Good morning friends! Happy Wedding Wednesday!! Can you guys believe it’s already the last day of September? I can’t! This year has totally flown by and before we know it, it’s going to be 2016.

Our favorite part of wedding ceremonies are, without a doubt, the vows. Making a promise to love each other, protect each other, and honor each other … there’s just something sacred about it. It’s one of the most real moments any of our wedding clients have ever felt.  So today we are going to chat just a little bit about your wedding vows: should you go the traditional route, or, should you write your own and make them personalized?

Traditional Vows

According to this article from the Knot, vows can vary slightly in the actual verbiage depending on the religion and personal preference. The most common vow that we hear is:

“I, ___, take you, ___, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.”

The other most popular vow that we’ve heard is:

“______, will you have this woman/man, ______, to be your wedded wife/husband, to live together in marriage, will you love her/him, comfort her/him, honor her/him and keep her/him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?”

Traditional vows are simple, beautiful, and meaningful. They cover the real stuff that married couples will deal with – the good and the bad.

Personalized Vows

But sometimes, you just need to say more in your wedding vows. If the last 13 years has taught us anything, it’s that there’s a lot more to marriage and life and that every person (and therefore every couple) is entirely unique and has something interesting to promise each other. Do you remember way back when, when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston got married – that she promised to make him his favorite banana milkshake? We don’t know why, but that silly promise has always stuck with us and when we think of having some fun (and extra honesty) in your vows – it’s what always pops into our heads. With your vows, you have a unique opportunity to make real promises to each other.

We’ve had some couples incorporate personal touches to their vows, including to promise to support each other when their favorite football team loses, and to not leave the toilet seat up. We’ve had some couples promise to always make each other a priority, and go on date nights as often as they can. One bride even promised to always have a cold beer waiting for husband at the end of a hard day! The possibilities are really endless when it comes to what you want to say as you’re up there on the altar. Here’s a really awesome compilation of personalized vows that might serve as inspiration for you!

Traditional or Personalized Vows – A Final Thought

Whichever officiant you work with for your big day will also be able to help you decide which wedding vows you’d like to exchange – whether you want to go traditional or personal. You really can’t go wrong either way!

Have a question you’d love to ask about wedding planning? Email us at ashleydurhamstudios@gmail.com and you might just have your question featured!