Wedding Ceremony Vows
Writing your personal vows is one of the most meaningful ways to personalise your wedding ceremony. It’s a chance to express your love, share your promises, and speak from the heart in a way that truly reflects your relationship. But let’s be honest; staring at a blank page or screen can feel daunting!
That’s why I’ve gathered a collection of real wedding vows from couples who have stood with me on their wedding day. These examples will inspire you, whether you’re aiming for something deeply romantic, light-hearted, and fun or a perfect mix of both.
As you read through these vows, remember there’s no “right” way to do this. Some couples keep it short and sweet, while others tell a story or weave in inside jokes. What matters most is that your words feel authentic to you. So, take a deep breath, let these vows spark some ideas, and trust that your love story is already the perfect foundation. By the end, you’ll be ready to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and craft vows that feel just right for your special day!
Remember, you must also say the legal vows, which can be incorporated into yours. See my Legal Requirements blog for what’s involved.
Sample Wedding Vows
To simplify this planning process, I’ve included 13 sets of vows written by real couples so you can see what both partners shared. I’ve arranged them in a way that takes you on a journey—starting with a short and sweet set of vows, moving into epic, storytelling-style exchanges, and covering everything in between. This way, you can explore a variety of tones and styles, finding what resonates most with you. Whether you’re drawn to something simple and heartfelt or a deeply expressive declaration, you’ll find plenty of inspiration to help shape your own vows.
Short and Sweet Vow
Person 1
I give you my heart and my promise,
That I will walk with you,
Hand in hand,
Wherever our journey leads
Person 2
(Name)/babe
Like you, I am going to make this short and sweet.
You are my best friend, and I promise to love you always.
Detailed and Elaborate Vows
Couple One A
Darling, you came into my life when I least expected you, how little did I know that chance encounter would change my life.
From the moment our paths crossed, you have captivated, challenged, and frustrated me; through your endless love and inspiration, you’ve also improved me. But above all you are the love of my life and you make me happier than I could ever imagine and more loved than I ever thought possible. You are the strength I didn’t know I needed, and now you have made me a full person, making me feel whole and complete. Because of this, I strive passionately and relentlessly to try and become the man I know you deserve.
Throughout our relationship, we have experienced great triumphs but also difficult challenges, challenges that have pushed us to the limit of what I thought we could endure. Fortunately, I was wrong because, despite the inevitable trials, I’ve learned that together, United, we can endure and overcome anything that we encounter.
And so as we stand here surrounded by the people we love, about to begin a new chapter of our lives, I make the following promises;
I promise to put you and our family first, but above all, always.
I promise to tell you every day how much I love and appreciate everything you do for our Whanau unless I forget and miss a day here and there, in which case I apologise profusely for now.
I promise to stand by your side and continue to help shoulder whatever challenges come our way, but to also celebrate all of our wins, whether they’re minor or major.
I promise to love, encourage, provide strength, and support you in any and every endeavour you wish to pursue.
I promise to listen, to hear, and always to consider your feelings and thoughts.
I promise always to protect you from harm, to stand with you against your troubles, and look to you when I need protection.
I promise to join your laughter with my own, and when you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.
I promise to continue learning from you and follow your example of patience and respect.
I promise to give you the best of me, my heart, my soul, forever for you are my soulmate.
Darling, you are my best friend, my rock, my inspiration, and on this day I cannot wait to make you my wife, I love you.
Couple One B
You were my reason back then, my reason today and my reason for the future. I choose you, again and again, at the start and finish of every single day.
I choose you to struggle and succeed with. To love and grow old with. I know that we will continue to find strength in one another and grow side by side, individually and as a couple.
I promise to love you fiercely in good times and bad, when life seems easy and when life seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is difficult.
I promise to protect you and defend you. I promise to always make you see your full potential and to always push you to achieve your goals and dreams personally, as husband and wife and as a family.
I promise to love you for who you are, who you were and who you will become. I promise to always make time for us no matter how many babies we have. I promise to always cherish and respect every inch of you for all of my years.
I promise that in our hard times, I will look back to this moment and remember exactly how I was feeling, and nothing will ever compare.
I promise never to go to sleep angry, and I promise always to be on your side and your biggest supporter, even if I don’t agree with you.
I promise to always prioritise the love you and I share so that Elsie and our future children can watch us grow old together while falling more and more in love with each other every day.
I take you to be my beautiful husband to love, hold, cherish, care for and love on our best days, worst days and every other day in between.
Couple Two A
You are my soulmate, my best friend, and my lover. I knew from the moment I met you, we were meant to be together.
You’re an amazing human being that always shows her love to its fullest potential. You support me when I need you and your always there in a blink of an eye. Whatever road we travel down, and wherever life takes us, I will always be by your side.
I promise to you love you unconditionally, honour you and cherish you for the rest of my days. I promise to be there to encourage you, and to motivate you to achieve all the things in life that I know you are capable of. I promise to trust and listen to you every day. I promise that I will still be the annoying, funny guy that you fell in love with and I promise to continue to make you laugh till we grow old.
You mean the world to me, and no one else’s opinion matters more. The smile on your face now brightens up my day more than any other.
I promise to be a great father to our future children. Let us continue to build our home full of laughter, love, and support. I want nothing more than to continue to respect you as my wife, resolve our problems as a team, and strive to be stronger every day.
Today is the beginning of the rest of our lives… so let’s make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
Couple Two B
From the very first time I laid my eyes on you, I knew that you were going to be my forever. From that very moment, I felt at ease. I felt as if you accepted me as I am, for who I truly am.
(Name), you and I both know how indecisive I can be at times. It took us booking three wedding venues to decide on the very first place we walked into finally. I simply don’t like to make decisions. But if there is one decision in my life that I know that I got right, it’s the one that I decided I would spend the rest of my life with you.
Loving you comes easy, even when you are in one of your annoying moods. You know me better than I know myself. You know how to make me laugh, even when I don’t necessarily want to.
Over the past five years, you have taught me a few things but most importantly you have taught me not only how to love but to be loved in return.
As I stand here in front of all our family and friends, I promise to be your faithful, loving wife.
I promise to keep our lives exciting, adventurous, and full of passion. I promise to be there for you when you need me, whenever you need me.
Because actions speak louder than words, I promise to show you, every day, that I know exactly how lucky I am to have you in my life.
And above all, regardless of the obstacles we will face in this life, I vow to love you from this day on, forever and always.
Couple Three A
I’m not sure what people usually write in their vows, you would probably tell me to Google it, but much like everything else we do, I figured I would just run with it and see what happens. From the beginning, you have always made me feel like I was the most important person in your life. From those very early days where you would stare straight into my eyes without saying anything, I knew exactly the words on your tongue because they were on mine too. You make me feel proud to tell people I am your fiancé, for now, and I feel as though I have found someone with a matched moral compass, holding hard work, honesty and respect at the heart of everything you do. You make me feel safe, sometimes highly frustrated, and supported all in the same breath.
I have always enjoyed the way you make every day an adventure, no matter how big or small the activity. From our first photograph in a shopping trolley to our easter sock exchange, you always notice and appreciate the small things in life. You are a loyal and reflective man, and someone who selflessly considers others wants and needs before your own. Your constant supply of energy and motivation help me through both positive and challenging days and your zest for exploration makes everyday something new.
I promise to listen to you most of the time and always ensure plenty of coffee in the house. I promise to value your opinions, possibly without judgment, and make you laugh, usually at my own expense.
I promise to be truthful with you and face all challenging speed bumps with an open mind.
I promise to support you through all of your goals and aspirations in the years to come.
I promise to value your contributions to our lives every day and to share with you the best version of myself with the same passion and excitement that you share with me every day.
There is a part of me that wishes I had met you sooner, but I know that the experiences I have had in years gone past have helped me to appreciate you for the kind and loving person you are today. We have always been a great team, and I look forward to spending the rest of my time with the best partner there is by my side, you.
Couple Three B
Hey (Name) – I love you.
Since the day you came into my life, I have experienced the most amazing feeling that has never left me. In fact, it seems to grow stronger every day. It’s a feeling so deep, so true, and so wonderful that I can’t imagine a world where it doesn’t exist. Thank you for giving this to me and finally allowing to make sense of all those smooshy love song lyrics.
Your ability to look after everyone else before yourself is your most beautiful quality. Your willingness to ‘skip to the solution’ has allowed us to overcome the obstacles we’ve faced, albeit that we don’t seem to have many. You have been the perfect partner to work with, to plan life with, to debate with, to play board games with, to lose board games too, to have question time with, to go on spur-of-the-moment day trips with… heck, to do anything with. The fact that you are so beautiful is just the cherry on the cake.
I said three things to you right back at the start of our relationship and never has there been a better place to remind you of them, than here, today:
I would treat you like a princess every day, I would be so proud to walk into anywhere with you on my arm and if I could choose one word to describe you, it would be ‘perfect’.
Well my perfect princess, words can’t describe how proud I am to be getting married to you.
This year, we climbed a mount together Slieve Bearnagh and I’d like to use this memory to help create my vows to you:
I promise to help be your map, your compass and your buddy on this little adventure we are on.
I promise to care for you, motivate you, and even carry you when you need me to.
I promise to help work out the way past every awkward boulder.
I promise that I will be there with you to share the peaks of every high and the valleys of every low.
I promise to enjoy every view on the way and point out the ones you may have missed.
When we reach each summit, I promise to be there to hug, celebrate, and eat a well-earned meal with before we move on to the next one.
Couple Four A
(Name) it means the world to me to be standing here today. I’m so lucky that I’m able to take my best friend’s hand in marriage and call you my wife.
Your smile and presence immediately put me at ease and always brighten my day. I love your quirkiness, your laugh, and the care and support you give me. I’m so proud of everything you have achieved, and I love that you just never give up. I’ve loved all our little adventures, all our fun holidays, and weekends at the football.
You’ve made me the person I always wanted to be, and I can’t imagine my life without you.
In return, I promise always to support you and be there to put a smile on your face. I promise to give you all the words when they are needed and the silence when they are not. I promise to love you unconditionally and to care for you and our families. I promise to keep getting you the blanket in the middle of the night when you’re cold and I’m in the middle of the best sleep ever. I promise to always protect you from the littlest of spiders I have to kill when I can’t even see them. I promise I’ll keep stopping what I’m doing so I can watch you crazily run around the house with Buckley. I promise I’ll always encourage you and have your back, and, lastly, I promise that when we are old and grey and reflect on our lives together I will still love you as much as I do today.
I will always laugh with you, cry with you, trust you and throughout all that life will bring us I’ll always cherish every moment, as one lifetime with you could never be enough. I love that I get to always live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home.
You are my world, my boo, my love and now my beautiful wife.
I love you (Name)
Couple Four B
(Name), You are always happy, adventurous, and strong! I love you because you love your family and friends just as fiercely as I love mine. I love that your family has become mine and my family has become yours. You are my soul mate and even though we don’t go for the same football team I am so happy we are on the same team!
You have taught me so many great values in life and helped me to become who I am today so for that I promise to always listen to you, learn from you, laugh with you, cry with you, value our differences just as much as our common ground, to share your journey with type 1 diabetes even if that means waking up during the night to feed you lollies but only if I can have one too.
I don’t know if this counts, but I can promise to evenly distribute my cuddle time between you and our fur baby, Buckley.
I promise to love you, to be your best friend, to respect and support you, to be patient with you, to work with you to achieve our goals, and to share my life with you forever.
You are the love of my life, and you make me happier than I could have ever imagined and more loved than I ever thought possible.
I’m so lucky you’re mine, and I look forward to our next chapter together as husband and wife; I love you forever.
Couple Five A
(Name), I’m glad and honoured to have you in my life, and I will continue to love and appreciate you for the rest of my life.
When I first met you, your smile and laugh captured my attention. That first meeting at Sue and Kevin’s was a fun evening.
I remember our first date was full of laughter, and the time seemed to go by so quickly. You insisted I come to your Christmas party.
Although things did not work out initially, and we weren’t destined to catch up again for a couple of years, I often thought about you and asked mutual friends how you were going.
When we did meet again, the fun, laughter, and lovely smile were still there. I’m grateful we got on again, and things progressed to this day.
We had a wonderful time travelling to Spain and walking part of the Camino. Although my attempts to grasp Spanish seemed to get you a bit irate, I always managed to get you a te’ Verdi and my cafe con leche. I look forward to the days when we can travel again.
I appreciate that you have given up the city for a life in the country. Although I often hear the words ” I hate gardening,” you seem to have fitted in very well.
We have survived trying times, including the COVID lockdown, enjoying our walks and getting to know each other even better.
You make me a better person, though as an artist, you must admit the canvas was pretty well prepared.
I will continue to try to appreciate tofu, chickpeas and all the other culinary delights you have introduced into my diet.
I love you.
Couple Five B
The actress Loretta Young said “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you” Love found me in the form of you. I am so glad that we decided to give our relationship another shot and thank you for giving me a second chance at happiness. You may not have walked 500 miles but you did walk 140k into my heart on the Camino, de-spite being pretty bad at learning Spanish!
I see us like yin and yang; what may seem like seemingly opposite traits are complementary
You are:
- the coffee to my tea
- the jam to my marmite
- the ice cream to my yoghurt
- the calmness to my boisterousness
- the thoughtful contemplation to my blurting
- the early riser to my late nights
- the numbers to my words
- the happy form filler to my form phobia
- the spider catcher to my screaming
- the quiet one to my noisiness
- the Eagles to my Kitaro
- the messy one to my organisation
- the sailing to my art
Yes, when you put all that together, we make a harmonious team!
I am so happy that I found my new Number 1 and that I am your Number one. You make me feel safe and protected and I know you will always have my back. So, I promise to continue to make you smile and make you as happy as you make me. Your smile makes me melt and I look forward to seeing it on a daily basis into our dotage. I vow to snuggle you as often as possible, to remember to close drawers after me, to continue to cook new and unusual foods and keep you on your toes!
I will always be your greatest friend and strongest ally, your partner in life. So let’s grow old(er) disgracefully and have a wonderful time sharing our lives together. I love you.
Couple Six A
We have been together for quite some time. 9 years and 9 days today.
Throughout these years:
We have been through hard times together, scraping by on less than minimum wage, navigating the pressures of university, enduring car accidents, and grappling with loss.
– Yet through it all, you have been my biggest supporter and the greatest partner I could have ever hoped for.
– Of course, alongside those lows, we have also celebrated milestones of pure joy, like graduations, new jobs, buying our first home and welcoming Chester into our lives.
Throughout these years:
– I have come to love you not only for the obvious reasons – like your gentle soul and caring nature,
– But also for some of the nuances that make you, you – like the joy that babies bring you or the way you can’t help but make facial expressions when you watch others interact from a distance.
– Most importantly, I have come to appreciate what some might have mistaken as red flags – like your hatred of fruit and obsession with cold and wet weather.
Throughout these years
There has always been the kind of love, understanding, and respect I imagine can only be shared when you have found your person.
So, today as we look towards our future together
– I promise always to respect you, take care of you and lift you up in times of need.
– I promise to be present and to enjoy life with you – to savour the highs as well as the lows, and to find joy in the simple pleasures as we grow old together.
Lastly, I promise to cherish our laughter and to try my best to make you smile each day.
In you, I have found my companion, my confidant, and my greatest love. Today, I stand before you with a heart full of gratitude, excited to begin our next chapter together.
Couple Six B
(Name),
As I stand here today in front of our family and friends (trying my best not to cry or throw up), I feel smug with happiness and gratitude for everything we’ve been through together, the life we’ve created, and everything that’s yet to come. From the moment you stepped into my life nine years and nine days ago today, it’s been a whirlwind of love, success, hardship, fun, adventure, and countless cherished memories.
We’ve talked about it many times before, but I truly am so grateful to both Barry and Candy for making the decision to move to Australia, then from WA to Queensland, and finally to Melbourne—to Templestowe College, no less—where we were able to meet.
From day one, you have been my best friend, teammate, and home. We’ve been on such an adventure together already, from squeezing into single beds at our parent’s houses (and being totally happy with that, I must add!), to catching the 903 Mordialloc bus for 2 hours on a Friday night to visit your dad when we didn’t have a car, to living, working, and studying in one bedroom at mum and dad’s place for 5 years, to all these years later, having bought our own home that we share with our beautiful boy Chester.
You have brought me joy, happiness, and laughter every day I have known you. You are the most curious person I know, always wanting to learn more and know more, and genuinely being fascinated by things most of us either don’t understand or find dead boring. You are unbelievably sentimental, the hardest worker I think I have ever met, and my favourite person on this planet.
As I stand here today, looking ahead at our life together, I make these promises to you.
- I promise to laugh with you every day, even when life is hard and things don’t feel funny
- I promise to practice patience even when it’s really, really difficult.
- I promise to always be on your team, cheering you on through all the hard times and celebrating with you through the good.
- I promise to listen to you enthusiastically as you try to teach me things I absolutely do not want to learn.
- And finally, I promise to love you, unconditionally. Forever.
I am so excited about our future—for all of the adventures we’ll have, the camping trips we’ll take, the nights on the couch with Chester, and the family we’ll create.
I can’t wait to do all of that as your wife, and to be able to call you my husband finally!
Sincere and Heartfelt Vows
Couple Seven A
When we first met, I saw a kind, caring, very loud but passionate woman. Nearly 5 years on, I can say your qualities have made me a better person each day. Even though I was hesitant, I have learnt to embrace my emotions rather than hold them inside, learnt how to make a cup of tea when I do not drink tea, and make sure dinner is ready by 6pm…sharp.
We have been through a lot together, both good and bad times, including my annoying gaming sessions and my long-distance travels for work.
Ultimately, we have supported each other through it all, and I know we will continue to do so. I believe we have acted like a married couple for some time now. Today we get to own each other’s butts officially!
I will always love you and I cannot wait to continue this journey together and officially start our family.
Couple Seven B
This is certainly closer to the magical day we had initially planned, friends, family and finally getting to wear my dress with pockets!
The past year has been amazing, and I vow today to do everything in my power to keep it that way, to love you, to laugh with you, and to tease you every day.
No matter what is going on, I cherish that you always have my back, ready to fight for me, listen to me vent, or tell me everything is going to be okay. You always make me feel supported and loved.
The best part of every day is coming home to see you, and I vow always to have a hug and smile waiting for you.
Being married to you these past 12 months has been amazing, and I cannot wait to see what our future brings, from building our house to hopefully one day having our own family. I am excited to grow with you and to love you each day for the rest of our lives.
Couple Eight A
To my lovely (Name),
I can’t wait to be silly together,
Make bad choices,
eat the wrong things,
take wrong turns,
and then tell great stories,
the same ones—forever and ever until no one can stand us but each other
You are my favourite thing.
Couple Eight B
(Name),
I promise always to be your number one fan and support all that you do, no matter what it may be.
I can’t wait to go through life with you as husband and wife and eventually grow old together, cherishing in all our memories.
I promise to always love you unconditionally, through all of the hard, the good and the mediocre times.
You are my soul mate, my one true love and I vow always to be your best friend and partner in crime,
You are the part of me I didn’t know was missing, and I can’t wait for the next phase of our lives together.
Couple Nine A
(Name),
Do you remember the first day we met? I was in a mustard dress… kicking the footy at you, craving your attention. I knew we were destined to be together from the moment we met. You have become my rock, lover, companion, and best friend.
I promise to share my whole heart with you and show you how deeply I care for you no matter how challenging the situation.
I promise to celebrate you and your achievements and to support you in your times of need.
I promise to be patient and loyal. I promise to love you for as long as I shall live. Al, I love you.
Couple Nine B
(NAME), you are the one I choose to spend the rest of my life with.
I love you for who you are, your caring nature and how you love me for the way I am.
I appreciate your continual commitment to our relationship and the time we spend planning the rest of our lives together.
As your wife, I promise to stand by your side throughout our life.
You’ll never be alone because I’ll be here for you.
To build you up when you feel down
When you need a little love, I’ve got a lot of love to share.
I want only the best for us and will continue to highlight the positives to make the most of every situation.
I can’t wait to live this life with you, the one we’re always planning.
I look forward to calling you my husband and the father of our children.
I am proud to call you mine forever.
Thank you for making my dreams come true.
Couple Ten A
(Name), you are my life’s love and my child’s mother. I promise to make you happy, laugh, always be there for you, and catch you should you fall. I promise to listen, to hear and always to consider your feelings and thoughts.
I vow to be a faithful husband and a caring and loving father to our baby and any future children we may have. I will always be there for our children and share the duties, just not the dirty nappies.
You are my other half, and the one that makes me laugh, you pick me up when I am down, you make me smile when I frown.
There truly are no words I can say that will tell you what you really mean to me. But I can show you how much I love you; you’re the one I want to see before I go to sleep and the one I want to wake up to.
For the rest of my life, I am yours.
I love you (Name), today and forever.
Couple Ten B
(Name),
Here, in front of everyone we love, I give you everything that I am: my dreams and my fears, my triumphs and my failures, and my constant reminders that McDonald’s and Dominoes are not a source of nutrition.
You support me when I need you, and I promise to support and encourage you as well as challenge and frustrate you.
I am grateful for the family and life we have created together, and I am so proud of you for many reasons. One of them is the caring and doting father you are to our beautiful Addison, but today, I am proud to call you my husband.
I promise to be there for you and our family, and I look forward to growing our family and growing old with you. You are my best friend and biggest supporter. I trust you with my life and love you with all my heart—forever and always.
Compact and Sincere Vows
Couple Eleven A
(Name), to say I love you is an understatement. I not only love you but I cherish and adore you. You are everything to me and I could not have pictured a more perfect person to spend my life with. I promise to be there when you need me the most, and to be by your side no matter what life throws at us. I can truly say I love you with all my heart.
Couple Eleven B
(Name), spending forever with you isn’t long enough in any lifetime. I promise to show you unconditional love and kindness in everything we do and to comfort you in times of sadness.
May our days be long, and may they be seasoned with laughter, adventure and pure joy.
Your heart is my home, and I am so thankful that we have each other every day.
Couple Twelve A
(Name),
Ever since we first met, I knew there was something special about you.
As we have grown together, it has become so much more.
You are not only the mother of our son, but also my best friend and soul mate.
I promise to do everything in my power to take care of you.
I will make you laugh in the good times and be a strong shoulder for you when there are challenges.
I love you (Name), now and always.
Couple Twelve B
When we first met, I knew I had found someone special, not knowing then, truly how special you would be to me. I am so grateful to have you as my partner in life, my friend, lover, father of my child, and now my husband.
I promise to love, cherish and respect you. With a large amount of that filled with humour
I promise I will spend my whole life loving you and to always be here with you on our journey through life together x
By now, you’ve seen how different couples have poured their hearts into their vows—some with poetic romance, others with humour, and all with deep sincerity. Hopefully, these real-life examples have shown you that there’s no single way to write the perfect vows—only the vows that are perfect for you. Whether you keep them simple and sweet or craft a heartfelt speech, the most important thing is that your words reflect the love, commitment, and joy you’re bringing into this next chapter.
So take what inspired you, make it your own, and trust that whatever you write will be exactly what your partner needs to hear. It’s not about impressing your guests or getting every word just right—it’s about speaking from the heart. And that is what makes your vows unforgettable. Happy writing!
And, if you’re looking for more resources to help with your vows, you can check out my other blogs:
