personal vows - some inspiration

MAKE THEM PERSONAL - please remember, these are templates for inspiration - your bespoke vows are so very welcome - tinker to your hearts content - they need to chime utterly true for you and yours. If there’s a word that makes you squirm - let’s change it.

PERSONAL NOTE OF THANKS: my mighty appreciation to my Humanist Colleague B at A Quiet Revolution for sharing these many examples with me - and now - with you!

some inspiration

Example 1

I, (Name), promise to love and cherish you, (Name), for the rest of your life. 

I will try to bring laughter to your life and make you happy. 

I will consider you in the decisions I have to make, and value your opinions. 

Today I vow to be your person/wife/husband for the rest of our lives.

Example 2

Do you (Name), in the presence of your family and friends, take (Name), to be your wedded love/wife/husband? Do you promise to love her/him/them, honour her/him/them and protect her/him/them for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to her/him/them for as long as you both shall live?

Example 3

(Name), do you aspire to love, honour and respect (Name) throughout the varying circumstances of your lives and to love them equally with your body, heart and mind?

Do you pledge to honour (Name)’s integrity, respect their privacy and care for their wellbeing?

Do you promise to consider (Name)’s needs in all your life decisions and ensure to the best of your ability that they are happy and content?

Do you aspire to learn from your shared experiences, and to build from them a full and loving marriage based on trust, respect and equality?

Example 4

(Name), will you take (Name) to be your wedded spouse, best friend and soul mate? Do you acknowledge your love for him/her/them and will you respect their individuality? Will you try to bring them happiness and laughter throughout your life, whatever your future together may hold?

Example 5

(Name) and (Name), will you seek, as mature people, to have a loving marriage, allowing it and each other to change and develop, supporting each other in happiness and sorrows, health and illness? 

Will you seek to live together as equal and different individuals, and to recognise and accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses? 

Will you seek to trust the ebb and flow of your love, to offer your love without conditions, having faith that it will always return, and understanding that its nature may change? 

Will you seek always to learn from your shared experiences, and to build from them a full and caring friendship based on trust and on respect?  (We will)

Example 6

TODAY by Betrand Russell

Today I marry my friend,

The one I have laughed and cried with,

The one I have learned from and shared with,

The one I have chosen to support, encourage,

And give myself to, through all the days

Given us to share.

Today I marry the one I love.

Example 7

Do you (Name) take (Name) as your one and only love and from this day forward promise to protect, cherish and honour her, during good times and bad, happiness and sadness, through all the days of your married life together?

Example 8

Do you, (Name), take (Name), to be your partner in life and one true love? 

Will you cherish your friendship and love him/her/them today, tomorrow, and forever?

Will you trust and honour him/her/them?

Will you laugh and cry with him/her/them?

Will you love him/her/them faithfully?

Through the best and the worst,

Through the difficult and the easy?

Whatever may come will you always be there for him/her/them?

And as you have given him/her/them your hand to hold

Do you now give him/her/them your life to keep?”

Example 9

(Name), I join my life with yours today

Without hesitation and with an open and trusting heart.

Whatever we may encounter,

Let us encounter it together.

Take this ring and with it my commitment

To be the best partner/spouse/wife/husband I can be

Example 10

(Name), I promise to be your friend and partner, 

And to walk beside you always; 

To love you with all that I am as you love me; 

To support, respect and share with you in all of life's decisions, 

Through joy and sadness, triumph and uncertainty, laughter and tears; 

To have you in my life every day for as long as we live.

Example 11

I love you with all my heart and I promise to be by your side always – to share the joy and laughter as well as the peace and companionship of being together. I will be there to support you through both the good times and the bad times. I will be your partner, your lover, your best friend and your soul mate. I will share my life with you - let’s walk together into our future - sure and certain of this love. 

Example 12

(Name) and (Name), do you aspire to love each other and to live together in a spirit of tolerance, mutual support and concern for each other’s well-being, sharing your responsibilities, your problems and your joys?

Example 13

And do you aspire to help each other provide a loving and stable home for your children; to co-operate in bringing them up to be caring, honest and happy?

(Yes, we do)

Example 14

Please repeat after me:

(Name), I promise to love you and to trust you; to be honest with you and to be faithful to you;

I promise to be a loving and supportive partner/spouse/wife/husband to you; for as long as we both shall live.  

I give you this ring as a token of my enduring love and support.

Example 15

(Name), will you have (Name) to be your partner/spouse/wife/husband, to share your life with her/him/them, and do you pledge to love, honour and care for her/him/them in tenderness and affection through all the varying experiences of your life?

(I do)

Example 16

(Name), do you promise to cherish and care for (Name) in sickness and in health, in hard times as well as good for as long as you both shall live?

(I do)

Example 17

(Name), do you have (Name) to be your partner, to share your life with them, to be honest and trusting, to communicate openly with him and do you promise that you will love, cherish and care for them with tenderness and affection all your life?

(I do)

Example 18

(Name), I acknowledge my love and respect for you. 

You are my faithful partner in life; my one true love, my best friend.

I will miss you madly when you are far – and hold you close when you are near.

I will provide for your needs as best I can, and protect you from harm. 

I promise to laugh with you – to cry with you.

I will reason with you when reason works, and laugh with you when reason doesn’t.

I will love you until the end of time and I give you this ring as a token of my love for you.

Example 19

Don't walk in front of me,

I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me,

I may not lead.

Walk beside me and be my friend.

From this day forward,

You shall not walk alone.

My heart will be your shelter,

And my arms will be your home

Example 20

I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us.  I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I now ask everyone to witness that I have taken you to be my partner/spouse/husband/wife.  

Example 21

Will you (Name) take (Name) to be your partner for life, to love and look after them and bring them happiness and laughter throughout your lives, whatever the future may hold, sharing your wholeness, your brokenness, your success and your failures?

Example 22

I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to love and cherish you always, in everything, and to stand beside you as your partner while we build our future and achieve our dreams together, to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us. I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I now ask everyone to witness that I have asked you to be my partner.

Will you spend your life with me?

(I will)

Example 23

I, (Name), promise you, (Name), to be your best friend, to respect your individuality and always to try to understand any differences between us. I promise to trust you, to be honest with you and to bring you laughter throughout your life. I promise to love and cherish you always, in everything, and to stand beside you as your partner while we build our future and achieve our dreams together. 

I now ask everyone to witness that I will ask you to be my partner/spouse/husband/wife.  I will love you and look after you and I will keep you happy throughout your life.

Will you take me as your beloved and spend your life with me?

Example 24

I give my love to you, and will be open to yours in return. 

I will always try to bring you laughter and happiness throughout our lives,

But will always be there to give you a hug when you need one,

In the presence of our family and friends,

I promise to respect you, look after you, love and enjoy you.

Example 25

Do you (Name) and (Name), promise to love, honour and support each other?

To have and to hold, to tickle and to squeeze?

And to continue to bring happiness and laughter into each others lives?

Do you, today, vow to be partners for the rest of your lives?

(We do)

Example 26

(Name) please repeat after me: 

I accept our strengths and weaknesses / and seek always to learn from our shared experiences / and to build from them a full and caring relationship / based on trust and on respect.

I promise to share my life with you / and be faithful to you.

I will be honest and open with you.

I will be there to listen to you, comfort you and support you.

I promise to share your joys and our responsibilities.

I give my love to you and will be open to your love in return. / I will respect and care for you / with tenderness and affection for all of my life, / whatever our future together may hold.

All that I am and all that I have, / I offer to you (Name), in love and in joy. / In the presence of our family and friends I ask you (Name), / if you will be my friend, lover and companion throughout my life?

Example 27

Do you love (Name) with all your heart?

Will you take (Name) as your wife/husband/beloved?

Will you continue to love them and share your life with them, the dark and the light?

Will you look after them, support and encourage them in all ways and bring them happiness and laughter?

Example 28

(Name), will you please repeat after me:

I give my love to you, and will be open to your love in return.

I would like to share in your dreams and for you to share in mine;

To give help when you need it, and to ask for help when in need;

To support you in all your endeavours;

In the presence of our family and friends, I ask you, (Name), to be a friend, companion and devoted beloved/wife/husband/partner throughout my life.

Example 29

(Name) and (Name), drawing on the trust you have placed in me, I ask you now to speak in truth to each other the words that you have written together.

I ask everyone here to witness that I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wife/husband/partner/beloved. I will love you and look after you. I will try to bring you happiness and laughter throughout your life, whatever our future together may hold.

I promise to love and respect you at all times, to enjoy our lives together, making our love grow, always being there to listen, comfort and enjoy you.

Example 30

(Name) and (Name) will you take each other to be your life’s partner?

Will you solemnly and sincerely promise to cherish, love and comfort each other, even when times are hard?

Will you respect, support and honour each other at all times?

Will you forever share friendship, fun, laughter and adventure together?

Will you be trusting, loyal and forgive easily for the rest of your lives?

Will you always remember these promises you’ve made to each other and remain true to them?

(We will)

Example 31

(Name), you make me feel happy, relaxed and in love.

Your quiet confidence and inner strength helps me to feel safe and secure in a way I never knew was possible.

Your enthusiasm for, and love of, life make me feel excited about our future together.

I love you and am deeply committed to being married to you.

(Name), please now repeat after me:

(Name), I love you and would like to be with you for the rest of our journey down life’s path.

I will respect, support and accompany you through the great and the not so good times.

I will love and trust you throughout our days.

I will help you through times of sorrow and pain.

I will laugh with you through times of joy and happiness.

I will support you in all that you wish to do and achieve.

And most of all I will love you with all my heart, always.

Example 32

Name) and (Name), please now repeat after me the words you have chosen to say to each other together:

I can promise all my heart’s devotion;

A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow;

A love that’s ever true and ever growing;

A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow.

Example 33

I, (Name) ask you, (Name) to be my partner/spouse/husband/wife, my friend, and my love.

I, (Name) ask you, (Name) to be …

On this day I affirm the relationship we have enjoyed,

Looking to the future

To deepen and strengthen it.

I will be yours in plenty and in want,

In sickness and in health, 

In failure and in triumph.

Together we will dream, 

Will stumble but restore each other,

We will share all things, 

Serving each other and our fellow humanity.

I will cherish and respect you, 

Comfort and encourage you,

Be open with you, 

And stay with you as long as we shall live,

Freed and bound by our love.

Example 34

(Name), I love you. Today before our family, our friends and the world I proudly take you as my wife/husband/partner/spouse. Loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know, I look forward to the laughter and falling in love with you a little more every day. Whatever our future may hold, I will always be there for you and I give myself as I am and as I will be, for all of our lives together.

Example 35 - write a Metaphor Poem for each other:

3 simple steps

• Think about the person you love… their habits, style, personal qualities, abstract associations.

• Fill in the blanks in the statements below – do it quickly; go with the first thing that comes to mind; it’s fresher that way.

• Put it all together and read it out loud. It’s amazing!

• 
  

S/he/they is/are… a colour

S/he/they is/are… an item of clothing

S/he/they is/are… a form of transport

S/he/they is/are… a flower

S/he/they is/are… an item of furniture

S/he/they is/are… a drink

S/he/they is/are… a time of day

S/he/they is/are… a sound