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Wedding Vow Examples & How to Write Your Own

Four original examples, a structure that always works, and the habits that ruin a good vow.

Four example vows (original, free to adapt)

Classic, short

I, Emma, take you, James, to be my husband. I promise to laugh with you in good times and be steady with you in hard ones, to listen more than I speak, and to keep choosing you — today, next year, and every ordinary Tuesday in between.

The promise list

These are the things I promise to keep doing. I promise to make you coffee before the world wakes up. I promise to be the person you can be tired in front of. I promise to keep asking questions about your day, even when I already know the answer. And I promise that our worst week will be something we get through together, not something we get through apart.

A little funny

James, I love you — even though you load the dishwasher like a man being timed. I promise to travel with you, argue fairly with you, and let you pick the music at least a third of the time. I promise to be your favourite person to come home to.

For a civil ceremony

We stand here because we choose each other freely. We promise to respect the life each of us already has, and to build one we share: honest about money, generous with time, patient with families, and kind when we are tired.

Copy any of them, then edit until it sounds like you — read it aloud twice; anything you stumble over gets cut.

A structure that always works

Name and address. "I, ___ , take you, ___ ." It grounds everyone.
Three promises. Concrete beats poetic: dishwasher, hospital waiting room, Sunday mornings.
One specific memory. A single detail makes a room believe you.
The close. Return to the promise: what you will keep doing.

What to avoid

Inside jokes nobody else understands — one is fine, a paragraph is not.
Lists of ten promises; you will not keep them all and they are hard to say.
Reading something that is not yours. Adapt these, do not borrow someone else's. Our thank-you tool uses the same principle for cards.

What this tool does

Free, no signup, one-click copy — everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
40+ ideas in one run — from two first names, a shared surname and the wedding year.
Grouped into four sets — name mashups, puns & wordplay, classics, and date-based options.
Copy all / Download — grab one tag, or export the whole list as a text file for your planner or printer.
“IG” check link — every tag links straight to Instagram's tag page so you can see with one click whether it is already in use.
500 surname pages — ready-made ideas for the most common surnames.

Frequently asked questions

How long should wedding vows be?

Sixty to ninety seconds each — roughly 150–200 words. Short enough to say without shaking, long enough to mean something.

Can we write vows together?

Yes, and it is often calmer: agree a length and a tone, write separately, then read them to each other once before the day.

Do vows have to be religious?

No. Civil and non-religious vows work the same way: a promise, made publicly, with the people you love as witnesses.

Can I use these examples?

Yes — they are original templates written for this site, free to adapt for your own ceremony.

Updated 2026-09-26