Memorizing Your Wedding Vows: It's Not as Hard as it Seems (third in a Series)

One of the hardest processes of creating your own Wedding Vows is being able to deliver verbatim (or at least close to) what you have written. Odds are you are already dealing with sweaty palms, butterflies in your stomach, and feeling a bit light-headed, but with a little bit of practice, you can memorize your Wedding Vows over the course of a few weeks or days (depending on amount of time you have) so it will become second nature.

The first step in the memorization process is to read your vows over and over again. Become familiar with every pause and note the rhythm of your speech. See how it flows when delivered comfortably and use this as your guideline. Memorizing your Wedding Vows is a bit like learning how to memorize a poem.

Next, take each paragraph and try to memorize it individually. When you feel that you have comfortably memorized the first paragraph, then start with the next, always building upon what you have learned. For example, if you feel you have memorized, say three paragraphs, start at the first one and repeat back all three before moving forward to the next one.

Now it is time to face yourself for the trial run. Find a large closet or bathroom mirror and pretend you are talking to your future husband or wife. Look directly into the mirror and repeat back what you have memorized. Be sure to give the other person full eye contact, speak clearly and not too hurriedly, and show appropriate gestures (holding his/her hand, picking the right time to place the ring on his or her finger, or waiting for a cue). Be sure to keep at this last step until you are 100% comfortable and confident that all of your hard work and planning are ready for one of the biggest moments in your life.

Please note: This article is #3 in the series on How to Write Your Own Wedding Vows. The first, deals with pre-writing and writing, and the second in the series address how to edit your Wedding Vows, and this one, #3, addresses memorization techniques for your Wedding Vows.