The vows listed below are tried and true. They are arranged from the most simple to the longest. Feel free, however, to amend any vow to make it more personal or meaningful. You may want to use the samples below as a springboard for your own creativity. Also feel free to pick different vows for each person. Once you have chosen your vows, please notify me of your choice so I can be prepared for your ceremony.
Some couples consider memorizing their vows and while memorizing your vows seems like a good idea, it is seldom successful. I suggest letting me prompt you with short segments or you may want to read your vows from a card. Thus can help reduce your stress and let you enjoy the moment.
1) (Name), I love you. You are the one I want to
spend the rest of my life with. By all that we hold sacred, I promise my faith
and devotion to you. I take you to be my (husband/wife).
2)
I, (Name), take you (Name), to be my (husband/wife). To have and to hold
from this day forward. For better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in
sickness and in health; in joy and in sorrow; to love and to cherish; and to be
faithful to you alone, as long as we both shall live.
3) (Name), all that I am, and all that I have, I
offer to you, in love and in joy. From this day forward I will love and comfort
you, hold you close, prize you above all others, and remain faithful to you all
the days of our lives.
4)
(Name), I take you to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you
in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. I
will love you and honor you all the days of my life; this is my promise to you.
5)
(Name), I take you to be my partner; to have and to hold, from this day
forward. I give to you my unending love and devotion. I promise to be true to
you, to cherish you, and to share my thoughts, hopes, and dreams with you. I
look forward to spending the rest of my life with you, my best friend. I will
love you forever.
6)
(Name), in the presence of God and before these witnesses, I take you to
be (husband/wife). I give you my hand, I give you my love, and I give you
myself. I pledge to stand by you as long as we live. Come, travel with me, and
share the road both when it is hard and when it easy.
7)
(Name), I commit my life to our partnership in marriage. I promise to
comfort you, to encourage you in our journey through life. I promise to express
my thoughts and emotions to you and to listen to you in times of joy and in
times of sorrow. (Name), I love you, and you are my closest friend. Will you
let me share my life and all that I am with you? (Response: "I
will.")
8) (Name), from this day forward, I promise you
these things: I will laugh with you in times of joy, and comfort you in times
of sorrow. I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to
achieve your goals. I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and
speak to you with encouragement. I will help you when you need it, and step
aside when you don't. I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in
times of sickness and health. You are my best friend, and I will love and
respect you always.
9)
(Name), On this special day I give to you in the presence of (God and)
these witnesses, my promise to stay by your side, in sickness and in health, in
joy and in sorrow, through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you
without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve
all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and
spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you, for as long as we
both shall live.
10)
In the presence of God and these witnesses, I (Name), take you (Name),
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.
Whatever may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold,
so I give you my life to keep, so help me God.