Your Wedding Ceremony and Wedding Vows

Whilst many a bride and groom tear their hair out worrying that their wedding ceremony and vows are not quite meaningful enough or quite creative enough, in fact, the only legal requirement for a wedding ceremony is that at some point, the bride and groom both say, "I, (name), take you, (name) to be my legal husband" and vice versa and that 2 witnesses and a registered celebrant sign a wedding certificate. So let's take the pressure off and look at what you could add to the legal basic requirements, if you want to!

Wedding Ceremonies

Rather than a ceremony that takes but a few minutes, more typically a wedding ceremony can include all (or some) of the following elements:

• Welcome and introduction
• The meaning of marriage
• Giving away by of the bride
• Declaration of support
• Declaration of intent by the bride and the groom
• Wedding vows
• Exchanging of rings
• Pronouncement of marriage
• Signing the register
• Conclusion.

Additional elements such as blessings, readings, poems, prayers, songs and candle lightings. You may find that your wedding celebrant is able to suggest ideas for these (based on experience),but you can also find lots of choices online and at the library.

Wedding Vows

If the idea of writing your own wedding vows brings you out in a cold sweat, then just do not worry about it! Your wedding celebrant should be able to help you out with sample vows that you can either use as your own or play around with. Here are samples of some commonly used vows:

Traditional Wedding Vows

I, (bride/groom's name), take you (groom/bride's name), to be my (wife/husband),
To have and to hold you from this day forward,
For better or for worse,
For richer or for poorer,
In sickness and in health.
I further promise to love you and cherish you,
And be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live.

Traditional Religious Wedding Vows

I, (bride/groom's name), take you, (groom/bride's name), to be my (wife/husband), knowing in my heart that you will be a faithful friend and a true and loving companion.
On this special day, in the presence of God, our relatives, and our friends as witnesses, I give to you my sacred vow that as your (wife/husband), I will always be with you and support you
In times of sickness and in times of health
In times of joy and in times of sorrow.
I promise to love you completely
To console and comfort you during difficult times
To encourage you to achieve your full potential
To laugh with you and to grieve with you
To share with you life's simplest but most enduring pleasures
To be truthful and honest with you
And to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

Contemporary Wedding Vows

I, (groom/bride's name), take you (bride/groom's name), to be my (wife/husband), 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.
I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.
What may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep.

More About Wedding Ceremonies and Vows

View NZ Wedding Guide's wedding ceremony and vows information, or return to NZ Wedding Guide's main page.