PLANNING
YOUR WEDDING VOWS – FREE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION AND IDEAS
Writing
or selecting your wedding vows is an important step on your eventual journey
up the aisle.
Whether you write them individually or together, planning your vows can
be thoroughly enjoyable. But planning vows that not only reflect your personal
values as a couple, but also the unique qualities of the love you share,
can be very daunting indeed. Drawing on outside sources of inspiration
and ideas – poems, quotes, sayings, love song lyrics, bible passages, readings
and everything in-between - can be an interesting way to find elements
to add to your vows that somehow say something about, or sum up, the relationship
you share with your spouse.
Love Song Lyrics
Almost every couple has a special
song, and an interesting way to include it in your wedding vows is to quote
your favourite few lines, or a section that reflects your relationship
or how you feel towards your partner.
While all love songs are, predictably,
about love, they address different themes or aspects of love. Think about
this if you want to include love song quotes in your vows, and also in
terms of your own relationship. Has your relationship followed a theme?
Have you and your future spouse had to deal with adversity along the way?
How did you fall in love? Common love song themes include facing adversity
and coming out the other end; support; falling in love; romance; wanting
to spend the rest of your lives together
Reading and Passages
When many people think of readings,
they instantly think of the Bible. While there are many sections of the
Bible that can be included in wedding vows to great effect, there are also
other options available. These include:
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Readings from Eastern religion
and philosophy (including Buddhism, Hindu and others)
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New Age literature
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Readings based on the teachings
and philosophies of cultural groups such as Native Americans, Samoans and
Australian Aboriginals
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Passages from sacred texts such
as the Bible or Koran
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Stories/fables about love
If you have a wedding ceremony
that is not very spiritually-oriented (or even if it is), readings can
be a way of incorporating your and your partner’s spiritual beliefs into
the ceremony. Alternatively, you may find one or more that sum up things
like what love means to you both, or the nature of your relationship.
Poems
There are a plethora of poems
available on the internet and elsewhere. If you can find one that you both
love and want to include in your vows, it can be a great way to add a poignant
touch to the ceremony. But all too often, it just isn’t that easy. It can
be awfully hard to find a poem that says exactly what you want to say in
a way that sounds great. Someone very wise once said that if you can’t
find the poem that you’re looking for, you’ll just have to write it yourself.
Here are a few tips for writing a poem to include in your wedding vows:
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Poems DO NOT have to rhyme. The
thing that turns many people away from writing poetry is the idea that
it has to rhyme, and how difficult it can be to find words that rhyme and
still sound great. Truth is, poems that don’t rhyme can sound as good as,
or better than, ones that do.
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To make the ceremony flow, try
and not make the poem too long.
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When you’re thinking of ideas,
reminisce about your relationship…where and when you first met, how you
fell in love, what made you decide to get married, and the reasons why
your future spouse is so special.
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Use language that is descriptive,
colourful, expansive and romantic
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Use this opportunity to try and
put into words just how you feel about your future spouse, to make them
feel unique and special on the day.
Quotes
Incorporating a quote or two
into your wedding vows can add an interesting element to your ceremony
depending on the nature of the quote. Quotes can be all romantic and sentimental;
they can spice up proceedings with a dash of humour; or they can elicit
emotion and be very thought-provoking. Often aspects of the nature of a
couple’s relationship – whether it’s a shared sense of humour, a penchant
for romance or anything else – can be harnessed in this way. Whatever mood
you are trying to capture, a cleverly-used quote can sum things up very
nicely indeed.
When writing your wedding vows,
using outside sources – quotes, song lyrics, readings, poems and the like
– can provide you with a great deal of inspiration. As well as providing
novel elements that you can incorporate into your vows, they can act as
a springboard for your own ideas. |