Choosing to write your own wedding vows is a beautiful way to personalize your big day. However, when the time comes to actually put pen to paper, you might find yourself feeling stumped! And, if you start googling, you’ll find so many ways you can go about this task that you might feel even more intimidated by all the advice. Luckily, we have a few of the answers…In this short guide, we’ll show you a simple but impactful approach to writing your own wedding vows. 

Simple Wedding Vow Guidelines

Start with ‘I love you’

Let’s start with the basics. Before you delve into the vows, you need to tell your partner that you love them and show how much you care. This part of your wedding vows may be somewhat emotional. Don’t forget those three little words.

Explain how your partner has changed you 

When someone important comes into your life, they change you. They teach you things you never knew about yourself or, on a more practical level, share new skills with you. Take a moment to consider what your partner has done to open up your world and thank them for it. Draw upon your differences, but state them as strengths you can both use to move forward in your newlywed life together.

Give a personal anecdote

Your wedding vows should be as wonderfully unique as your romantic relationship, so make things a little personal. You might want to tell a sweet (but short) story about how you met or speak about what makes your relationship unique. You don’t have to talk about the big things here. Instead, you can draw upon the everyday quirks that you love. Show that you notice and embrace the small idiosyncrasies that make your partner uniquely them!

Make realistic promises

At the heart of this speech are the lifelong promises you make to your partner. While you should vow to love, honor, and cherish them, there’s room to make these promises more grounded in your daily lives, too. For example, you might want to say that you will always watch a certain TV show with them or that you will always support their favorite football team. Adding a sense of realism to your vows makes them more meaningful. This makes your vows a set of daily actions, instead of lofty, undefined ideals.

Thank them and look to the future 

Finally, you’re going to want to thank your partner for being who they are and loving you unconditionally. But, within that you may also want to close your vows with a look toward your future lives together. Consider how your wedded life may look and talk about any hopes or dreams that you have for the two of you.

Start writing early 

You might think you have all the time in the world to write your vows, but may want to think again! This sentimental task will most likely take longer than you expect, so give yourself as much time as possible by starting early. Remember, you don’t have to write the whole thing in one go, and you certainly don’t want to rush through them! You can keep coming back to your vows until you get them right.

Practice!

Finally, it’s time to get some practice. The first time you read your vows shouldn’t be at your wedding. You can recite the vows in front of the mirror, use your wedding party as a practice audience, or record yourself saying them. Keep going until you know them by heart, but also feel free to bring notecards with you, if that reduces your nerves!