The majority of brides and grooms these days are rejecting traditional wedding vows and reciting their own personalized vows instead. The younger the couple, in fact, the less likely they are to subscribe to tradition, particularly strict religious or cultural rules and practices. This disregard for tradition began, as I mentioned in my introduction, back in the 50s and 60s. It was triggered by a number of factors, including an increased number of mixed and ecumenical marriages, which demanded a change in the traditional wording, and the rise of liberated women in society, who rejected any semblance of inequality in male and female roles. Hence, we see revolutionary and fascinating changes in the wording of wedding vows in the 90s. This page offers a large selection of these contemporary phrasings.
"_________________, we have come here today to celebrate our marriage. A marriage is a commitment between two people, spoken publicly before witnesses. And so, ________________, I commit myself to you today, before this congregation of family and friends, without reservation or embarrassment of any kind as I say: I love you; I need you; I thank God for you; and I promise to be a good and faithful husband / wife to you so long as we both shall love."
"I bring myself to you this day to share my life with you; you can trust my love, for it's real. I promise to be a faithful mate and to unfailingly share and support your hopes, dreams and goals. I vow to be there for you always; when you fall, I will catch you; when you cry, I will comfort you; when you laugh, I will share your joy. Everything I am and everything I have is yours, from this moment forth and for eternity."
"Come to me softly, my love; speak to me softly and let me hold your love warm against my heart. May we experience the quiet joys of marriage as our precious love grows deeper through each season. I will be there for you always, holding your hand as we walk together side by side. I give my life to you this day as your loving, devoted husband / wife, and I promise to be faithful and true to you forevermore, from this day forth, through all the adversities and joys of life, as long as God gives us on this earth."
"___________________, you are God's precious gift to me, my springtime, my hope and my joy. You are everything that's good and pure and true and I worship you with my mind, body and soul. How blessed I am to be able to say that you are mine, to be able to love and cherish you for the rest of my days. I vow to be a good husband/wife to you, ________________, always putting you first in my life, always there to comfort you in your sorrow and rejoice with you in your victories. May our hearts and very breath become one as we unite this day as husband and wife. I promise to be your true love from this day forward and forevermore."
"____________________, since you came into my life, my days have been bright and glorious, but today, our wedding day, is the brightest of them all, a golden moment, made splendid by our love for each other. And yet, this beautiful moment is only a taste of what is to come as we share our lives together as husband and wife. I pledge my love to you from this day forward; I promise to be faithful and true to you, rejoicing in my good fortune to have found you as my life-mate."
"__________________, I searched for you all my life, looking for you, watching for you, needing you, wanting you, but I didn't know who you were until God finally brought you to me, and your love touched my heart. You alone are the love of my life, my dream come true. Now that I've found you, I feel that I've known you always, my soul mate, my precious bride / groom. I was only half a person until you came into my life, but now I am whole and complete. How I love and adore you, _____________, and I give myself to you this day with complete joy and abandonment; I promise to be a true and faithful husband / wife, to comfort you, honor you and cherish you for all our days together on this earth."
"___________________, this is the most significant moment in my life, the moment I give myself to you as your husband / wife, to join with you in holy matrimony. It is such a miracle to have found you, _______________. You have made me completely happy because of my deep assurance of your love for me. There is no question of our devout commitment to each other and I promise to love and cherish you forever as your husband / wife. May this day be just the beginning of an unending joy because of the power of our love."
"The sun smiles on us today, our wedding day, and how can it not, for our love is stronger than forever and our hearts beat together as one. My joy is indescribable as I take you as my husband / wife this day and promise to be a true and faithful husband / wife from this day forward, in all life' s
circumstances, as we face them together. In the joys and sorrows, the good times and bad, in sickness or in health, I will always be there for you, to comfort you, love you, honor and cherish you, now and forevermore."
"_______________________, I vow to be your faithful husband / wife. I offer you my pure and true love and my unwavering support throughout all our lives. As I stand here now, and in the presence of God and these witnesses, I commit myself to you. As we grow and share together, I shall encourage you and strive to help you achieve your full potential as God's creation, then I will celebrate your progress. I give myself to you as I am and as I will be, for all of my life."
"I acknowledge my love for you and invite you to share my life as I hope to share yours. I promise to walk by your side, to love, help and encourage you. I vow to take time to share with you, to listen and to care. I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner, lover and friend. I promise always to respect you and honor you as an individual and to be conscious of your needs. I shall seek through kindness and compassion to achieve with you the life we have planned together."
"Until I met you, marriage-type love was an abstract thing I only read about in poems, heard sung in romantic love songs, or read about in books; but when I met you I knew for the first time what it was to experience this type of love within my heart. You have made me a believer in the real thing, in the promise of a love that will last a lifetime. There is nothing more important to me in my life than your love; I value it above money, power or position. I rejoice in our love, and I promise to walk by your side with a constancy that only comes from unreserved commitment, and it is this commitment I make to you now as I take you as my husband / wife, from this day forward and so long as we both shall live."
"_______________________, I give myself to you on this, our wedding day, and I promise to be a faithful husband / wife, not only for today, as we celebrate our marriage in this beautiful sanctuary, but as an ongoing commitment, through all the ups and downs of life. I do not expect you to fulfill all my dreams, just as I cannot fulfill all of yours, but I do ask that you share your dreams with me so that I may be your help mate throughout all the years of our lives, and this is my promise."
"It took me a long time to finally find someone I wanted to marry; in fact, my friends used to tease me and said my goals were too high. My goals were high...very high, but they were met when I found you.
searched for you all my life and, thanks to God, finally found you. You have all the qualities I was hoping to find: You're not only a beautiful person on the outside, but on the inside as well; you're honest, unselfish, loving, caring, supportive, and my ideal woman / man in every way. Yes, my goals were high; but, I have new goals nowto be the faithful, committed husband / wife you deserve. I promise to honor you, respect you, love and cherish you as my husband / wife, from this day forward and until the end of time."