One of the most important parts of your wedding day is the moment you and your spouse-to-be exchange vows. But many couples have no clue what to say! Below we’re sharing traditional wedding vows to inspire you and help you find the perfect words for your ceremony.
PS: Not into wedding vow traditions or traditional wedding vows? Check out our favourite modern wedding vows!
Wedding vows traditions: Are traditional wedding vows right for me?
Before we get into the vows, you might be wondering if traditional vows are the way to go. After all, you’re getting married in the 21st Century, not the 1500s. But traditional wedding vows could be the right choice for your modern age wedding.
Traditional vows are traditional for a reason. They have stood the test of time and their words are still meaningful to couples hundreds of years later. Even though the words aren’t uniquely yours, you can still have a special moment reciting them with your partner.
There’s something powerful about being able to speak the exact same words that have been said between newlyweds for centuries. This could be even more meaningful to you if you know that your parents, or your grandparents, also used these traditional vows at their weddings.
If you’re religious, traditional vows are a great way to honour that part of you by including your beliefs in your wedding vows. While many traditional vows do have religious origins, you can still opt for traditional vows even if you’re not religious. You can simply remove any mention of “God” or other religious phrases from the vows below.
Remember, traditional vows can always be used as a starting point. You can recite these vows word for word or you can allow them to inspire you to write your own vows. You can tweak them, combine a few different ones or recite them verbatim – it’s completely up to you!
Top 20 traditional wedding vows
Do you take X as your lawfully wedded wife/husband
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), 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 in health, until death does us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
Covenant before God
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be my wife/husband, and I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be your loving and faithful husband/wife in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.
These things I promise you
I, (NAME), take you, to be my (wife/husband), and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, and as long as we live.
My solemn vow
In the name of God, I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death. This is my solemn vow.
Pledge thee my faith
I, (NAME), take thee, (NAME), to be my wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.
With divine assistance
In the presence of God and these our friends, I take thee to be my wife/husband, promising with divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband/wife so long as we both shall live.
Holy relationship of marriage
(NAME), I now take you to be my wedded wife/husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy relationship of marriage. I promise to love and comfort you, honor and keep you, and forsaking all others, I will be yours alone as long as we both shall live.
Until death parts us
I take you, (NAME), to be my wife/husband from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come, and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.
In honesty and sincerity
I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you a faithful and helpful wife/husband.
Love, honor and respect
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), as my wedded wife/husband and I promise you love, honor and respect; to be faithful to you, and not to forsake you until death do us part. So help me God, one in the Holy Trinity and all the Saints.
Abiding love
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not yet know, I will respect your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me, through all our years, and in all that life may bring us.
My hand, my heart and my spirit
I, (NAME), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee, (NAME), to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself.”
All the days of my life
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.
Equal partner
I, (NAME) , commit myself to you, (NAME), as (wife/husband) to learn and grow with, to explore and adventure with, to respect you in everything as an equal partner, in the foreknowledge of joy and pain, strength and weariness, direction and doubt, for all the risings and settings of the sun. We tie these knots to symbolize our connection to one another. They represent our trust in each other and our combined strength together.
I choose you
(NAME), I take you as my wife/husband, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.
One true love
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be my husband/wife, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you. Through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. Whatever may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.
Lifelong union
I vow to be your faithful husband/wife, understanding that marriage is a lifelong union, and not to be entered into lightly, for the purpose of mutual fellowship, encouragement, and understanding; for the procreation of children and their physical and spiritual nurture. I hereby give myself to you in this cause with my sacred vow before God.
Through the best and the worst
I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), to be my wife/husband and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, and as long as we live.
Declare your intent
I take you, (NAME), to be my husband/wife from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come, and I promise to be faithful to you of God and this congregation to declare your intent.
Life with you forevermore
Before our friends and those so special to us here, on this wonderful day of gladness and good fortune, I, (NAME), take you, (NAME), as my husband/wife, in friendship, and in love, in strength and weakness, to share the good times and misfortune, in achievement and failure, to celebrate life with you forevermore.
What about alternative wedding vows?
So you’ve read through the top 20 traditional wedding vows and you’re not sure if traditional is for you? That’s okay! There are lots of other vow options out there. You can choose vows that are more modern, personal or alternative.
Check out a sampling of some alternative vows below that might be more your style:
Share in your dreams
From this day forward I promise you these things:
I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow.
I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to achieve your goals.
I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement.
I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don’t.
I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health.
You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always.
Biggest adventure
Today I stand before you, ready to start the biggest adventure of our lives. I know it will be really hard, and some days will take a lot of work. But I also know that there will be days filled with love, laughter, and pure bliss. I can’t imagine sharing this adventure with anyone else but you. You’re my best friend, the love of my life, and my soul mate. Today I promise to stand by your side and to love you always.
Best friend for life
(NAME), you are my best friend for life. I pledge to honour, encourage, and support you through our walk together. When our way becomes difficult, I promise to stand by you and uplift you, so that through our bond we can accomplish more than we could alone. I promise to work at our love, and always make you a priority in my life. With every beat of my heart, I will love you.
As we build our lives
(NAME), I pledge to you to be your loving friend and partner in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate you; to respect and cherish your uniqueness; and to support, comfort, and strengthen you through life’s joys and sorrows. I promise to share hopes, thoughts, and dreams as we build our lives together. May our lives be ever intertwined, our love keep us together. May we build a home that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honour for others and each other. And may our home be forever filled with peace, happiness, and love.
For more alternative vows and vow inspiration, check out our list of 22 vows perfect for any wedding ceremony!
Write your own vows
Have you considered writing your own vows? As officiants who have married hundreds of couples, we always love when our couples choose to write their own wedding vows. There’s something so special about writing the promises that you make to your spouse, and taking that time to reflect on your relationship and marriage ahead.
A lot of people are scared to commit to the best wedding vows ever but they have no idea where to start. They’re convinced that they are a horrible writer or just not that romantic. We get it! It can be a lot of pressure to try and sum up your entire relationship and promises for your marriage in just a few lines.
Which is why we created our How To Write Your Own Wedding Vows Online Course to walk you through the process of writing your own personalized wedding vows. We break down the process, step by step, so you’re not just staring at a blank page. This course will help you get over the worst case of writer’s block and add that personal touch to your ceremony.
Check out our wedding vow writing course here!
