Writing your own wedding vows is a fantastic way to show your other half how much you really care. Giving you the opportunity to stand up before all your family and friends and tell your partner exactly how much they mean to you, personalised wedding vows can help to make your day even more memorable.
However, as BRIDES points out, “coming up with the right words to express just how you feel-in front of all your nearest and dearest-can be a daunting task”. Should you go sentimental? Try and make everyone laugh? Keep it short or wax lyrical? To help you say it perfectly, we’ve come up with a quick guide to get you started.
Talk to your partner
Before you sit down to write your vows, talk to your partner about what you both want to include. Decide roughly how long you’re going to make them, if you’re going to be sentimental or funny and if you’re going to tell any stories or anecdotes during the ceremony. Though you obviously don’t want to know exactly what your other half is going to say, if you have an idea of the content of their vows you’ll be able to make sure yours complement theirs perfectly.
Make sure it’s OK with the official
Though most officials will happy for you to use your own vows, it’s a good idea to double check it’s ok. In some cases, there might be a time limit you need to stick to as your official may have to move on to another ceremony. If you’re marrying in a religious ceremony, there may be certain sections of traditional text you need to include. Talk to your chosen official to find out more.
Make some notes
If the thought of sitting down and writing your wedding vows is a bit daunting, start by simply making a few notes about your other half. Take a few minutes to think about what they mean to you, how they make you feel and what you want for your joint future. You could also include a few anecdotes about how you met, how you fell in love or how you got engages to give your friends and family and insight into your relationship. Come back to your notes after a week or two, read them through before you start writing your first draft.
Include a quote
If you can’t quite find the right words to say how much you love your other half, look online to find a poem or a quote that expresses how you feel. You’ll probably also come across a lot of online examples of other people’s personalised vows. This can be a great place to start when creating a structure for your vows but you should try not to get too caught up in other couple’s vows as it may stop you from speaking from the heart.
Though it may take you a while to get it just right, it’s well worth putting the effort into writing your own vows. To find out how else you can personalise your wedding day and make it just right, take a look around our site.
