Wedding Vows: 55 Examples & 10 Tips for Your Vows

Johannes Haupt (Senior Editor)

Wedding vows are a great way to personalize a ceremony or renew your vows. To help you create a touching wedding vow, we’ll help you with tips for writing and reciting them and have inspirational examples for you.

Many couples prove their love to each other with a personal wedding vow in front of all their loved ones. This takes not only creativity and the right words, but also a lot of courage and practice to make this emotional moment perfect.

Examples and Templates of Wedding Vows

Examples and Templates of Wedding Vows

The following examples are various self-written wedding vows and have no author, so you’re free to use them. They vary in length, are variously verbose, and have different 'themes'.

Some conform to classic or traditional phrases, others give the love story or marriage proposal, some are a love hymn to your partner, and still others are inspired by well-known wisdoms and quotes.

You may find phrases that express exactly what you want to say and you can use them as a template.

Another way is to take your vow writing a step further by figuring out what kind of vows you like best. Either way, the examples can help guide you and spark your creativity.

Samples of Traditional Wedding Vows

If your partner and you are looking for more traditional wedding vows, you may find the right ones among the following examples. Alternatively, you can take inspiration from them and write some of your own.

1. "Today I say, "I do" but to me that means, "I will." I will take your hand and stand by your side in the good and the bad. I dedicate myself to your happiness, success, and smile. I will love you forever."
2. "I take you as my wife/husband, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."
3. "I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you a faithful and helpful wife/husband."
4. "I, [name], take you, [name], to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."
5. "I, [name], take you, [name], to be my husband/wife, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you. 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."

Unique Wedding Vows for Him

Unique Wedding Vows for Him

In your vows, remember to tell your wife or husband how much she means to you. If you choose one of the following vows, be sure to add personal words to it.

Depending on whether you are marrying a woman or a man, you can of course rephrase the vows.

1. "I promise to be your guiding light in the darkness, a warming comfort in the cold, and a shoulder to lean on when life is too much to bear on your own."
2. "I pledge today to have all the patience and passion that love demands. In the laughter and in the silence, I’ll be forever by your side."
3. "When I am with you, everything else fades to the background. You flood my senses with joy. You are my life, my greatest gift. I’m so lucky to call you my loving wife."
4. "Today, I promise to be your navigator and sidekick in all of life’s adventures. I promise to be your best friend and your husband. I promise you myself completely."
5. "I vow to make you happy, to make you laugh, to cherish you, and to always be there for you."

Wedding Vows for Her

While there are some nice templates for vows addressed to your husband or wife, you can also use the examples to stimulate your creativity and phrase a few sentences yourself.

Just as in the paragraph before, the same applies here: Depending on whether you are marrying a woman or a man, you can of course rephrase the vows.

1. "The truth is that neither of us knows what the coming years will bring. There may be a time when one or both of us wants out. But today, I stand here, promising to always stand by your side, to always strive to understand your perspective, and to guard your well being as my own."
2. "My husband, I invite you to share my life. You are the most loving, clever, and kind individual I have ever known, and I promise to always be in your corner. Together, I know we can do anything. I can’t wait to work hand in hand to build a beautiful life together."
3. "I promise to be your navigator, best friend, and wife. I promise to honor, love, and cherish you through all life’s adventures. Wherever we go, we’ll go together."
4. "I promise to be your honest, faithful, and loving wife for the rest of my days."
5. "I vow to always protect you from harm, to stand with you against your troubles, and to look to you when I need protection."

Funny Wedding Vows

Funny Wedding Vows

Express your humor in your marriage vows. If you like to tell jokes to each other and make each other laugh all the time, funny vows are definitely for you.

1. "I promise to continue to make your friends jealous of our amazing relationship."
2. "I promise to love you for eternity and to trust you with my credit card."
3. "I promise to never keep score, even when I’m clearly winning."
4. "I vow to be your spell checker, grammar friend, and tell you when things need hyphens. I promise to be your partner in exercise, even if I am much faster than you, and most of all, I promise to try things, even though I am sure I will not like them, just because you say, 'Try this!'"
5. "I vow to love you even as you scan through all those movies without picking one to actually watch."
6. "I promise to listen when you’re talking to me about sports, beer, or whatever you talk about, and not just look at my phone saying, 'Hmm, yes, dear.'"
7. "When I say 'I do,' I don’t mean the dishes."
8. "This ring is a symbol of how you’ve got me wrapped around your finger."
9. "I promise to buy you takeout for dinner every night because I love you too much to allow you to fall victim to my cooking."
10. "I promise to unclog the tub, even though you are the only one of us with long hair."

Simple and Short Wedding Vows

Depending on what you and your partner find more appropriate for your wedding, you can also use shorter and simple wedding vows.

1. "Although it is until death do us part, I know that we will never truly part because our souls are made for each other."
2. "I love to hold you in my arms each night. You are the best thing about me."
3. "To promise to love you in sickness and in health, in good and in bad is the easiest promise I’ve ever made, because vowing to love you was something I decided when I first met you."
4. "I promise that each kiss will be filled with more love than the last and that our days together will grow in love and devotion."
5. "Marriage bridges two shores, binding us together as one unbroken path, on which I vow never to deviate, never to falter, and to always be by your side."

Catholic and Christian Wedding Vows

Catholic and Christian Wedding Vows

If you and your partner are religious and you are getting married in a church, it is customary to recite christian vows. In it you affirm not only your love for each other but also your faith in God.

1. "My love, I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be mine. I choose you to be my husband/wife to have and to hold, from this day forward. I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself. In His sight we shall be one."
2. "In faith, honesty, and love, I take you to be my wedded wife, to share with you God’s plan for our lives together united in Christ. And with God’s help, to strengthen and guide me, I will be a strong spiritual leader for us in our life, for better, for worse, in sickness, and in health, in joys, in sorrows, until death do we part."
3. "Through all of the uncertainties and trials of life, I promise to be faithful to you and love you, so that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ. With you, I know that the home we build together will praise Him each and every day."
4. "I love you, and I know that this love is from God. I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ together. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you as Christ does his church, as long as we both shall live."
5. "I love you. I prayed that God would lead me to this choice, to you as my husband. I praise him tonight as his will is being fulfilled. Through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future, I promise you and him my faithfulness, to stand beside you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God."

Modern Wedding Vows for Husband and Wife

If you would like to use more modern wedding vows for your wedding, we have some examples for you below.

1. "You have taught me that two people joined together with respect, trust, and open communication can be far stronger and happier than each could ever be alone. You are the strength I didn’t know I needed and the joy that I didn’t know I lacked. Today, I choose to spend the rest of my life with you."
2. "You are my best friend. I love you with all my heart and stand here before all of our friends and family, on this the happiest day of my life. I want nothing more than to share my future with you – my triumphs and my challenges, my joys and my sorrows. Together, I know we can accomplish the life we both dream of living."
3. "I choose you to be my companion, joining my life with yours. I vow to support, respect, and love you in all circumstances for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health as long as we live."
4. "I take you to be the partner for my life and the friend of my days. As partners for life, I will support you through joy and sorrow."
5. "I promise to be a true and faithful partner, 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, honour and cherish you, now and forevermore."

Romantic Wedding Vows to Make You Cry

Romantic Wedding Vows to Make You Cry

You surely know that during a wedding ceremony you can’t hold back your tears. Just the moment when the bride approaches her groom is very touching for everyone present.

Also, when the vows are recited, it is not uncommon for the couple to start crying from the emotion. With these romantic vows you will definitely touch your partner and the guests to tears.

1. "From today I place my heart in your hands forever. It is yours alone, for I am sure it is safe, loved and protected there. I say "yes" to our past, I say "yes" now and here in the present, and "yes" to our future, which I look forward to so immensely.
   I promise you, for me, your dreams will always be the most important thing, your smile the most beautiful thing, and your eyes the deepest thing I will ever look into. I love you."
2. "How lucky am I to call you mine? Your love and trust makes me a better person, each and every day. For all those times that we’ve been together, there’s always been a mutual understanding that’s only shared when two people love each other truly. You were there for my greatest challenges. You encouraged me to grow. You helped believe in myself and become the person that I am today. In your arms and by your side, I know I can do anything. I’m proud to call you my husband."
3. "This ring means eternal loyalty, eternal love, eternal trust and eternal friendship to me. It should always remind me how much I love and appreciate you and how much richer you make my life. When I look at it, I will always think of this special day and all the love that is in this room today.This feeling will stay with me and strengthen me every day. I am infinitely grateful that you enrich me with this feeling. You are the most important thing in my life and I love you more than anything."
4. "I promise to be your lover, companion, and friend. I will be your comrade in adventure, your accomplice in mischief, your comfort in disappointment, your strength in times of need and your partner in all things, for all the days of my life."
5. "I choose you to be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you and trusting what I do not yet know. I promise to laugh with you when times are good and endure with you when times are bad. I respect you as an individual, a partner, and an equal. You are my best friend and I promise to love you always."

The Best Wedding Vows to Your Soulmate

When you find your true soulmate, you will probably tell him or her on your wedding day how much they mean to you and how happy you are with that person. For this we have some vows for inspiration for you.

1. "Do you remember the very first day that we met? I knew the very first moment I saw you. I knew we were meant to be together for all of our days. You have become my lover, my companion, and my best friend. There’s no one else I’d want to build a life with. I get to have you by my side, my love and my wife/husband, for eternity."
2. "Since you came into my life, I see the world in a completely different light. In a light that drives away dark thoughts, outshines bad moods, and even makes me enjoy bad weather because I know I can then spend the time with you on the couch.
   Never have I felt more comfortable than when I’m with you. You calm me down and make me happy. You make me regret nothing in my life because everything ultimately led me to you and made me the person you fell in love with. That alone gives me enough confidence to face any challenge in life. You enrich my life and I am infinitely grateful for that. I love you."
3. "I love you for being there not only for me, but for all the people who need you. I admire your kindness and patience, your sense of responsibility and duty to all around you. You are attentive, courteous and incredibly kind. You are my role model, my best friend and my great love."
4. "I vow to love you unconditionally with all your qualities, to strengthen you and never want to change you, to always be thankful for you, and to always respect you. I vow to tell you I love you at least once a day from this day forward. I vow to always be true to you and to always be who I am, so that I can remain the person you fell in love with."
5. "When I look into your eyes, I know who I am.
   When I look into your eyes, I see the future, I see family, and most importantly: I see happiness. An indescribable happiness that gives me confidence and security. Because you see so much in me, so much that I could never understand. But now I have you for that. You remind me of who I am and that I am enough as I am."
6. "Today I give you my hand and my heart. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in the highest regard. These things I give to you today and every day, a commitment made in love, kept in faith, and eternally made new."
7. "I promise to always care for you, connect with you, comfort you and celebrate with you. I will be by your side through whatever life may bring and cherish the time we have together. I feel lucky to have found someone who embraces all that I am and enriches my life in so many ways. The values, dreams and plans we share make me excited for our future. I can’t wait to continue this adventure with you."

Beautiful Longer Wedding Vows

Beautiful Longer Wedding Vows

The following wedding vows are examples of very personally worded vows. Some of them are very heartfelt and profound because many small details are addressed that make the loved one so unique.

1)

Since it seems almost impossible for me to put into words my boundless love and admiration for you, I’ll take a few examples to show what a wonderful person you are.

You have always given up the last piece of chocolate to please me. You watch series with me that you don’t even remotely like, just so I don’t have to watch them alone. You stifle comments about my driving skills and demonstrate angelic patience when I park, just to give me confidence.

You take a shower first thing in the morning so I don’t freeze, and you let me know when dinner is ready later because you know I’ll burn myself again if you don’t. You laugh when I drop something three times every day and you take me in your arms when I bump into something like I do every day. You have made it your mission to make me happy and for that I am so infinitely grateful.

You deserve all the happiness in the world because you are the best person I know. I promise to always cherish all your wonderful qualities and hopefully make you as happy as you make me.

I love you.

2)

When we met, I never expected that one day we would be standing here. Before we fell in love, we were in the same class and at an age where you don’t usually realize the love of your life. Yet somehow I always knew you were special.

Years passed until I finally dared to ask you out – of course under the pretext of tutoring me. So we slowly got closer and after a few more years there was finally the first kiss. From that day on, with each passing day, I became more certain that this is where we would be one day. Every day we became happier, every year much stronger, and then at some point I was completely sure that I would be standing here with you, marrying you, and growing old with you.

I have never been so sure of anything as I was at that moment. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. I’ve never been so fulfilled, and I’ve never been so excited about getting older. Because that’s what I want: I want to grow old with you, celebrate our wedding days and reminisce, sit on our patio and watch birds, have visits from our children and grandchildren, and be proud of our fulfilling life.

You give me the ability to see so far into the future and to dream about it. I love you now as much as I love you in my dreams of the future.

I love you.

3)

Since my marriage proposal, the picnic on a beautiful starry night; since that moment made perfect by your "yes", I have been looking forward to our wedding. We have been engaged for a while now, enjoying the time, quietly planning our dream wedding, longing for this moment together. To make this moment perfect too, I want to tell you how much I love you.

I love you so much that I would love to never let go of you when we hug. I love you so much I wish I could write it on every wall of my house. I love you so much that I would wait ten years to spend just ten seconds in your arms. I love you so much that I would give up my whole life just to be with you.

You are everything to me, the beautiful center of my world and the sure compass that always shows me the right way. Thank you for all the big and the small moments in our relationship. Thank you for existing.

Standard Wedding Vows Script

If you and your partner are wondering how the wedding ceremony will go and when you will exchange your vows, we have a standard ceremony script for you below.

Processional
Beginning of the wedding ceremony. Guests are seated followed by the entrance of the bridal party.

Invocation
Welcome, loved ones. We are gathered here today to join [Name] and [Name] in holy matrimony.

Vow Exchange
[Name], I promise to cherish you always, to honor and sustain you, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, and to be true to you in all things until death alone shall part us.

[Name] I promise to cherish you always, to honor and sustain you, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, and to be true to you in all things until death alone shall part us.

Ring Exchange and Declaration of Intent
With this ring I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know, I will respect your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me, through all our years, and in all that life may bring us.

With this ring I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know, I will respect your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me, through all our years, and in all that life may bring us.

Pronouncement
By the power vested in me by the state of [State], I now pronounce you [husband and wife/husband and husband/wife and wife]!

What Wedding Vows Are

Writing Your Own Wedding Vows

With a wedding vow, you have the opportunity to make a very personal and private promise of love during the wedding ceremony. This way you can make your ceremony more individual.

More and more couples are choosing to write their own romantic wedding vows. It’s a personal confession of love or a promise made in front of all the guests that gives insight into the deep relationship of the future couple.

There is so much heart in it that most find it very difficult to recite it without tears. Nevertheless, it is worth it in any case. Such a message of love leaves traces and leads the couple even more in love with their marriage.

Moreover, you do not risk that the registrar or the pastor will not render the love story quite correctly or will not embellish it as romantically as you would like.

In the church and at the registry office, a personal wedding vow can be arranged. Inform yourself in advance about the usual duration and note that it should not be too long.

Tips on How to Write Wedding Vows

Tips on How to Write Wedding Vows

Below you’ll find ten tips to help you prepare, write, practice, and recite your wedding vows along the way.

With them, you can avoid classic mistakes, save time, and express what you’ve always wanted to say to your partner.

Make Clear Agreements Together

If the two of you have decided on vows together, you should make precise arrangements. That is, decide on the length of the vows, among other things.

It would be awkward for one of you if one recites something for two minutes and the other one speaks for only twenty seconds. The usual length is one to two minutes.

Also, discuss the timing of your vows with the registrar or pastor:

• Are personal wedding vows actually possible?
• Do they have to contain certain components?
• Should the vows be said before the "I do" or afterwards?
• Do you both want to start with "I vow…"/"I promise…" or do you recite individually and freely?

Talk about whether you just refer to the promises you make to your partner for the future or if you want to make a confession of love to him or her.

In order for this emotional moment to be perfect for both of you and to feel well prepared, you should always clarify such important key dates and information in detail.

Take Your Time when Writing Wedding Vows

Take Your Time when Writing Wedding Vows

Starting early enough to write your wedding vows is the cornerstone of stress-free writing. Give yourself at least a few months to think and seek inspiration.

Especially if you’re working, you’ll probably only find enough time on weekends to focus on your vows.

The less time you have, the more pressure you’ll put on yourself, and the more likely you are to experience a writer’s block.

Be sure to plan on writing multiple versions. Maybe some of the exercises will help you get into a better writing flow and become more satisfied with your writing.

Set a Theme for Your Vows

In general, it is already difficult to put into words the profound and basically indescribable feelings for a loved one. Then also to leave out nothing and to accommodate everything you feel in a short vow is almost impossible.

For this reason, you should come up with a 'theme' for your wedding vows. This way you can pick out a small but important aspect and also really go into depth instead of just 'touching' on everything superficially.

• What is the best quality of your partner?
• In which moments did your partner impress or surprise you?
• In what way does your partner strengthen you, your love, and your entire life through this one quality?

Choose a question like this as a basis and describe situations that apply to it. A mind map can help you put into words the most amazing qualities of your partner. Learn more about this in the next chapter.

Other topics include a short version of your story of getting to know each other, or a description of a particularly romantic moment that you will remember for the rest of your life. How do you both envision your future?

In your wedding vows, record your dreams together. If you could describe your relationship in one word, what would it be and why? Revise your wording until you are really satisfied.

Research Sources of Inspiration

Research Sources of Inspiration

Sometimes you simply don’t have the words and have writer’s block. Everything sounds wrong or bad somehow. This dissatisfaction can be frustrating and spoil your desire to write your vows.

But there are a few techniques you can use to stimulate your creativity and find new inspiration. For one, you can read through well-known love quotes, love poems or wedding sayings and write down a few that particularly reflect how you feel.

Secondly, you could paint a picture, which can express feelings in a completely different way than words can. You could also watch some wedding movies, or at least scenes from the movies where wedding vows are recited.

Creating a mind map can also help. Write your partner’s name in the center and create individual strands for their character traits and passions.

Don’t just mention positive things, but try to capture his or her entire character. Because you might love a few little quirks and flaws of your loved one the most.

Here you can find gestures, sayings and poems for a beautiful declaration of love.

Find a Beginning

If you do not want to succeed in finding a beginning despite mind map and all attempts at inspiration, you can start with "I vow…" or "I promise…". Alternatively, "I love you because…" will also work.

Imagine what you always want to be for your partner in the future. What do you value about your relationship today that you always want to keep? Make a few bullet points and choose the most important things – the more unique, the better. Here are a few examples:

• I vow to never stop working on myself so that I can make you happier day by day.
• I love you because every time I look at you, you make me feel like I’ve arrived.
• I promise to always stand by your side and always face the world together with you.
• I vow to you, whenever I go shopping, to bring your favorite chocolate, until the rest of our days.
• I promise to look you in the eye every morning when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep and tell you I love you for the rest of my life.
• I love you because you are always honest with me and I can trust you blindly.

Use Simple Language in Your Wedding Vows

Use Simple Language in Your Wedding Vows

While rhetorical devices certainly sound beautiful and poetic, you should still choose language for your vows that you use in everyday life.

Eloquent vocabulary and cryptic metaphors will probably not only confuse guests, but your partner will also wonder about this surprisingly new side of you. The most important thing is to show off your personality and feelings for your partner in the vows.

Let Your Feelings Run Free

An open confession of love can be very upsetting and it takes a lot of courage to speak freely in front of so many people. If you know that many people are listening, you might develop inhibitions that keep true feelings under wraps.

Especially if there are work colleagues and neighbors among the guests with whom you don’t have a particularly close relationship, it’s tempting to want to keep your cool.

But if you want to keep your cool, you can’t give free rein to your feelings and make a one hundred percent honest confession of love to your spouse, as he or she deserves.

It is important to think only about your partner for this one moment, to block out everything else and to allow emotions. No one will laugh at you or be skeptical.

At weddings, there is a state of exception where openly 'showing off' love is desired. Overwhelming emotions are a part of it and are incredibly romantic for the occasion.

Write Multiple Versions of Your Vows

Write Multiple Versions of Your Vows

In particular, perfectionists are plagued by lingering dissatisfaction when writing vows. This is simply because words seem inadequate for what we feel.

If you are frustrated, simply write several versions of your vows, preferably on different topics. Write a version describing how you met; a version elaborating on your partner’s best qualities; and a version explaining how unique your relationship is and how much you appreciate it.

In another version, highlight your differences and describe exactly why you complement each other so well and make such a good team. Finally, discard the versions you are unhappy with.

Prepare Vow Cards for the Wedding

Bridal couples are usually very nervous and agitated when they recite their wedding vows. So, in order to not forget anything and risk a blackout, the wedding vows should be written down and taken to the front.

The text can either be written on index cards, which can be nicely decorated on the back, or a slightly larger joint card can be made or purchased for the couple to share.

If one is not to know beforehand what the other is reciting, both vows can be written down in the right size and pasted inside by the best man, for example.

He tells the bride and groom how much space they have available and assembles the card accordingly. Small decorations or bows are welcome to make the overall picture perfect. Finally, the vows card will be in every photo during the recital.

Read Your Vows Out Loud Several Times

No matter how many times you read through your wedding vows, eventually you’ll have to recite them out loud – and that’s how you should practice them beforehand. Find a quiet place and go over your vows out loud over and over again.

Avoid reading aloud silently, as you will have to speak loudly and clearly in church, in the registry office, or even at a free wedding ceremony, so that all the guests understand you. If you are afraid to speak in front of many people, practice with a few friends or family.

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