How to Write Wedding Vows Part Two

You’ve brainstormed lots of ideas about what to include in your wedding vows. You’ve got personal anecdotes, poetry, jokes, and emotional words you want to include. Now comes more hard work: choosing what to put in and choosing what to leave out.

The most important thing to keep in mind as you look over all you’ve brainstormed is that you want to express your love and commitment to your partner in the best way possible that is true to both of you. If there’s anything in your arsenal of ideas that doesn’t really fit both of you or doesn’t directly pertain to your relationship, those should be the firs things to go. Regardless of how touching or funny they are, if they don’t directly pertain to you and your spouse-to-be, they have no place being in your wedding vows.

Next, look at the particular brainstorming areas. If you have an area dedicated to poetry, lyrics or literature, this is where you want to do some major cutting. At most, you should include one item from this brainstormed list. You don’t want your vows to be made up of mostly someone else’s words. If you really want to use a poem or a song, make sure you are only quoting a part of it (or it’s really short), and make sure it really relates to what you are trying to get across. Also, make sure you’re going to include an explanation of why it pertains to your partner and your relationship. Remember, this is not a requirement and a piece of words from someone else should only be used to illustrate a point of your relationship in a really meaningful way. Once you’ve narrowed it down to one verse or section, make sure it’s time-friendly and you know why you’re using it.