Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

August 2018

Wedding Vows Ideas: Inspirational Love Quotes and How to Write Your Own

Putting your love into words for your own wedding vows is no easy task! Here are some tips, examples, and inspirational love quotes to get your creative juices flowing.

Writing your own wedding vows adds a deeply personal touch to your wedding celebrations. You can express everything in your heart, and make promises that reflect your unique relationship with your partner. It’s a beautiful way to seal your commitment in front of all the people you hold dear.

Putting all the deep emotions you feel into words can be a little difficult, so here are a few pointers to get you started. Set aside an hour or two with pen and paper, and jot down notes about your partner, your relationship, and the promises you’d like to make. Once you’ve made all your notes, you can sift through them to pick out the most emotional and salient points to craft your wedding vows. We’ve also rounded up some of our favourite love quotes to inspire your own declaration of love. Keep your vows short and sweet; a minute or two sounds short but is the perfect length.

Adrianne and Will’s Beautiful Wedding at The Refinery by Bloc Memoire Photography

How to Write Your Own Wedding Vows

1. Make sure everyone is on the same page

Let your solemniser know that you intend to write your own wedding vows, so that everyone’s on the same page. Some religions require the use of traditional wedding vows, so have a chat with your officiant before writing your own.

2. Decide on the tone

You’ll also need to talk to your significant other. Are you both committed to writing your own vows, or does he think the traditional ones are more appropriate to the occasion? Will you take a lighter, more humorous tone, or will the vows be serious and romantic? Have a chat so that you both make similar levels of declaration; you don’t want to promise never to eat the last cookie when your partner solemnly pledges to lay down his life for you.

3. Extol your partner

Personalise your wedding vows by including what you love most about your partner. Take the opportunity to declare your love in front of all the people both you hold dear. Think about your first impressions of your partner, what made you fall in love with him or her, what qualities you most admire, and how they teach you to be a better person.

4. Contemplate your relationship

Writing your own wedding vows lets you craft them to truly reflect your journey together. Answer these questions to jumpstart your reflections:

  • What are some hard times you’ve supported each other through?
  • What are some milestones you’ve achieved together?
  • What do you love doing together?
  • When did you first know you wanted to marry your partner?
  • How have you changed throughout your relationship?
  • How does your partner inspire you?
Joanne and Russell’s Magical Horseback Wedding at Capella Singapore by Pixioo

5. Get inspired

Read through other couples’ wedding vows, traditional wedding vows, love quotes from the movies, your favourite books, or tv shows to get inspired by other great love stories. Make references to your shared favourite sitcom, or to your partner’s favourite author. Below, we’ve rounded up some love quotes and examples to get your creative juices flowing. Look for beautiful phrases that resonate with you, and choose those that best fit your personal vows.

6. Avoid cryptic references or inside jokes

You’ve invited your nearest and dearest to witness your public declaration of love and commitment, so take the opportunity to say it loud and proud. Save the inside jokes and deeply personal anecdotes for a private letter to your significant other, so that your audience doesn’t feel lost when they’re trying to celebrate you.

7. Make promises to each other

It’s a wedding vow, so you should include some promises to each other to reflect this deep act of commitment. Writing your own wedding vows lets you be more personal and specific. While you might choose to inject a little humour and talk about your partner’s quirks, you should also acknowledge the seriousness of your commitment by including promises about your love and how you will be sharing your lives.

8. Edit and shorten

Once you’ve written out all your notes, you can sift through them to pick out the best moments and most meaningful phrases. A good way to keep it short is to focus on three main points: what you love about your partner, what you’ve been through, and the promises you want to make to him or her for your new life together.

9. Practise, practise, practise

Like any other public speaking opportunity, your wedding vows need practice! Read your vows aloud so that you’re comfortable with the rhythm of the phrases. Edit out any words that are tripping you up, and shorten sentences that are too long. Take a video of yourself so that you can learn from each practice. While you can use a pretty wedding vows card to prompt you during the ceremony, it’s definitely better if you can look into your partner’s eyes and share a connection as you’re making your vows, so get as familiar with your words as you can before your big day.

Deborah and Donavan’s Beautiful Navy and Gold Pan Pacific Singapore Wedding by The Analog Co.

Beautiful Wedding Vows Quotes and Examples

For inspiration, here’s a collection of beautifully written love quotes, poetry, and wedding vow extracts, whether traditional or from the silver screen.

“i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

                                                                 i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)”

— “I Carry Your Heart with Me” by E. E. Cummings

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”

― 100 Love Sonnets, Pablo Neruda

“You make me thank god for every mistake I ever made, because each one led me down the path that brought me to you.”

— Pablo Neruda

“When two souls fall in love, there is nothing else but the
yearning to be close to the other. The presence that is felt
through a hand held, a voice heard, or a smile seen.”

― Lang Leav

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

— Dr. Seuss

Shaotong and Abel’s Intimate Faber Peak Wedding by One Eye Click Photography

“You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end.”

— Bob Marley

“I, _____, take you, _____, 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 do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”

— Traditional Catholic wedding vows

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

— Lao Tzu

“After all this time?” “Always.”

— Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

— Holy Bible

Eve and Scott’s Bright and Cheery MacRitchie Reservoir Wedding Solemnisation by Andri Tei Photography

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours.”

— The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks

“It’s always been you.”

— F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

“You make me happier than I ever thought I could be, and if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way.”

— F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

“I wondered if I would ever find my prince, my soul mate. Then three years ago, at another wedding I turned to a friend for comfort. And instead, I found everything that I’d ever been looking for my whole life. And now, here we are, with our future before us, and I only want to spend it with you, my prince, my soul mate, my friend.”

— F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

“I wasn’t sure this day would ever come, but you were. I wasn’t sure love could survive everything we put it through, but you were. You were always strong and always sure. And now I know I want you to stand beside me for the rest of my life. That’s what I’m sure of.”

— Boy Meets World

“The things that you have done for me—to help me, support me, surprise me, to make me happy—go above and beyond what any person deserves. You’re all I need. I love you and I like you.”

— Parks and Recreation

“I, Daphne Moon, do take thee, Niles Crane, as my husband. I promise you my fidelity and my support, my laughter and my tears, my constant friendship and my unending love as long as we both shall live.”

— Frasier

Jophia and Larry’s Mystical Origami Crane Wedding at The Joyden Hall by Caline Ng Photography

“You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend. My heart beats for you, and on this day, the day of our wedding, I promise you this. I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hands. I promise you me.”

— Grey’s Anatomy

“You. You’re everything. I love you, and I’m not going to stop loving you. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to prove it.”

— Grey’s Anatomy

“To me, you are perfect.”

— Love Actually

“True love lasts a lifetime.”

— Love Actually

“When you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

— When Harry Met Sally

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”

— George Sand

“Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.”

— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“I look at you and see the rest of my life in front of my eyes.”

— Unknown

Vivian and Josh’s Parisian Garden Wedding at Grand Hyatt Singapore by Bloc Memoire Photography

“I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow.”

— Leo Christopher

“I choose you. And I’ll choose you over and over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat, I’ll keep choosing you.”

— Unknown

“All of me loves all of you.”

— John Legend

“I choose you. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To be joy to your heart and food for your soul. To learn with you and grow with you, even as time and life change us both. I promise to laugh with you in good times and struggle alongside you in bad times. I promise to respect you and cherish you as an individual, a partner, and an equal, knowing that we do not complete, but complement each other. May we have many adventures and grow old together.”

— A Practical Wedding

“Today, I promise you this: 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. Together, let us build a home filled with learning, laughter, and light, shared freely with all who may live there. Let us be partners, friends, and lovers, today and all of the days that follow.”

— A Practical Wedding

“I, Alex, take you, Sam, to be my wife. I promise to always be your biggest fan and your partner in crime. I promise to create and support a family with you, in a household filled with laughter, patience, understanding, and love. I vow not just to grow old together, but to grow together. I will love you faithfully through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there, each one believing that love never dies. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.”

— A Practical Wedding


Credits: Feature image from Lowee and Shaun’s Cosy and Dreamy Botanical-Themed Solemnisation at Grub at Bishan Park by Smittenpixels Photography

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Wedding Vows Ideas: Inspirational Love Quotes and How to Write Your Own