Planning a wedding, while exciting, can be a very stressful process. One of the most important parts you’ll need to get ready for is your vows. With something so special, you don’t want to leave anything out or write the wrong thing.
Well, there’s no need to worry as we’ve come up with a few tips you can use as a guide to writing the best vows for your upcoming wedding.
Write It in Advance
Writing your vows is definitely something you don’t want to rush last-minute. It’s something that you want to put a lot of thought into. They don’t have to be poetically perfect but you still want them to be special and hold a deeper meaning.
You’ll also want to give yourself time to re-read and edit any parts you change your mind on. You don’t have to write all your vows in one sitting, so writing it in advance lets you come back to it with fresh eyes. When you’re rushing to get them done, you could start to get panicked and leave important things out.
Speak From the Heart
Having a structure to your vows is great but it’s important to remember to speak from the heart. Keep it genuine even if it ends up cheesy.
You can ask yourself questions like “What did you first think of that person when you saw them?” “When did you know this was the person you were gonna marry?” “How have they changed your life?”
Talk about all your favorite things about them or how they’ve helped you become a better person. This is the love of your life you’re talking about, don’t be afraid to spill your heart out and tell them how strongly you feel.
Make a List of What You Want to Add
You want your wedding vows to be around 2-3 minutes long. Making a list of what you want to say will help you organize your thoughts. This will also help you plan out what you do and don’t want to include.
Think of this as your first draft, you don’t have to have entire sentences right away. You can just jot down ideas, jokes, feelings, or whatever else comes to mind.
Don’t Overthink It
While it’s good to re-read and edit your vows, you don’t want it to get to the point where nothing sounds right anymore. Reading your vows over and over again can make you doubt what you’re writing and lead you to start overthinking. Going through it one or two times is enough.
Whatever you add to remove is already great. You need to trust that what you say to your spouse will be perfect because it came from your heart. Stressing out about every single detail might get you too frustrated which isn’t what writing vows is all about.
If what you’ve written reflects your love for your spouse then you should feel confident in it. Don’t worry too much because whatever you decide to say will be great.
Think of What You Want to Promise
The whole point of giving your marriage vows is to say what you want to promise them moving forward. Remember to be realistic with these while still being sweet.
You can add in promises that are broader and relate to how you’ll handle married life. You can add in more specific ones that cover inside jokes or unique things your spouse enjoys. As long as your promises are true and something you know you’ll keep forever.
Don’t make promises that are impossible to fulfill like “I promise to make you happy every day.” It’s better to accept that there will be hard moments and instead promise that you’ll still be there for them even when times are bad.
Inspire Yourself
If you can’t come up with something right away, don’t worry. You can take a step back and find some inspiration for your vows. Start flipping through old photos or hunt down songs and quotes online.
Think of stories that show off your relationship or memories of when your romance began. It’s normal to get a little blocked so do what you can to try spark excitement. You can even look at other vows online to motivate and guide you in writing yours.
Keep It Real
Marriage isn’t going to be without any struggles. It’s best to acknowledge that from the start so that you can make a plan on how to handle it together. Rather than aspiring to become the perfect husband or wife in your vows, it’s best to be yourself.
You can write about what the two of you have overcome and how you’ve both grown from it. Again, the most important thing is that you stay genuine. You want your vows to sound like they came from you, not a pre-written example.
Don’t be afraid to put in things only the two of you will understand or silly ways you talk to each other. Don’t think of it as a performance to all your wedding guests, all you need to think about is you and your spouse and what you want to say to them alone.
Practice Out Loud
Don’t be afraid to practice and read your vows out loud. This will help you get a good grasp of how everything sounds together.
It also helps you spot out more technical things like grammar or how long it’s going to take. If you want to make it clean, use tools like Grammarly.
You can even have a close friend with you so you can get a second opinion on how everything sounds together. They can even help you edit it if you’re too unsure of what you’ve written.
If you have a wedding coming up and don’t have all the funds for it, you can look into getting a wedding grant. Check here if you want to learn everything there is to know about wedding grants.
Start Writing Your Own Wedding Vows
Writing your wedding vows is a special process, naturally, you’ll want them to be perfect. We hope that after reading this article, we gave you a good idea of how to start. Hopefully, this article serves as a guide to helping convey what you want to say and promise to your significant other.
Why stop with your wedding vows? You need to learn how to plan out your wedding, send invitations, and get the right theme. If you enjoyed this article and found it informative, go and check out the rest of our guides here for more relationship tips!
