25+ fun wedding vows for modern couples
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Some people can’t wait to offer a combination of “love, honour and obey”. And if you’ve always dreamed of a ceremony centred on traditional wedding vows, that’s great. But these days, more and more couples are looking for something fresh and personal to start their marriage – even a promise to “love and cherish until death or zombies do us part”.
Here are 25+ fun and modern wedding vows you’ll love!
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1. You are my husband/wife. My feet shall run because of you. My feet shall dance because of you. My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind thinks because of you. And I shall love because of you.
Why we love it: Because it’s talking about the body but it really means the soul. And how cool would a marriage filled with running, dancing and thinking be? From the Eskimo Love Song.
I promise to encourage us to try new and unusual things. I vow to invest in loving you daily and to snuggle you as often as possible. I vow to be the best parts of me that fit perfectly with the best parts of you. Although I will be imperfect, I pledge to be sensitive and respectful of your unique talents, abilities and quirks. I pledge to lend you strength for all of your dreams. Through our union we can accomplish more than I could alone. I believe in you.
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2. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.
Why we love it: Because Arwen, from The Lord of the Rings, doesn’t need endless words to express her love for Aragorn. One perfect sentence is all it takes. The perfect short wedding vows.
3. I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad, carry you around when your arthritis is bad, all I wanna do is grow old with you. I’ll get your medicine when your tummy aches, build you a fire if the furnace breaks, oh it could be so nice, growing old with you. I’ll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold. Need you, feed you, even let you hold the remote control. So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink, put you to bed when you’ve had too much to drink, oh I could be the man (woman) who grows old with you, I wanna grow old with you.
Why we love it: If you think you’ve heard these words before, you have. They’re from The Wedding Singer, sung by a slightly vocally challenged Adam Sandler when he boards the plane and, with a little help from Billy Idol, gets the girl. Pure romance with a touch of humour and whimsy.
4. I love you, I knew it the minute I met you. I’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up, I just got stuck.
Why we love it: From that wonderful film Silver Linings Playbook, this oh-so-sweet quote shows a wonderfully sweet side of the person professing it, as well as a little timely vulnerability. It has serious ‘aww’ factor! And it’s short and sweet.
5. Celebrant: Do you take this man to be your husband?
Bride: I do.
Celebrant: Do you take this woman to be your wife?
Bride: He does.
Why we love it: Because it’s hilarious. Duh!
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6. I love you. Very simple. Very truly. You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. There isn’t another soul on this planet who has ever made me half the person I am when I’m with you. I am forever changed because of who you are and what you’ve meant to me (edited).
Why we love it: Who knew director Kevin Smith had such poetry in his soul, revealed in the outstanding Chasing Amy? It’s everything we would want to say, but more beautifully spelled out. Because that’s what two people embarking on marriage do – they help make each other better and find a new love for themselves in doing so.
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7. You are my best friend. I love you with all my heart and stand here before all of our friends and family, sharing the happiest day of my life. I want nothing more than to share my future with you – my triumphs and my challenges, my joys and my sorrows. Together, I know we can accomplish the life we both dream of living.
Why we love it: There is nothing more exciting than finding your best friend and lover all rolled into one – a meeting of minds and magic that offers infinite possibilities.
8. Jamie Marie, from this day forward I promise to be worth it. Worth the time. Worth the trip. Worth the energy. Worth the embarrassment. Worth your love. I promise that you will always count. You will always come first, and of course, if you don’t for whatever reason, I will buy you some shoes. From the moment you entered my world, you have filled it with life, colour and energy like never before … like kool-aid in a mud puddle … or a cupcake in a salad … or a rose garden in a junk yard. You are my rose, Jamie Marie, and I promise to devote my life to being your dirt.
Why we love it: These real-life vows from comedian John Caprulo strike just the right note between romantic, funny and touching. He’s not afraid to put his heart on his sleeve and say ‘My life is much better for having you in it.’
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9. Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.
Always.
Why we love it: All three of these seemingly cryptic quotes come courtesy of J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter characters and, though they have very specific meanings relevant to specific incidents in her books, they each stand alone as wonderfully loving passages that make them perfect for the moment two people profess their undying love to each other.
10. Here in front of everyone we love, I give you everything that I am. My dreams and my fears. My triumphs and my failures. I trust you, and will always endeavour to be worthy of your trust in me. If we face times of struggle and hardship, you can depend on me to support and protect you, no matter what the cost.
Why we love it: Because nobody throws a wedding like a daytime soapie, and these vows from The Bold and The Beautiful prove why they’re such a viewer favourite.
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11. When I say, ‘I love you’, it’s not because I want you or because I can’t have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I’ve seen your kindness and your strength. I’ve seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You’re a hell of a woman/man. You’re the one.
Why we love it: Because Spike and Buffy were the ultimate star-crossed lovers turned soulmates. And woe betide you get in their way…
12. You are my inspiration and my soul’s fire. You are the magic of my days. You help me laugh, you teach me love. You provide a safe place for me, unlike I’ve ever known. You free me to sing my own song. You are more of an amazement to me, each day I rediscover you. You are my greatest boon. I am yours. You are mine. Of this we are certain. You are lodged in my heart. The small key is lost. You must stay there forever.
Why we love it: Because it was written by Frau Ava in the 1100s and is still as relevant today as it was then.
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13. From the moment our paths crossed, you’ve captivated me, challenged me, frustrated me and improved me in ways no person has done before. And I have fallen in love with you again and again. I promise to be true to you, to support and encourage you and to challenge and frustrate you. I truly believe we are good for each other and that we will continue to grow stronger together
Why we love it: Because good for each other is a great base for good to each other.
14. You know that there are some things I don’t believe in. But today, I want to tell you about some things I do believe in. I believe in sunrises and sunsets. I believe in hikes in the woods and walks on the beach.… I believe in all the beauty, the mystery and the wonder of life, and I believe that these joys, like all joys, are multiplied when you have someone to share them with. And I’m here because I want you to be that person. There’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with. I love your shy smile, your sweet laugh, your sense of humor, and your adventurousness. And most of all, I love the way you make me happier than I thought anyone ever could. That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I’m marrying you today.
Why we love it: Because love, like joy, is always better shared.
15. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride. So I love you because I know no other way than this. Where I does not exist, nor you. So close that your hand on my chest is my hand. So close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
Why we love it: Because the beautiful words of Pablo Neruda should be essential in any wedding ceremony.
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Or a slight twist on Pablo Neruda:
16. I love you without knowing how, or when or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride. Loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. Home is wherever you are. I love you not for what you are but what you are when I’m with you.
Why we love it: Because houses come and go, friends come and go, jobs come and go. But home? That’s something you hold in each other’s hand and hearts.
17. Today, as I give myself to you, my mind is clear and my commitment is strong and without reservation. I take you to be my life’s partner. I will never leave you nor forsake you; I will spend all my days at your side. We will share a lifetime of eternal, immeasurable love.
Why we love it: Because these few short sentences pack such a punch; love really is all you need it (well that and sandwiches).
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18. Let us be friends and lovers, and grow old disgracefully together.
Why we love it: Because it sounds like an awesome adventure.
19. I used to be afraid of falling in love, of giving my heart away. How could I trust a man/woman to love me? To give me all that I wanted to give to him/her? But when I met you, I realised how much we could share together. You have renewed my life. Today I join that life with yours.
Why we love it: Love is a giant leap of faith. It’s putting your heart in someone’s else’s hands and trusting them to protect it. And what’s more symbolic of this than a wedding?
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20. There are three words that are stronger than I love you. Today I stand in front of you to say ‘I choose you’. I choose you over all others. I choose you to share happiness with. I choose you to care for. I choose you to have a family with. I choose you to grow with. I choose you to love forever.
Why we love it: Because it’s marriage in a nutshell. The choice to team up for an adventure through the known and, even more excitingly, the unknown.
21. I love you, with everything I have. Today I am so proud to call you my husband/wife. Words will never be enough to show the love I have for you. When I’m with you my heart beats so fast. I feel like it may explode if I let myself feel just how much I love you. The extent of your beauty is overwhelming, both inside and out. I could not possibly live without you. I promise to be there for you and our family, and I will never let you down. I look forward to growing old with you. You are my best friend, and my soulmate, I have loved you since the day I met you, and I will continue to do so until forever.
Why we love it: Because, of course, you can’t possibly live without each other.
22. I promise to protect you from carbon freezing and promise to protect you from the Dark Side, through hyperspace and into the far reaches of the galaxy.
Why we love it: Because Star Wars fans are in it for the long haul.
23. Groom: I promise to love, cherish, and care for you in sickness and in health. Unless the reason for your illness is the fact, you have just seen our latest credit card bill and realised just how much you spent last month.
Bride: I promise to love, cherish, and care for you in sickness and in health. Unless it is 3am and the reason for your illness is alcohol-induced, and the care involves sitting with you beside the toilet bowl with a wet cloth.
Why we love it: Because it’s so funny and personal, and a lot more realistic than promises to never share an angry word.
24. She is the only evidence of God I have seen with the exception of the mysterious force that removes one sock from the dryer every time I do my laundry.
Why we love it: If you’re having a religious ceremony, or even if you believe in a higher power, this lovely quote, from St. Elmo’s Fire, is serious, but also humorous at the same time, the perfect mix for the wedding vows of a bride or groom who isn’t afraid to have a little fun during such an important moment.
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25. I promise to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give. I promise to accept you the way you are. I fell in love with you for the qualities, abilities, and outlook on life that you have, and won’t try to reshape you in a different image. I promise to respect you as a person with your own interests, desires, and needs, and to realise that those are sometimes different, but no less important, than my own. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see through the window of my personal world into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to grow along with you, to be willing to face change as we both change in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting. And finally, I promise to love you in good times and in bad, with all I have to give and all I feel inside, in the only way I know how … completely and forever.
Why we love it: Because it so beautifully illustrates the realities of for better and for worse. That a wedding ring isn’t a guarantee of happily ever after. That takes work – from two people who acknowledge their differences but also their desire to grow a life together. And what could be more romantic than that?
26. I came to this place today as a man/woman standing alone. I will walk from it by your side. Today I cross the threshold with you and enter into a new and lasting lifetime commitment. I commit myself to you as your husband/wife.
