Ring Vows

I.

With this ring,
I give you my promise to honor you,
To be faithful to you,
And to share my love and my life with you
In all ways, always.

II.

___________, I give you this ring
As a symbol of my love for you,
And of my promise to honor you,
Comfort you,
And be faithful to you and to our marriage
Through God’s grace, (Alternatively: Line may be omitted)
For as long as we both shall live.

III.

As a sign of my love
And my knowledge that in marrying you,
I am becoming much more than I am,
I give you this ring
With the promise that I will love you
And keep my heart open to you
All the days of my life.

IV.

___________, with this ring
I am giving you my promise
To always love you, cherish you,
Honor you, and comfort you,
I will always be grateful to God
For your presence in my life.
(Alternatively: I will always be grateful for your presence in my life)

V.

This ring is my gift to you,
May it always remind you
That from this day forward,
You will be surrounded by my love.

VI.

I give you this ring
As a sign that I choose you
To be my lover, my partner,
And my best friend
Today, tomorrow, and always.

VII.

___________, I give you this ring
As a symbol of my vow.
My it encircle your finger always
As my love will your heart.

VIII.

___________, this ring is a symbol
Of the strength and beauty of our love.
May it belong to your hand
As my heart belongs to you,
Separate yet close,
Simple yet miraculous.

IX.

I give this ring
As a symbol of my promise
To always love you, cherish you, honor you, and respect you.

Pueblo Blessing

I add my breath to your breath
That our days may be long on the Earth,
That the days of our people may be long,
That we shall be as one person,
That we may finish our road together.

Lutheran-Inspired Vows

I, (name), take you, (name), to be my (husband/wife), and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, be truthful, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you to better understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come as long as we love.

Photo Courtesy of Brendan Moffitt; Couple took vows as loved ones wanted on from Italy & Australia.

Ring Vow by Rev. Jack Stiles

_______ and _______, you have brought rings to exchange.
These rings are gifts to each other to remind you always,
And those they gaze upon their beauty,
That you have pledged your love and commitment
In marriage to each other.
And when you have been together for a long, long time,
You will look at these rings,
And you will feel the indentation they have made on your fingers,
And you will know that these rings contain all the memories
Of what your lives and your relationship have been.
May the always serve to remind you of how great your love is for one another.

Photo Courtesy of Florist Richard Salmone

Rev. Jack Skiles

_______ and _______, you have brought rings to exchange.
These rings are gifts to each other to remind you always,
And those they gaze upon their beauty,
That you have pledged your love and commitment
In marriage to each other.
And when you have been together for a long, long time,
You will look at these rings,
And you will feel the indentation they have made on your fingers,
And you will know that these rings contain all the memories
Of what your lives and your relationship have been.
May the always serve to remind you of how great your love is for one another.

Photo Courtesy of Nas Karas Studios

Presbyterian-Inspired Vows

I, (name), take thee, (name), to be my wedded wife/husband, and I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be thy loving and faithful wife/husband, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.

This ring I give you, in token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love.

Photo Courtesy of Sugar Beet Photos

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

I choose you this day
To love and confide in,
To hold on to and reach out from.
I choose you this day
To believe in and to share with,
To learn from and grow with.
I choose you this day
To give you my heart.

--Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallery

Cherokee-Inspired Vows

God in heaven above,
please protect the ones we love.
We honor all you created
as we pledge our hearts and lives together.
We honor Mother Earth and ask for our marriage
to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons.
We honor fire and ask that our union be warm and glowing in our hearts.
We honor wind and ask that we sail through the life save and calm
as in our father’s arms.
We honor water to clean and soothe our relationship--
that it may never thirst for love.
With all the forces of the universe you created,
we pray for harmony as we grow forever young together.
Amen.

Catholic-Inspired Vows

I, (name), take you, (name), to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

BRIDE/GROOM: I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you an obedient and faithful wife.

BRIDE/GROOM: I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you an obedient and faithful husband.

I, (name), take you, (name), for my wife/husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

Vows by Robert Fulghum

The popular author and minister Robert Fulghum provides the following vows in his book From Beginning to End: The Rituals of our Lives. Fulghum is also the author of the favorite book All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The vows are repeated by both the bride and groom, with the respective names inserted:

I (name), take you (name)
To be the husband/wife of my days
The companion of my house

The friend of my life
And the Mother/Father of our children
We shall bear together
Whatever trouble and sorrow
Life may lay upon us
And we shall share together
Whatever good and joyful things
Life may bring us
With these words
And all the words of my heart
I marry you
And bind my life to yours

Photo Courtesy of Sugar Beet Photos

Buddhist Vows

(Bride/Groom) and (Bride/Groom), do you pledge to help each other to develop your hearts and minds, cultivating compassion, generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom as you age and undergo the various ups and downs of life and to transform them into the path of love, compassion, joy and equanimity?

“We do” 

Recognizing that the external conditions in life will not always be smooth and that internally your own minds and emotions will sometimes get stuck in negativity. Do you pledge to see all these circumstances as a challenge to help you grow, to open your hearts, to accept yourselves, and each other; and to generate compassion for others who are suffering? Do you pledge to avoid becoming narrow, closed or opinionated, and to help each other to see various sides of situations?

“We do” 

Understanding that just as we are a mystery to ourselves, each other person is also a mystery to us. Do you pledge to seek to understand yourselves, each other, and all living beings, to examine your own minds continually and to regard all the mysteries of life with curiosity and joy?

“We do” 

Do you pledge to preserve and enrich your affection for each other, and to share it with all beings? To take the loving feelings you have for one another and your vision of each other's potential and inner beauty as an example and rather than spiraling inwards and becoming self absorbed, to radiate this love outwards to all beings?

“We do” 

When it comes time to part, do you pledge to look back at your time together with joy--joy that you met and shared what you have--and acceptance that we cannot hold on to anything forever?



“We do”

Do you pledge to remember the disadvantages of ignorance, anger and clinging attachment, to apply antidotes when these arise in your minds, and to remember the kindness of all other beings and your connection to them? Do you pledge to work for the welfare of others, with all of your compassion, wisdom and skill?

“We do” 

Do you pledge to work to develop the wisdom understanding the relative functioning nature of things and the wisdom knowing their deeper way of existence•that they are empty of inherent existence? And to remember the laws of cause and effect?

‘We do”
Do you pledge day to day, to be patient with yourselves and others, knowing that change comes slowly and gradually, and to seek inspiration from your teachers not to become discouraged?

“We do” 

Do you pledge to continuously strive to remember your own Buddha nature, as well as the Buddha nature of all living beings? To maintain the awareness that all things are temporary, and to remain optimistic that you can achieve your greatest potential and lasting happiness.

“We do”