First Vows (declaration of consent)
First Vows (Declaration of Consent):
Will you ____, have this man/woman from this day forward to be your wedded wife/husband, to live together (in God’s love) in the sacred state of matrimony?
Do you promise to love her/him, comfort her/him, honor and cherish her/him, in sickness and health, in trying times and smooth, in lean times and full, all the days of your lives? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #2
____, will you have this man/woman to be your wife/husband to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #3
____, will you take ____, to be your wedded wife/husband, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #4
____, do you take ____, for your lawfully wedded wife/husband, to love and cherish from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #5
Will you, _____ have this man/woman from this day forward to be your wedded wife/husband, in times of celebration, in times of sadness, in times of pleasure and in times of pain, in times of sickness and times of health? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #6
The apostle Paul compared the relationship between husband and wife to that between Christ and the church. Marriage is a decision of two individuals to share the same type of pure, Christian love described by Paul in I Corinthians 13:4-8 - 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 selfish, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and is always ready to endure whatever comes. Love never fails…
Two lives, shared with this kind of love, can hold more fulfillment and happiness than either life alone.
_______, are you ready to enter into marriage with ____, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things? If so, say, "I am."
Selection #7 _______ and _____, as you come this day to affirm your love and commitment, may you always remember to value each other as special and unique individuals, and that you respect each other’s thoughts, ideas and feelings. May you be able to forgive and to forget when wronged, and live each day that you may share it together – as from this day forward you will be each others’ home, comfort and sanctuary.
________, will you embrace/take ________ as your wife/husband; As your companion and best friend for life? Will you treat her/him with love and devotion, honor and respect? Will you stand by her/him in the triumphs and tragedies of life, as a faithful and caring wife/husband? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #8 ______, will you love ____ when you are together and when you are apart; when life is peaceful and when it is disordered; when you are proud of her/him and when you are disappointed in her/him; in times of leisure and in times of work; will you honor her/his goals and dreams and help her/him fulfill them? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #9
_____ and _____, of all the people you know, you have chosen one another as life partners. Are you ready to be married? If so, say, “we are.”
Selection #10
Do you BRIDE'S NAME) take GROOM'S NAME to be your husband – to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #11
From this day onward, do you choose ______ to be your husband/wife, your best friend and your only love?
To live together, play together and laugh together;
To work by her/his side and dream in her/his arms;
To fill her/his heart and feed her/his soul;
To always seek out the best in her/him;
Always loving her/him with all your heart, until the end of your forever?
If so, Say, “I do!”
Selection #12
Dear friends, marriage is a legal relationship which is one of the foundations of community and society. It is, therefore, a public and civil relationship which expects all other people to honor and respect it, as our Supreme Court has now fully recognized. Marriage is also a spiritual relationship – a covenant of heart and soul, and a shelter for love and intimacy.
Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but is to be understood by all as a lifelong connection of two lives, two hearts, two fortunes and two futures. Marriage involves both privileges and obligations.
Because of this, I ask you:
Do each of you enter this union freely and without coercion? If so, say, “I do.”
Are you prepared to accept both the rights and responsibilities of married life? If so, say, “I am.”
Is it your intention to support, honor, defend and uphold one another in all circumstances? I so, say, “Yes, with the help of God.”
Selection #13
Don Andrews wrote these with an obvious homage to Dr. Seuss’s “Sam, I am”.
Wedding Officiant: Will you answer me right now these questions, as your wedding vow?
Groom: Yes, I will answer right now your questions as my wedding vow.
Wedding Officiant: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?
Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I’ll love her all my life.
Wedding Officiant: Will you have, and also hold just as you have at this time told?
Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life as I now take her as my wife.
Wedding Officiant: Will you love through good and bad? Whether you’re happy or sad?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love through good and bad, whether we’re happy or sad, Yes, I will have and I will hold Just as I have already told, Yes, I will love her all my life, Yes, I will take her as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love her if you’re rich? Or if you’re poor, and in a ditch?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love her if we’re rich, And I will love her in a ditch, I’ll love her through good times and bad, Whether we are happy or sad, Yes, I will have, and I will hold (I could have sworn this has been told!) I promise to love all my life this woman, as my lawful wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love her when you’re fit, and also when you’re feeling sick?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love her when we’re fit, and when we’re hurt, and when we’re sick, and I will love her when we’re rich and I will love her in a ditch and I will love through good and bad, and I will love when glad or sad, and I will have, and I will hold Ten years from now a thousandfold, Yes, I will love for my whole life this lovely woman as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love with all your heart? will you love till death you part?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love with all my heart from now until death do us part, and I will love her when we’re rich, and when we’re broke and in a ditch, and when we’re fit, and when we’re sick, (Oh, CAN’T we get this finished quick?) and I will love through good and bad, and I will love when glad or sad, and I will have, and I will hold, and if I might now be so bold, I’ll love her my entire life, yes, I WILL take her as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Then if you’ll take her as your wife, and if you’ll love her all your life, and if you’ll have, and if you’ll hold, from now until the stars grow cold, and if you’ll love through good and bad, And whether you’re happy or sad, and love in sickness, and in health, and when you’re poor, and when in wealth, and if you’ll love with all your heart, from now until death do you part, yes, if you’ll love her through and through, please answer with these words:
Wedding Officiant and Groom: I DO!
Wedding Officiant: You’re married now! So kiss the bride, but please, do keep it dignified.
Will you ____, have this man/woman from this day forward to be your wedded wife/husband, to live together (in God’s love) in the sacred state of matrimony?
Do you promise to love her/him, comfort her/him, honor and cherish her/him, in sickness and health, in trying times and smooth, in lean times and full, all the days of your lives? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #2
____, will you have this man/woman to be your wife/husband to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #3
____, will you take ____, to be your wedded wife/husband, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #4
____, do you take ____, for your lawfully wedded wife/husband, to love and cherish from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health? If so, say, “I do.”
Selection #5
Will you, _____ have this man/woman from this day forward to be your wedded wife/husband, in times of celebration, in times of sadness, in times of pleasure and in times of pain, in times of sickness and times of health? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #6
The apostle Paul compared the relationship between husband and wife to that between Christ and the church. Marriage is a decision of two individuals to share the same type of pure, Christian love described by Paul in I Corinthians 13:4-8 - 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 selfish, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and is always ready to endure whatever comes. Love never fails…
Two lives, shared with this kind of love, can hold more fulfillment and happiness than either life alone.
_______, are you ready to enter into marriage with ____, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things? If so, say, "I am."
Selection #7 _______ and _____, as you come this day to affirm your love and commitment, may you always remember to value each other as special and unique individuals, and that you respect each other’s thoughts, ideas and feelings. May you be able to forgive and to forget when wronged, and live each day that you may share it together – as from this day forward you will be each others’ home, comfort and sanctuary.
________, will you embrace/take ________ as your wife/husband; As your companion and best friend for life? Will you treat her/him with love and devotion, honor and respect? Will you stand by her/him in the triumphs and tragedies of life, as a faithful and caring wife/husband? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #8 ______, will you love ____ when you are together and when you are apart; when life is peaceful and when it is disordered; when you are proud of her/him and when you are disappointed in her/him; in times of leisure and in times of work; will you honor her/his goals and dreams and help her/him fulfill them? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #9
_____ and _____, of all the people you know, you have chosen one another as life partners. Are you ready to be married? If so, say, “we are.”
Selection #10
Do you BRIDE'S NAME) take GROOM'S NAME to be your husband – to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live? If so, say, “I will.”
Selection #11
From this day onward, do you choose ______ to be your husband/wife, your best friend and your only love?
To live together, play together and laugh together;
To work by her/his side and dream in her/his arms;
To fill her/his heart and feed her/his soul;
To always seek out the best in her/him;
Always loving her/him with all your heart, until the end of your forever?
If so, Say, “I do!”
Selection #12
Dear friends, marriage is a legal relationship which is one of the foundations of community and society. It is, therefore, a public and civil relationship which expects all other people to honor and respect it, as our Supreme Court has now fully recognized. Marriage is also a spiritual relationship – a covenant of heart and soul, and a shelter for love and intimacy.
Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but is to be understood by all as a lifelong connection of two lives, two hearts, two fortunes and two futures. Marriage involves both privileges and obligations.
Because of this, I ask you:
Do each of you enter this union freely and without coercion? If so, say, “I do.”
Are you prepared to accept both the rights and responsibilities of married life? If so, say, “I am.”
Is it your intention to support, honor, defend and uphold one another in all circumstances? I so, say, “Yes, with the help of God.”
Selection #13
Don Andrews wrote these with an obvious homage to Dr. Seuss’s “Sam, I am”.
Wedding Officiant: Will you answer me right now these questions, as your wedding vow?
Groom: Yes, I will answer right now your questions as my wedding vow.
Wedding Officiant: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?
Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I’ll love her all my life.
Wedding Officiant: Will you have, and also hold just as you have at this time told?
Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life as I now take her as my wife.
Wedding Officiant: Will you love through good and bad? Whether you’re happy or sad?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love through good and bad, whether we’re happy or sad, Yes, I will have and I will hold Just as I have already told, Yes, I will love her all my life, Yes, I will take her as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love her if you’re rich? Or if you’re poor, and in a ditch?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love her if we’re rich, And I will love her in a ditch, I’ll love her through good times and bad, Whether we are happy or sad, Yes, I will have, and I will hold (I could have sworn this has been told!) I promise to love all my life this woman, as my lawful wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love her when you’re fit, and also when you’re feeling sick?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love her when we’re fit, and when we’re hurt, and when we’re sick, and I will love her when we’re rich and I will love her in a ditch and I will love through good and bad, and I will love when glad or sad, and I will have, and I will hold Ten years from now a thousandfold, Yes, I will love for my whole life this lovely woman as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Will you love with all your heart? will you love till death you part?
Groom: Yes, I’ll love with all my heart from now until death do us part, and I will love her when we’re rich, and when we’re broke and in a ditch, and when we’re fit, and when we’re sick, (Oh, CAN’T we get this finished quick?) and I will love through good and bad, and I will love when glad or sad, and I will have, and I will hold, and if I might now be so bold, I’ll love her my entire life, yes, I WILL take her as my wife!
Wedding Officiant: Then if you’ll take her as your wife, and if you’ll love her all your life, and if you’ll have, and if you’ll hold, from now until the stars grow cold, and if you’ll love through good and bad, And whether you’re happy or sad, and love in sickness, and in health, and when you’re poor, and when in wealth, and if you’ll love with all your heart, from now until death do you part, yes, if you’ll love her through and through, please answer with these words:
Wedding Officiant and Groom: I DO!
Wedding Officiant: You’re married now! So kiss the bride, but please, do keep it dignified.