Injecting your own personality into your wedding day is something we all want to achieve, whether it be the little table favours, the personal floral bouquet or the handmade bridal gown but nothing gets more personal than writing your own modern wedding vows to one another.

How to begin writing your wedding vows

Let’s face it, the most important part of your wedding day is exchanging the promise you are making to each other for the rest of your life.

Getting it right can seem like a daunting task especially when hundreds of eyes could be on you but as with any important task, preparation and practice is key to create the best wedding vows ever.

Research

Inspiration can come from a wide source of places. A good starting point would be to read through traditional wedding vows, there may be sections or words you would like to include in your own vows or phrases you would like to tweak slightly.

Traditional Christian wedding vows are as follows;

I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy law, in the presence of God I make this vow

Similarly reading examples of other couples wedding vows can inspire your own words. Reading love poems, watching romantic movies and listening to lines of love songs can also bring ideas to the table.

Look back at your time together

Writing your vows can be a time to evaluate your time together, look back over at what has bought you to this point and why you are making this commitment together. What stands out to you about your partner and what do you love most? What makes you cheekily smile at them and brings butterflies to your tummy? What stand out moment made you fall in love, when was the first time you said I love you? When did you know he/she was the one, what made you feel that way?

wedding vows for him and her

Even little notes and thoughts, however cheesy they may seem at the beginning can come together to make some beautiful vows. It’s important at the start of the process to jot down all of the ideas that spring to mind.

The best wedding vows ever are ones which have heart felt meaning, this raw emotion will be evident to your partner and all of your guests.

Can you include Humour in your Wedding Vows?

A way of adding personality into your vows is to add humour and tactfully done this can work really well. But remember this is a serious commitment and not a stand up comedy, we are certain your partner does not want to be the butt of 10 jokes in front of all of their family and friends.

If humour is in your nature, it will make your vows sound more like they are coming from your heart. Keep in mind your audience, inappropriate humour is best kept to the wedding night and not in front of granny and grandad.

Funny wedding vows can be created by promising to endure something which drives you crazy about the other person or promising to protect them from one of their more unusual fears.

Some funny wedding vow ideas;

  • I vow to always let you have the last chocolate biscuit
  • I will love you forever, no matter how many shoes you buy!
  • I vow to never watch the next Netflix series episode without you

How long should your wedding vows be?

Your wedding vows should last no longer than one minute. This doesn’t sound long but you can easily and comfortably say a paragraph within this time. Remember wedding day nerves happen, so keeping your commitment to the point without whittling on is vital.

wedding ceremony vows

Top Words/Phrases to include in your Wedding Ceremony Vows:

  • my best friend
  • support you
  • grow with you
  • trust
  • respect
  • devoted
  • all my heart
  • soulmate
  • protect you
  • promise
  • I am amazed by your
  • passionate
  • blessings
  • I commit to
  • I vow to
  • dreams

Preparation

Once you have the basics of your vows, or even rough notes, it’s time to start talking. Ensure you practice talking out loud, unless you are an expert lecturer, talking to a crowd of people can be quite daunting.

As soon as you start saying your words out loud rather than a collection of words doodled on a page, they start to have more meaning. Do the words run smoothly together, do they sound like they are coming from you?

Once you feel relaxed and happy with your words, having a second opinion can be valuable but think wisely about who you ask. Make sure they will offer wise criticism. Alternatively record yourself, hearing yourself back can eliminate common mistakes such as mumbling, talking down and talking too quickly as well as allowing you to evaluate the words in your vows.

Ensure you make a fresh copy on neat looking paper/card for the big day. A crumpled up napkin, can look somewhat unprepared and rushed.

Should I keep my wedding vows secret from my partner?

This is of course personal opinion, many couples wait until the wedding day to reveal their commitment vows to one other building on the excitement of the big day. It may be worth discussing overall formalities with each other, especially if there is something really important you would both like to vow to one another.

Modern, funny, romantic or the best wedding vows ever heard, ultimately your wedding vows should come from the heart. Get soppy, get creative, add some humour and be yourself, after all that’s who your partner fell in love with!