Simple Wedding Vows
To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.
— To Love is Not to Possess – James Kavanaugh
I ______, take you, ______, to be my husband/wife. I will be a loving husband/wife. I promise to respect and encourage your fulfilment as an individual.
In marrying you, I want to continue to build on the love and friendship which we have developed during our time together. I want to continue to cherish the joy of being with you.
I recognise that part of our strength comes from the little things that make us happy. I want to love you through good fortune and adversity, while we both shall live.
On this day, month, day, year, I, _____, join myself to you _____, before this company. May our days be long, and may they be seasoned with love, understanding and respect.
I, _____, choose you _____, as my husband/wife, in friendship and in love, in strength and weakness, to share the good times and misfortune, in achievement and failure. I will cherish and respect you through all the changes of our lives, forever giving thanks that we found each other.
Incoming search terms:
- simple vows for wedding
