Your wedding vows are possibly the biggest promise you will ever make. So before you say “I do”, it’s a good idea to consider very deeply just what you are promising.
In a traditional service, be it in a church or a civil ceremony, the vows are prescribed. In a church they will follow what’s in the Book of Common Prayer, while a Registrar will just stick to the legalities. But in an ‘alternative ceremony’ your range of options is almost unlimited.
In Scotland, the legalities are very simple. All that is required of your marriage service is that you name one another, using your full legal names, and promise to take one another as legal marriage partners. The rest of what you say is entirely up to you.
You may just want to say something really simple, or you may want to express in words, in front of your witnesses, what is unique and special about your relationship. Think on this – the words you speak now can provide the foundation stone on which the house of your marriage will be built. It’s worth taking the time to discuss them with each other, and with your minister if you have one, so that the words you use express your love for one another in exactly the way you want them to.
And this is what lies at the very centre of your ceremony, and of your big wedding day. More important than choosing the venue, the meal, the cake, even the dress!
You can deliver your vows in a question and answer format, simply saying “I do” in response to the questions, or you can repeat them after the celebrant, or you can read them, or recite them from memory. The vows may, if you wish, be written entirely in your own words. Your celebrant will guide you through the options and make it really easy for you.
Whether you are religious, or spiritual without being religious, or neither of these things the commitment behind the wedding vows might be seen as ‘a sacred act’. It is the sacred promise to honour your own beliefs and values, whatever these may be, throughout your married life together.
If you are looking to create you own wedding vows and would like some help or support with the process please get in touch.
Use the contact form here or be bold, call me. There is nothing I like better than a conversation on what I feel is the most important part or your big wedding day.
With Love, Judith Hampson
01309 674817