For sure, it can be intimidating to write your own vows for your South Florida wedding.
Photo: Forever in Love
Many vow-writers don’t know where to begin, and some worry about sounding overly sentimental. However, if you heed the following pointers, the process of composing those special lines can be empowering and enjoyable. It will certainly get your marriage off to great start.
First, you should ask the person who will officiate your ceremony if your wedding venue permits personalized vows. If it does, allow yourself ample time and multiple writing sessions to craft your language. At each session, sit someplace that's free of interruptions.
Before you start writing or typing, read samples of other people's vows online to get a feel for their rhythms. Then, once you're in the right frame of mind, you and your fiancé should jot down your strongest impressions of one another. What is it that you find so attractive about this individual? Record reminiscences of your happiest times together as well.
Afterwards, decide which descriptions are the most compelling and which two stories are the most entertaining; each person can tell one anecdote. In particular, it can be fun for a bride to recount her first encounter with the groom or vice versa.
Photo: Forever in Love
Your vows shouldn't be lengthy; they'll make a deeper impression if they're only about a minute long. Similarly, don't worry about impressive vocabulary. Simple and sincere language can be very moving. Also, don't forget to include explicit promises to love, cherish, and honor one another, and employ a serious tone when you get to that part.
Therefore, your vows might be structured as such: a summation of the other person's irresistible qualities, an amusing anecdote, and the marital pledge. Feel free to throw in a favorite romance-related quote too.
Produce a rough draft a few weeks before your South Florida wedding, and read these passages several times. Along the way, delete unnecessary words, and try to make bland phrases more vivid. You might ask for constructive criticism from relatives or friends with writing talent. And complete your final version about a week in advance so that you'll have plenty of opportunities to practice speaking your lines.
Finally, be sure to savor the moment when you recite this pronouncement at your South Florida wedding -- that beautiful moment when your writing partner becomes your life partner.
Photo: Forever in Love