Personal vows are short, so every line has to earn its place. The examples below are about made-up couples, and each is written in a different voice. After each one there is a short note on what makes it work, so you can take the idea and use it with your own details.
If you haven't started yet, the wedding vows guide explains how personal vows fit with the legal words in a UK ceremony, and how to write your vows goes through it step by step.
1. Short and simple vows (about one minute)
Fergus is a bus driver in Malvern, and he is marrying Maya, who runs a stall at the Saturday market. He wanted something short that he could say without his voice going.
Maya, the first time I saw you, you were on my bus asking if it went to the Priory. It didn't, but I told you where to change, and you came back the next week to say thank you.
Six years on, you still make every place we live feel like home within a week, and you always save me the last roast potato.
I promise to be kind to you, even when we're both tired. I promise to ask how your day was and to listen to the answer. I promise to learn how to fold a fitted sheet.
I love you, Maya, and I'll be by your side for the rest of our lives.
What makes it work: it is short enough to say slowly. The memory about the bus is one small moment, told in two sentences, and the light promise about the fitted sheet sits between two serious ones so the vows still end on something heartfelt.
2. Heartfelt vows (about two minutes)
Bryony teaches Year 2 at a primary school in Cockermouth. She is marrying Cat, who works for an outdoor centre in the Lake District. They met halfway up a fell in the rain.
Cat, the day we met, I was halfway up Catbells in the wrong shoes, soaked to the skin, and you stopped and lent me a pair of dry socks. You said you always carry a spare pair. I found out later that was true, and I've never known you go anywhere without a spare of something.
That's you all over. You plan for other people. When my dad was in hospital last winter, you drove me there and back every evening for three weeks. You learned how he takes his tea, and you sat and watched the snooker with him so I could have ten minutes outside.
I love how you laugh with your whole face. I love that you still put notes in my lunchbox, even though I'm thirty-four and I spend all day with six-year-olds.
So here are my promises to you.
I promise to look after you the way you look after everyone else. I promise to notice when you're tired and to make you sit down, even when you say you're fine.
I promise to be honest with you, especially when it's hard to say.
I promise to come up every hill you want to climb, as long as I can wear proper boots.
I promise that when things go wrong, and sometimes they will, I'll be on your side while we work it out together.
And I promise that our house will always have a spare pair of socks in it, and that I'll always be glad it's you coming home to me.
Cat, I love you, and I'm so proud to be your wife.
What makes it work: the socks open the vows and come back at the end, which gives them a shape without Bryony having to try hard. The story about her dad gives a real example of how kind Cat is. The promises are short, one to a line, which makes them easier to say when you're emotional.
3. Vows with humour (about two minutes)
Theo is a gas engineer from St Albans, and he is marrying Sol, a pastry chef. They met at a pub quiz. Theo wanted his vows to sound like him, with a few laughs, and he agreed with Sol beforehand that both sets would be on the light side.
Sol, we met at the Tuesday quiz at the White Hart. Your team came second and mine came third, both behind a table of retired geography teachers. You came over to argue about the capital of Australia. You were wrong. I bought you a drink anyway, and I've been happily losing arguments to you ever since.
I love that you're a pastry chef who can't walk past a bakery without looking at their croissants and sighing. I love that you talk to all forty-three of your houseplants, and that Gerald the cheese plant has his own spot by the window.
I've got some promises to make, and I've been told to keep the silly ones short.
I promise to stop saying the oven is basically preheated when it's been on for two minutes.
I promise to learn the difference between a fern and a peace lily, and to water both of them when you're away.
I promise to go to every Sunday lunch at your mum's in Hitchin, and to have seconds of her jollof even when I'm full.
I promise to take Mungo to the vet, because he likes me better than he likes you, and we both know it.
Now the ones that matter most.
I promise to make you laugh on the bad days, and to know when to stop trying.
I promise to be patient with you, and to tell you when I need you to be patient with me.
I promise to be proud of you out loud, to anyone who'll listen.
And I promise that whatever happens, we'll sort it out together at the kitchen table, the way we always have.
Sol, you're my best friend and my favourite person in the world, and I can't wait to be married to you. Also, it's Canberra.
What makes it work: the jokes are all about their everyday life together, so they are kind and easy for guests to follow. Theo says clearly when he moves from the silly promises to the serious ones, which gives the room permission to laugh and then to go quiet. The last line picks up the quiz story, but only after he has said what he means.
4. Vows for a second marriage, including the children (about two minutes)
Nisha is a pharmacy technician in Ludlow. She is marrying Callan, a joiner. Nisha has a son, Arlo, who is twelve, and Callan has a daughter, Ivy, who is nine. They met at the school gate. Nisha wanted her vows to include both children, and she told them beforehand what she was going to say.
Callan, when we met at the school gate four years ago, you were holding a papier-mâché volcano that Ivy had made for her project, and it was leaking red paint all down your coat. I gave you a wet wipe. You told me later it was the best thing that had happened to you all week.
When Arlo and I moved to Ludlow, I thought it would be the two of us for good, and I was happy with that. Then you came along with your terrible jokes and your Sunday walks up Whitcliffe, and you slowly made room for both of us.
I love how you are with Arlo. You've stood on the touchline at every one of his football matches, on the coldest Saturday mornings of the year, and you taught him to make your mum's shortbread. He'll never admit it, but he thinks you're brilliant.
So today I promise to be your partner in all of it, including the packed lunches and the lifts. I promise to be honest with you, and to talk to you when something's wrong before it gets big. I promise to keep making time for the two of us, even in the weeks that are full of homework and swimming lessons. And I promise to love Ivy as my own, and to be there for her whenever she needs me.
Arlo and Ivy, I've got a promise for you too. I promise that our house will always be somewhere you can bring your friends and your worries, and there will always be someone there to listen. We both love you very much.
Callan, I love you. I'm so glad that volcano leaked.
What makes it work: Nisha mentions the life she had before without dwelling on it, and she never mentions anyone's former partner. The children each get something specific, and the promise to them is short and practical. Ending with the volcano brings it back to the day they met, which makes people smile at a moment when many of them will be close to tears.
Using these examples
Pick the one closest to the tone you want and look at how it is built. Most follow the same order: a memory, what they love about their partner, their promises and a closing line. Then write your own version with your own details. Agree a rough length with your partner so your vows sit well together.
If you're also giving a speech at the wedding breakfast, the groom speech examples and the bride speech guide cover that part of the day. Speechmade can also write a first draft of your vows with AI, from your answers about how you met and what you want to promise.
Common questions
Can I use one of these examples as my own vows?
You can borrow the shape or a promise you like, but vows copied word for word won't be about your partner. The small details are what make each of these work, so swap in your own memories and promises.
How long are these vows?
The first set takes about a minute to say. The other three take about two minutes each. Timings assume a steady pace of around 130 words a minute.
Can vows be funny?
Yes, if that suits you both. Keep the jokes kind and about everyday life together, and make sure the serious promises come last so the vows end on something sincere.
Is it all right to mention our children in our vows?
Yes. Many couples who already have children, or who are joining two families, add a line or two to them near the end. Keep it short and warm, and tell the children beforehand so it is not a surprise in front of everyone.