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Writing Your Vows

The thought of writing your own wedding vows is very appealing to many couples as they plan the biggest day of their lives. However, as the wedding day fast approaches, a strong case of writer's block may get in the way of beautiful, lyrical vows for you and your honey to profess your undying love and commitment to each other. After you get past the fear of writing something silly or cheesy, you may find that writing your own vows is actually one of the most special things that you can do during your wedding ceremony. The goal behind writing wedding vows that you will look back fondly on is to take it one step at a time.

Before you actually set pen to paper and write a stream of wedding vows, you need to speak to your wedding officiant about the possibility of preparing your own wedding vows. It is important to note that some officiants may not allow couples to have personalized vows. There is no surefire way to tell if your officiant will allow for personalized vows - you will just have to ask. It depends on each officiant, the type of ceremony, and even the religion of the couple in many cases. If you officiant does allow for personalized vows, he or she will want to take a look at them well before the ceremony to be as prepared as possible.

Once you get the go ahead from your officiant, you need to discuss writing the wedding vows with your fiancé. Just remember that both of you need to be on the same page when it comes to writing wedding vows. Think about whether you want to show each other the vows you have each written before the ceremony, if you will write them together, or if you will write them separately. Remember, there is no need to write extensive, detailed vows. If there is something special you want to say but may not feel comfortable doing so in front of a large group of people, save it for the honeymoon or wedding night. If you feel especially shy, you and your fiancé could write the same promises and simply recite them to each other or at the same time.

Something else to think about when writing your own wedding vows is the structure of the wedding ceremony. Think about the topics you should cover which include how wonderful your fiancé is, the strength you have as a couple, and what you are promising to each other. In addition to the structure, you should think about the tone you would like to take. Would you like a humorous, touching, or traditional set of vows? No matter what theme or tone you want, just remember it should come from the heart.