WEDDING VOWS

Writing Your Own Vows

Whilst completely optional, many couples getting married will choose to embellish the recommended vows (samples of which were referred to earlier in the article) with some words of their own. Combined with a choice of readings for the service, your own vows can really stamp your personality and feelings on the day and provide you with a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate your love for one another, involve others and even inject some humour into the proceedings.

It is wise to discuss options for the vows with the Superintendent Registrar as early as possible – they will be able to provide you with some suitable ideas and also give you an indication of what they are willing to accept, they must after all approve your ideas. It is unlikely that your ideas will be rejected, but more conservative and traditional Registrar’s will sometimes be reluctant for your to use ‘I promise to always give him the remote control’ and will favour more romantic lines such as ‘I promise to love thee till my dying day’. If you are set on particular words but your Registrar objects, ask them if there is an alternative Superintendent Registrar who will be happy to use the words that you have chosen.

Unless you are a gifted wordsmith, writing your vows can often prove tricky. You can never go wrong with words such as ‘cherish’, ‘love’, ‘honour’ and ‘respect’, but developing them into sentences you feel comfortable saying is another thing. To help you along your way, we have put together some pointers which you may find useful when penning your masterpiece - these can be found on the next page.