Share Your Thoughts of Love for Each Other with Original Wedding Vows

Wedding vows serve two separate, yet equally important roles. First, the actual words form a commitment that bonds two individuals together as one forever. Second, vows offer a way for these partners to declare their love for one another in front of their friends and family.

Traditional wedding vows are familiar to virtually everyone-regardless of cultural and religious background, the phrase "to love, honor, and cherish," is typically associated with the wedding ceremony.

Although traditional wedding vows are time-honored words of love and commitment, couples are increasingly choosing to write their own vows. In fact, the practice is now so popular that writing original wedding vows has almost replaced using the traditional vows as the standard for weddings.

The options are endless for those who do choose to write original wedding vows. Some couples compose their wedding vows completely from their hearts using their own words as an opportunity to express their love and dedication to one another in a uniquely personal way. Others incorporate literary quotes, song lyrics, poetry, or other published material that appropriately expresses their feelings for their fianc?.

Still, some couples may choose the traditional vow format, but change the wording slightly. For example, "I, Daniel, take thee, Elizabeth, to be my lawfully wedded wife." would become "I, Daniel, take thee, Elizabeth, to be my wife and best friend..."

As another unique alternative, some couples add humor into their vows. "I promise to laugh at your jokes, even when they're not funny," is one example.

No matter what format you employ, it is commonplace to experience writer's block when faced with a task as formidable as composing your own wedding vows. Beverly Clark, author of America's best selling wedding planner Planning a Wedding to Remember says it is important to identify your feelings before you can express them.

"It is important to talk to each other about your marriage, discussing your beliefs, dreams, and expectations.. Once you identify the things that are the most important to you, then you can decide how best to express them."

That said, we have compiled the following list of considerations to help get you started writing your original wedding vows:

. What qualities do you love about your soon-to-be spouse?
. What are three things that inspire you about your loved one?
. What qualities do you believe will keep your marriage strong? How will you
  accomplish that?
. What promises do you want to make for your life together?
. How do you complement one another?
. What have you learned from him or her?
. When and where did you meet?
. At what moment did you realize you were in love? How did it feel?
. What song was playing when you knew he or she was the one?
. Do you have novels, poems or songs that make you think of your love?
. What lyrics or lines mean the most to you?

Essential to personalizing your wedding vows is conveying what is unique about the other person. Acknowledge your differences and similarities; promise to respect and honor your differences as well as your commitment to building bridges that will strengthen commonalities--express your faith in love and the bond that marriage creates between two people.

Once you are done with this challenging endeavor, you can concentrate on the more straight forward decisions like picking out gifts for your bridesmaids and groomsmen and selecting your wedding favors. Ultimately, the wedding vows you write will communicate to your fianc? just how special s/he is, because you took the time to write down exactly what your hopes, dreams, and feelings are regarding your lives together. Share your thoughts on love with your future spouse and loved ones --write your own vows.