Vow Exchange

Some couples choose to write their own vows to each other.  Others choose prewritten vows that express their feelings to each other.  Here are some examples of those most chosen in the ceremonies I have officiated:

1.  ___, I take you to be my (wife/husband).  I love you .  Today is a very special day.  Long ago you were just a dream and a prayer.  Thank you for being what you are to me.  With our future as bright as the promises of God, I will care for you, honor and protect you.  I lay down my life for you my friend and my love.

2. I, ____ take you to be my (wife/husband), 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. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.  What may come I will always be there.  As I have give you my hand to hold, so I give you my life for as long as we both shall live.

3. I, ___ take you ____ to be my (wife/husband), my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward.  In the presence of these witnesses, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow.  I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

4. I, ____, take you, ____ to be my (wife/husband), my partner in life, and my one true love.  I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before.  I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad regardless of the obstacles we may face together.  I give you may hand, my heart, and my life from this day forward as long as we both shall live.

5. I,____, take you, ____ to be my lawfully wedded (wife/husband).  To have and to hold from this day forward.  For better or worse, for richer or poorer.  In sickness and in health.  To love and to cherish.  For as long as we both shall live.

6. _____, I take you to be my best friend, my faithful partner, and my one true love.  I promise to encourage you and inspire you, and to love you truly through good times and bad.  I will forever be there to laugh with you, to lift you up when you are down, and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together.

You may mix and match phrases of these vows.  Both bride and groom can use different vows.

Vows for "Later In Life:"

7.  ___, I offer you the autumn of my life. brisk and vibrant.  I promise to be a companion worthy of your precious friendship.  I pledge you compassion both in good times and bad; encouragement in sickness and in health.  It is my intent that our life together include our circles of friends and loving families.  We'll cherish the memories of our individual pasts; and create our new life together as husband and wife.