Some people can’t wait to offer a combination of “love, honour, and obey” – you’ve got the ‘love’ bit, you wouldn’t be getting married if you didn’t.
Then there are those people for whom the word “obey” makes the hair on the back of their neck stand up. These days, more and more couples are looking for something fresh and personal to start their marriage, vows that tell their love story, include a poem or quote that echoes the ethos of their relationship, emphasises marriage as an adventure, celebrate the offbeat or undercover hippy – even a promise to love and cherish until death or zombies do us part.
Here are some alternatives to traditional vows, for when you just want to throw a party in the name of love, or a post-apocalyptic carnival:
“Do you promise to love and cherish until death or zombies do you part?” “I do.”
“You are my husband/wife. My feet shall run because of you. My feet shall dance because of you. My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind thinks because of you. And I shall love because of you.” From the Eskimo Love Song.
“I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. Because Arwen doesn’t need endless words to express her love for Aragorn. One perfect sentence is all it takes.” The perfect short wedding vows especially when uttered here in LOTR land.
“Jamie Marie, from this day forward I promise to be worth it. Worth the time. Worth the trip. Worth the energy. Worth the embarrassment. Worth your love. I promise that you will always count. You will always come first, and, of course, if you don’t for whatever reason, I will buy you some shoes. From the moment you entered my world, you have filled it with life, colour and energy like never before – like Kool-Aid in a mud puddle – or a cupcake in a salad – or a rose garden in a junkyard. You are my rose, Jamie Marie, and I promise to devote my life to being your dirt.” These real-life vows from comedian John Caprulo strike just the right note between romantic, funny and touching.
