Reception - Tips to write your wedding vows

Writing your own wedding vows put a nice personal and unique touch to your wedding. These personalised vows will add romance and feeling to your ceremony and allow you both to express exactly how you feel about each other.

Writing your wedding vows may be a daunting task. Although you know how you feel about the person you are about to marry, it is not always easy to put those feelings into coherent words.

Some tips and questions to get you started:

• Write about what you feel, not what others are expecting
• When you two met, where were you in your life?
• How did your views on life change when you met?
• When did you first meet? What were your initial feelings about him/her?
• Describe the feeling and moment when you realised you love him/her.
• What qualities in him/her inspire you the most? What have you learnt from each other?
• What goals and dreams do you both share with each other?
• Think about the turning points in your relationship, be it happy, sad or inspiring. Describe them and how it made your love stronger.
• Why do you want to be married to him/her?
• Describe the day when you/he/she asked you to marry her/him. How did you feel when you/he/she proposed?
• Think about your childhood dream about your wedding and lifelong partner. Describe how this dream matches up (or not!) with him/her.
• What are you most looking forward to in your life together?

Some examples to help you get started:

• I've dreamed of this a thousand times, Standing before the man I love, Vowing to be with him forever, Sending prayers to the Lord above, Now here I am beside you, Holding your hand, letting a new life begin, Not fully understanding it all, But ready to jump out and dive in, With all that I have and all that I am, I'm forever a part of you, You're forever a part of me, And there's not a solitary thing I won't do for you, You are my life and the reason I breathe ,And upon this evening, I vow I'll give you my world and all that I am, In this moment - right here and right now, Forever is longer than either of us knows, But I want to spend it by your side, Eternity is farther than we can see, But together we'll take the ride, This is the beginning of forever, Unselfish love starts here I promise to you, I will love you, And together the road will be clear. I LOVE YOU.
• Dear Jennifer, In the past few days I've been something that I've rarely been at any other time in my life - silent. But you're at least partly to blame. From the day we met, you've surprised me, challenged me, and engaged me in a way that no other human being ever has. And I've never been able to tell you what that meant to me. But today, of all days, I have to find a way. Before I knew you, I wasn't living. I was waiting. And hoping. Because even though I've lived my life in a cold and souless city - I've always known that somewhere in the heart of it there is a wall and then there is a door. And if you're lucky enough to get inside, you'll be about as close as any of us are going to get to the Garden Of Eden. I know this is gonna sound ridiculous, but I feel that's pretty much where I'm standing right now, sans snake and the apple tree, of course.
• I offer you not the 'summer of my life', but the autumn brisk and vibrant. I promise to be a companion worthy of your precious friendship. I pledge you compassion in good times and bad, encouragement in sickness and health. It is with my intent that our life together include our large circle of friends and our loving families. We'll cherish the memories of our individual pasts; and create our new life as we go along together.
• I accept you to be my husband, secure in knowledge that you will be my friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. On this special day, I give to you in the presence of all those in attendance my promise to stay by your side; As your wife in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through good times and bad. I promise to love you, comfort you in times of distress... laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.
• As you have been by my side through my darkest hours, so I will be a light in your life. I will listen to your concerns and not judge. I will lift you up and support you through laughter and through tears. As you have cared for me in times of infirmity, so I will keep you sheltered when storms arise. I will comfort and console you. I will be the rock that you stand on, the staff that you lean on, and the wings that allow you to fly. As you have inspired me to follow my dreams, so I will strive to help you achieve your goals. I will encourage you in your endeavors and nourish your spirit as you walk through this life. As you have loved me, so I will love you. I will be by your side, a part of one entity, but above all else, I will allow you to be you.