An absolute requirement in any wedding ceremony are the vows exchanged by the couple, in front of witnesses, signifying they take one another as husband and wife. The exchange of vows represents the moment of covenant. The words which express the act of commitment are often considered to be the most significant in the ceremony. They are those which express: “I choose you, I accept your having chosen me. I commit myself to you.” The vows may also include mutual hopes for and commitment to happiness together and an understanding that the commitment will be secure as it is tested through periods of sadness, difficult times and seasons of disappointment. It is always a covenant “for better or for worse.”
After carefully studying the wordings of the vows in the ceremonies offered here, and selecting one from among them, it may be that you will wish to translate the spirit of these expressions into a language that more nearly reflects your own understanding. You may also have additional thoughts to share with each other. I welcome your input.
SAMPLE VOW
Minister: No other human ties are more tender, no other vows are more sacred that those you are about to assume. You are entering into the holy estate of matrimony, which is the deepest mystery of experience, and which is the sacrament of divine love. _______(groom) please repeat after me:
I __________________take you, _____________________to be my wedded 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 do us part, and to you I pledge my faithfulness.
CONTEMPORARY
I ________take you __________from this day forward as my husband/wife, partner and best friend. I promise to take you to my heart, as you are, and as you will become. I promise to walk by your side and support your dreams, and be more in love with you tomorrow than I am today.
CONTEMPORARY
From this day on I choose you, my beloved__________________
to be my wife/husband.
To live with you and laugh with you;
to stand by your side, and sleep in your arms,
To bring out the best in you always and to be the most that I can.
AMERICAN LUTHERAN
I __________take you, __________________to be my husband/ wife from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come, and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.
CONTEMPORARY
I_______ take you, ______________as my adored and cherished wife/husband. I promise to be a loving and faithful husband/wife. May our sunshine be shared, our rains be gentle and our sweet love eternal. I pledge myself to you from this day forward and for all eternity.
CONTEMPORARY
I ________________will love you___________________
In good times and in bad.
enjoy you, console you, delight you,
astound you when I can,
give thanks for you always, and cherish you dearly,
until the end of our days.
ROMAN CATHOLIC
Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and this Company.
__________________(groom) repeat after me:
I ____________________take you _________________, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
______________________(bride) repeat after me:
I _____________________take you ________________to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
You have declared your consent before this company. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide. AMEN
CONTEMPORARY
____you, are my companion in life and my one true love. I will love you today, tomorrow and forever,
I will trust and honor you,
I will laugh and cry with you. With unfailing love,
I will stand by you through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.
As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.
CONTEMPORARY
Before our family and friends, on this wonderful day of gladness and good fortune, I ___________take you ___________as my wife/husband, in friendship and in love, in strength and in weakness, to share the good times and the misfortune, in achievement and in failure, to celebrate life with you forevermore.
CONTEMPORARY
I ______take you _________, to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not yet know, with respect for your integrity, and faith in your love for me, in all that life may bring us, I pledge my love and take you as my husband/wife.
CONTEMPORARY
Where there has been cold, you have brought me warmth. Where my life was dark, you have brought light._______, I pledge from this day forward, before our friends and family, to be your husband/wife. Let us make our two lives into one life, and let us always cherish, honor and respect one another.
These are only a sampling of the numerous vows, ring exchanges, pronouncements and readings that I will give you when you commit to having me perform your ceremony.