Wedding Vows

In western society, wedding vows have long been a traditional part of the marriage ceremony. Wedding vows are akin to the sorts of promises the married couple is expected to make to one another at the altar. Typically, these vows include faithfulness, unconditional love, affection, and permanence.

Most of the time, these wedding vows are associated with religious practices. Sometimes, the couple may wish to embellish their wedding vows with poems or song lyrics.

While it is possible to rely on the vows spoken aloud by the priest or other religious figure performing the ceremony, it is also quite common the married couple to write their own marriage vows. The vows usually come to a close when the priest or minister invites the groom to kiss his new bride.

For those couples planning a wedding, taking in to consideration what kind of vows you wish to recite can be quite an important decision. Indeed, love is such an intense emotion, that it can be hard to find the words to say everything that you feel about your husband or wife to be.

Depending on what kind of wedding ceremony is right for your situation, you will either want to recite traditional, non-traditional, or religious vows. Let us explore all three categories.

First off, we have the traditional vows, which are probably the most popular. These vows entail the recitation of a promise of love, affection and devotion to your future spouse, without mentioning God or any other religious figure. For example, "I promise to love and cherish you for as long we both shall live."

Then there are non-traditional vows. These vows really enable you to say exactly what you want to your future spouse, because there are no standard guidelines that you have to follow. This is particularly appropriate for two people in love who do not follow a common major religion, and who wish to put their feelings for one another in their own words.

For example, "I, Bob, vow to always take care of you, Betty. You are the love of my life, and I want to feel you by my side forever. I, in turn, will be your guiding light." With non-traditional vows, you can be as creative as you want, or as simple as you want. Again, there really are no rules governing non-traditional marriage vows.

Religious vows are vows undertaken in reference to God or another major religious figure that both partners wish to acknowledge on their special day. For example, "Before the eyes of God and our family, I vow to love and cherish you."

Depending on what kind of wedding ceremony you wish to have, you should be able to decide which vows are right for you and your future spouse. In addition, there are many other things that can be inserted in to the vows, such as romantic poetry or even some humor, if you think it's appropriate for the occasion.

What it really comes down to is that only the bride and groom know what is right for their wedding. So, the more personal and heartfelt the better.