writing your own vows...

[TravelingGal]

Anyone writing/wrote their own vows? Care to share? I know what I want to say, but I also need some inspiration. I know not too many people do this though...............

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Sorry that I can''t be of much help here. We''re customizing our ceremony from a rather large "template" that our officiant provided. It''s kinda like a multiple-choice thing. I know it sounds soooo unromantic, but we were worried that we''d have writers block and be working on it until the 11th hour.

Kudos to you for going this route. I''m sure it will be beautiful!

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 9/1/2006 9:26:31 PM
Author: ChargerGrrl
Sorry that I can''t be of much help here. We''re customizing our ceremony from a rather large ''template'' that our officiant provided. It''s kinda like a multiple-choice thing. I know it sounds soooo unromantic, but we were worried that we''d have writers block and be working on it until the 11th hour.


Kudos to you for going this route. I''m sure it will be beautiful!


GOOD LUCK!

We basically did that too. We took about three ceremonies off the net and combined what we liked from all of them.

 

[San Diego Bride]

we also did the same. i initially wanted to write our own vows, but FI vetoed the idea saying it would just be stressful and we''d be up late the night before trying to figure out what to say. with only a week to go and so many things to do he was totally right (this time). our officiant gave us lots of options and we (really i) just took the parts of each that we liked. in the end, i''m quite happy with them. i realize now i wasn''t really investing in writing my own vows per se, i just wanted our vows to be unique.

i applaud you for wanting to write your own, but the cut and paste option may be a good back-up plan if you get writer''s block.

 

[Tybee]

We wrote our own.
It was amazingly intense, and I''m so glad that we did.
We basically shared why we chose each other, and a shared pledge to stay together.
I''m lucky that I made it through it during the cermony.
What do you need help with?

 

[Mara]

we took a few different ceremonies from the internet as well and compiled elements that we liked from it. then we also wrote a small paragraph each for our 'vows'...and incorporated that in. it wasn't like writing the vows entirely kind of thing but it allowed us to say a few things to each other that were special to us. i wrote my paragraph months ahead of time.

HOWEVER i forgot to check what i had written again before the wedding during all the hustle and bustle, and i totally couldn't remember them once i was up at the altar!! so i burst out crying. it was soooo funny (well not at the time but later)...especially since i really never cry....so greg was kind of freaked out...hahaha..and was patting my hand going 'its okay honey!!!'. so i mumbled out what i remembered from the vows which was somewhat incoherent but the jist was there, and then greg said his and they were PERFECT, just wonderful...and i was worried HE wouldn't write anything good. it's a story we still tell now...how i forgot mine and his were great and i had mine written like 5 months before! DUH! so just be sure to check them before the wedding to remind yourself. hahaha.

 

[KimberlyH]

We didn''t write them, our psuedo-priest did (he retired from the church and got married, hence the name). I''ll share though, because the words are perfect.

I love You (Name)
And because I do, I ask you
To Join Me
To share my joys and my sorrows
To be by my side as I succeed
To comfort me and understand when I fail
To grow old with me
To stay young with me
To live and love and laugh with me
And hold my hand
And be in my heart
For the rest of our lives.

 

[gmsmith101]

I did this for us and have done it for other people. Drop me a note if you like.

 

[Tybee]

Wow!
KimberlyH!
I love your vows!!!!!!!

What I loved best about our vows was something that we "borrowed" from our friends.
We said them in a "round" so they were shared.

I would say a line, then he would repeat that line and add a line.
I would repeat the added line, then add a new line.

We made sure that we said a ''statement of intent'' first... kind of like our statement of "why I choose this person,"
but our vows were shared.

So it started out like: I (me) take (you) to be yourself...

Then he would say: I (me) take you (you) to be yourself,
To respect you, care for you, and grow with you...

I would repeat: To respect you, care for you, and grow with you
and then add: To love you happy, grumpy, silly, low, and unconditionally.

It went on like that, in the round. The rest is below.

To stand by you in success, and in failure.
To listen to you, laugh with you, talk to you, and hold you.
To spend the rest of our lives together, no matter what occurs.
I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.

Um, it makes me cry just to see it again. The statements are very much our
own. With connections that are just truly between us.

Good luck. I think it is well worth it to write your own vows, but it is very
stressful before they are written. Actually, I had to edit out my statement
of intent because it was so much longer than his, and I coulnd''t get through it
without sobbing. I was still editing it the night before our wedding!!!!

I wouldn''t change a thing, though. It was all so very US!

 

[KimberlyH]

And the words are beautiful, Tybee! I love love love the idea of rounds...so sweet!!

 

[nytemist]

We are writing our own vows to say to each other, then finishing it with the Wiccan pledge to each other.

It''s taken a while for me to write something; not that I can''t find anything to say, it''s too long and I need cut it down and still have it mean everything I want.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 9/3/2006 3:02:20 PM
Author: KimberlyH
We didn't write them, our psuedo-priest did (he retired from the church and got married, hence the name). I'll share though, because the words are perfect.

I love You (Name)
And because I do, I ask you
To Join Me
To share my joys and my sorrows
To be by my side as I succeed
To comfort me and understand when I fail
To grow old with me
To stay young with me
To live and love and laugh with me
And hold my hand
And be in my heart
For the rest of our lives.

Yes, the wording is perfect!
I may have to borrow this...

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks all...

I would like to do the traditional vows, but say something of my own beforehand. I want to focus on making promises (for lack of a better word) to him...not say what I want him to do for me. Tybee''s example is a bit of what I am looking for. I just want to tell him how blessed I am, and how I am honored that he chose to leave everything he loved to come to the U.S. to love me. When I get it down pat...I''ll share....

Thanks again!