.
Song Lyrics as Vows
How special to be able to speak your favourite lines or choruses from a song which holds true meaning for you. The list is endless, choose your romance song and extract the sentiments….play the music as an introduction to the vow sharing or play it at the end leading into the signing of the documents.
Just The Way You Are
‘I would not leave you in times of trouble,
We never could have come this far.
I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times,
I take you just the way you are.
Keep on trying, some new fashion,
Surprise me with the colour of your hair,
You always have my unspoken passion,
Although I may not always seem to care,’
From this Moment by Shania Twain
From this moment as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn’t give
From this moment on
You’re the reason I believe in love
And you’re the answer to my prayers from up above
All we need is just the two of us
My dreams came true because of you
Your Still the One
Looks like we made it
Look how far we’ve come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we’d get there someday
They said “I bet they’ll never make it”
But just look at us holding on
We’re still together still going strong
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one I run to
The on that I belong to
You’re still the one I want for life
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one I love
The only one I dream of
You’re still the one I kiss good night
When You Kiss Me
I can see you with me when I’m older
All my lonely nights are finally over
You took the weight of the world off my
shoulders (the world just goes away)
[Chorus]
Oh, when you kiss me
I know you miss me
And when you’re with me
The world just goes away
The way you hold me
The way you show me that you
Truly, Madly Deeply
I’ll be your dream, I’ll be your wish I’ll be your fantasy.
I’ll be your hope, I’ll be your love be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do..
I will be strong I will be faithful ’cause I’m counting on A new beginning.
A reason for living. A deeper meaning.
I Knew I Loved You
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I’ve found you
Expressions to help with Handwritten Vows
From the moment I met you, you’ve surprised me, distracted me, captivated me and challenged me. I’ve fallen in love with you countless times and I fall more in love with you with every passing day. You have made me want to be a better person and I will do everything in my power to bring you happiness. I will support you in the things you do, accept you for the things you can’t and love you for the things you are. I promise to be true to you, to uplift and support you, to frustrate and challenge you (I’m already good at that one) and to share with you all the beautiful moments of life. No matter what troubles we encounter I know our love will keep us strong. We will always find strength in one another and we will continue to grow side by side. Time has brought your heart to me. I want you to know I have loved you for a Thousand years and I will love you for a thousand more.
With you, I am fearless and free. With me, you are brave and exciting. You’re patient and compassionate, friendly and forgiving, schmick and spirited. You’re adventurous, kind, willful and wonderful.
You’re my home and my family. You’re my mountain lion, my Great Wall of China, my Colossus, my Atlas, my Adonis. You are my precious present, and my fabulous future.
After meeting you I knew in less than a second, less than a millisecond less than a nanosecond that are lives would be intimately entwined in a shared future.
From this moment I look forward to continuing to live and love together, strengthening our love connection and living a full and contented life with our children, grandchildren and families.
I am marrying you because I can’t imagine not marrying you!
I am most looking forward to being able to call you, with the greatest pride and joy, and immense, eternal love, My Husband.
But most of all, I love the way you love me, entirely, just as I love you. All relationships take work but the good ones feel effortless, I am a better man with you by my side, and I am honoured by the privilege to share our lives together.
You once said to me you are just another guy, to me you are not just another guy you are my soulmate, the love of my life. You complement me perfectly and I will love you forever. We have already shared so much and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.
I cannot imagine my life without you. You are such a wonderful person. You are beautiful. You make me a better person. You make me want to be a better person. You make my world a better place. Thank you for making me the happiest guy in the world!
I love you with the whole of my heart and with everything that I am. You are my best friend and the love of my life. When I wake up beside you I feel that everything is right in the world. You’re the man that I always wanted to marry, the man I never dreamed existed or that I deserved.