The Vows are at the heart of your wedding, and like the climax of a movie, they can be romantic and inspiring. but – let’s be honest ­– just thinking about what to say can be a bit frightening!

That’s why some couples still choose to say the same words their parents did back in the day: ‘to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health’. Those time-honoured vows definitely cover it, but they’re a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution and the one thing that they’re not is personal.

We humanists realised that couples wanted the freedom to make promises in their own words, and that’s why we campaigned for more than twenty years to give you that right. Now, 16 years on from the first legal humanist marriage in Scotland, writing your own vows is ‘the new normal’ but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Your vows will be the biggest promise you’ve ever made, so they’re a big deal. They will define how you intend to live for the rest of your life, so you want them to be powerful, but not over the top; romantic but not cheesy; honest, but not boring; inspiring, but still grounded in reality.

Where do you begin? Well, you could read my book, WE DO! (I would say that wouldn’t I?) but if you’re getting close to the wire and need some quick inspiration, here are some ideas to get you started.

1 GIVE YOURSELF TIME

This isn’t something you want to be doing in the last few weeks before your big day. In We Do! I give you all the ideas you need to create your own unique ceremony, and it starts by going back in time and remembering what brought you together in the first place; what made you realise that this is the person you want to share the rest of your life with, and thinking about what marriage means to you. It’s not the work of a moment, but it’s that process which will create the original raw material from which your vows will flow. Pour yourself a glass of something and see how you’ve got on after an hour and a half. Don’t edit – just scribble it down, and tell the truth: you both know what’s happened so there’s nowhere to hide!

2 DO THE RESEARCH

There are lots of random collections of vows out there on the net, and it won’t take you long to get the idea. You’ll find them on Pinterest and wedding blogs and websites, but they’re someone else’s words not yours. Read them, and be inspired by them, but then take the time to think about what you want to promise.Write your own vows, and make them original, as Caitlin and Andrew did!

3 DO IT TOGETHER

Your marriage will be a partnership, so step one is to make sure that your partner is happy to write the ceremony with you. David and Jenna did that, and their promises were short, sweet and funny. They started by making the legal declaration, and then they went their own way. Jenna got to go first…

I, Jenna, accept you, David, as my husband.
I will love you always and support you,
no matter what life throws at us.
I promise to respect our differences,
and accept you as you are,
but I will always have the last word

Then it was David’s turn, and he said

I, David, accept you, Jenna, as my wife.
I promise to always be there for you when you need me.
I promise to love you, care for you,
and always let you have the last word…
sometimes 

4 PROMISES, PROMISES 

A vow is just another word for a promise, so start by thinking about all the things you can promise to do for your partner once you’re married. (Grooms please note, promising to do your share of the housework is a sure-fire winner!) A good place to get some clues is your LoveWork. Look at what your partner says they love about you, and use that as ‘your starter for 10’…

Let’s say they love you because you’re kind, thoughtful and determined. You could say, ‘I promise to try to be kind, thoughtful and determined.” Then think about what else you could promise that will remind you to try to be the best version of yourself in the future.

5 INVOLVE YOUR GUESTS

Before you make your personal promises, you might ask your guests to make some promises to you, as Kellie and Kevin did. I call them ‘Guest Vows’ and it’s a wonderful way to make everyone feel a part of the ceremony. Think of some questions to ask that will prompt them all to say, “We Do!”

6 ONE LINE AT A TIME

You might speak your vows one line at a time, so it makes it more of a dialogue. That’s what Ann Marie and Richard did.

AM- I love you because you’re one of a kind, a limited edition.

R- I love you because of your sense of family.

AM- I love you because of your sense of humour, although I don’t always get it.

R- I love you because you’re nearly as good a cook as me!

7 BE YOURSELF

You won’t keep your promises if they’re not true to who you really are. Speak from the heart, and don’t use fancy language. The more truthful you are, the more powerful your vows will be. These are just some of the things that Carly and Gordon said.

Carly
I promise to try look interested when you talk about football and cars.
And I promise to always remember the reasons that I love you,
should you start to annoy me.
 
Gordon
You know me better than anyone
and yet you still love me (even when I’m grumpy).
I can’t wait to grow old with you,
living our life as an adventure.

8 SECRET VOWS

One way to make your exchange of vows even more awesome is to keep them a secret until the day. It’s ‘a high-risk strategy’, which is why I insist that couples who choose this route send me their vows by separate email, so I can check they’re on roughly the same page, and clinically sane.

9 CHECK WITH YOUR OFFICIANT

Humanist and Interfaith celebrants will normally encourage you to write your own vows, but ministers of religion and registrars may work by different rules, so always check with them and ask for their advice and guidance.

10 REMEMBER THE LEGAL DECLARATION

You can say what you want when you’re making your vows, but you must also indicate that you accept each other in marriage. That’s what we call ‘The Legal Declaration’ and the phrase that we in Celebrate People use is, “I accept you in marriage” because it embodies equality – a value close to the hearts of Gerard and Gary whose story you can read here. You can of course say, ‘I choose you (or take you, or accept you) as my husband/wife’ as well.

So there you are: my ten top tips to write your wedding vows. I hope you find them useful – please let me know if you do!