How to Create Your Own Wedding Vows
A great way to get started is to take out a sheet of paper, at the top write your partner’s name. Directly under your partner’s name write the one word that expresses how you feel about your partner: overwhelming, love, passion, devotion, etc. This word will be the foundation for your vow. You do not necessarily need to use the word in your vow, but it will help to focus your emotions.
Next, it will be important to determine what aspects of your relationship are most important to you or the most significant. Where did you first meet the person you love? Perhaps when you first met your love you knew right away that he/she was special.
Perhaps you can remember the way your felt when you first realized you were in love, did you feel as if you couldn’t breathe, as if your world had shrunken to just the two of you and yet was so large you could never hope to understand the feelings. Perhaps you realized that with them in your life you could accomplish anything.
Other questions you might want to think about are;
What do you hope to share with the person you love?
What dreams do you have together?
Do those dreams include a family?
Do you promise your love will be unconditional?
Do you promise to always keep the lines of communication open?
Do you promise to never go to bed angry?
Do you promise to always be faithful and honest?
Do you promise to always offer support, guidance, a shoulder to lean on?
Answering these questions can help you develop a good idea of what emotions you wish to convey in your words.
Once you have answered those questions, rewrite them neatly on a clean sheet of paper. If you have written a great deal or answered many questions, it might be helpful to number each answer. Making one the most important and 10 the least important. It is important to number your answers because you may not be able to include everything you have written. Your vows should only take about three minutes and should include the most important feelings you want to convey. By numbering your answers, it will make it easier to select the ones that mean the most to you.
Now it is time to bring everything together into a perfect union of words and emotions. You may want to start with your partner’s name and the one word you used to express how you felt about him/her. For example:
Aaron, the moment I met you I felt an overwhelming sense of love.
Jody, the devotion I feel for you cannot be expressed in mere words.
Next, write down the first couple of answers to the questions. For an extra personal touch, you may want to include a special moment that only the two of you shared. Keep in mind how your friends and family will react to this special moment, in other words, you don’t want to mention anything too personal or intimate.
After you have written your vows, read them out loud or to a trusted friend. This is a great way to receive objective feedback and a terrific way to identify errors or awkward transitions.
When you are happy with your vows, set them to the side and relax for a minute. Your wedding is going to be one of the most important and happiest moments of your life. Be sure to enjoy the ride, the planning is fun, memorable and the first step in your life together. Treasure every moment and don’t forget to just enjoy being together.
