|
I,______________, give to you,____________________, a new promise and yet not so new; a new (husband/wife), and yet not so new;
and a new affirmation of love from the heart that has loved you for (x) years and will love you for as many more as God allots to it.
An on-going process
On our wedding day, I made a choice. It was the most important and significant choice of my life and I made it only after a great deal of consideration. On that day, I chose you to be my husband/wife. I thought then that such a decision, once made, as final and irrevocable. Now I know that the selection of a life partner is not a one-time decision but an on-going process. Many times in the years since then, I have chosen you again. Faced with changes and alternatives, I have become keenly aware that a marriage lasts only so long as both partners desire each other above all others. As our lives have been affected by the ebb and flow of other lives and events, there have been many times when I could have chosen to go in a different direction. I did not. The reason is simple: no other person has ever aroused in me the feelings of tenderness, joy and caring which you elicit. I elect to stay with you not because I feel obligated to meet your needs but because you continue to meet mine. I live with you not because a legal document says that I am your wife/husband but because, in my heart of hearts, I still want to be by your side more than I want to be anywhere else.
Celebrating 5 Years
My dearest love, as we stand here today, I think back to all the wonderful memories we have shared. There is no greater feeling in life than to have your best friend by your side every day. Though we have had our struggles, our love has been strong enough to conquer it all. I am thankful for you being in my life each and every day. You are more a man than I ever imagined could come into my life. You are confident, independant, caring, nurturing, and supportive. You make every day on earth a day worth waking up for. My wish today is that as we say these renewals you my love will once again say "I do" you are my world and my everything. For you I give my heart, soul, body, and mind every second of every day. I take you today not only as my husband yet again, but as my best friend and lover, my confident, my shoulder when I need to cry, and the person whos arms I could not picture being without. Today I pledge to be by your side, to be your strength when you are weak, to never leave you, to be understanding, and to keep being the wife you deserve. With this said "I do" take you my faith and loving husband to have and to hold, for better or worse, until death to us part.
How little we knew of love
Bride: How little we knew of love, my love.
Groom: How little we knew of love.
Bride: We knew of movie love and book love and other peoples' kinds of love.
Groom: But we really didn't know anything at all.
Bride: We have learned, you and I. We have learned how to love.
Groom: The learning has been a splendid process.
Bride: I have learned that a choice, once made, is not necessarily completed. I have chosen you many times since our wedding day. I choose you still.
Groom: I have learned that a love, once formed, is never wholly finished. My love for you grows daily.
Bride: How little we knew of love, my love. How much more we know of love now.
Groom: Do you suppose, some years from now, we'll look back on this day and say "How little we knew of love?"
It has come to pass
Groom: We promised to love for richer and for poorer-and it has come to pass. We've known plentiful times and lean times; we have loved through both.
Bride: We promised to love in sickness and in health -- and it has come to pass. We've been strong and we've been weak. We've each had our turn to take care of the other. We have given and received comfort.
Groom: We promised to love for better and for worse and that, too, has come to pass.
Bride: Our love has made the good times better and the bad times bearable.
Groom: Fifty years ago, we promised to spend our lifetimes together. We were filled with hopes and dreams and youthful anticipation. Today I thank you for making those hopes and dreams come true.
Bride: Thank you for the years of joy for the laughter and the hugs and the unfailing, supportive love.
Groom: We promised to love, and it has come to pass.
It seems just like yesterday
My dearest ___, it was 25 years ago that we first pledged our commitment to one another, but it seems like just yesterday that I was standing across from my beautiful bride/handsome groom. We have been through a lot together - laughter and tears, joy and sorrow - and through all those times, I can honestly say, I loved you every step of the way. Today, I want to renew those vows and again pledge my love and life to you. I promise to be there for you in sickness and health, in middle and old age, in good and bad hair days. Whether you feel thin, fat, beautiful, ugly, fit and trim, or out of shape I will always think that you are perfect - perfect for me. I am here to be your supporter, your confidant, and your best friend. You are my (nickname or other). I have been blessed for the last 25 years and am thrilled that I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you.
More strongly than ever
I believe in this marriage more strongly than ever.
______________, it is with joy born of experience and trust
that I commit myself once again to be your (husband/wife)
Now I know I do
Groom: How young we were X years ago.
Bride: How much we've learned since then.
Groom: We've learned that not all dreams are attainable.
Bride: We've learned that people grow and change.
Groom: We've learned that nothing is quite the way we thought it would be. The hurts have been deeper than we expected -- and the joys have been greater.
Bride: The pleasures have far outweighed the disappointments.
Groom: If I could go back and do it over again, I would still marry you.
Bride: And I would still marry you.
Groom: X years ago, I thought I loved you. Now, I know I do.
Bride: X years ago, I thought I loved you. Now, I know I do.
Number one priority
|
________, in the past I have taken you for granted. I have put others before you. I have done things I am not proud of. And I have often been wrong. On the other hand, I have always loved you and stood beside you. I am here today to move forward with a renewed commitment to you, our love, and our lives together. I pledge that from this day forward you will be my number one priority. I promise to be there for you in all that life brings our way. It is because of you that I am here today and I vow to give you all that I am and all that I have for the rest of our lives together. This is my solemn promise.
Once again I take your hand
Once before I have stood with you before family and friends;
once again I take your hand as my partner.
________________, I take you this day and for all days as my (husband/wife)
One thing has not changed
You have changed since then. I have changed, and the world around us has changed most of all. But one thing has not changed. X years ago, I promised to love you, to give of my best to you, to cherish and keep you no matter what else happened. I have not always lived up to my best intentions but I have always loved you. I still love you. I love you more now than I did then because I know you better now. And I've matured: the sharp edges of youth have mellowed, increasing my capacity for, and my pleasure in love. We've watched our babies grow up and become independent. We've moved, we've had successes and setbacks we've weathered a good many storms. Some of the things we worried about turned out not to matter at all. What really mattered was our love. The one constant in our lives has grown stronger and I thank you now for the joy you've given me during these 25 years together. It is with a glad heart that I renew my original wedding vows. I still promise to love you, honor you, cherish and keep you. I continue to want you, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. Whatever the future may hold for us, we will always have our love. It is enough.
Our togetherness trough all the years
Blessed with you, (name), I give thanks to God for our togetherness through all these years which has enriched our lives beyond measure, and promise again with all my heart to love you and to cherish you all the days of our lives.
Reformed
Leader says:
The Lord God has blessed you as a couple, and as a family, and has in that confirmed your desire to be married; may you continue in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Join hands...
Groom: x years ago I, __, took you, __, to be my lawful wife, and now I repeat those promises--never to forsake you, to love you faithfully, to support you as a faithful and godly husband is bound to do, and to live with you in holiness, keeping faith and truth to you in all things according to God's holy Word.
Bride: x years ago I, __, took you, __, to be my lawful husband, and now I repeat those promises--to love you faithfully, to respect you, to serve and assist you, never to forsake you, to live with you in holiness, keeping faith and truth to you in all things, as a faithful and godly wife is bound to do according to God's holy Word.
Leader:
The Father of all mercies, who of His grace has called you to this holy state of marriage x years ago, bind you in true love and faithfulness, and grant you His blessing. Amen.
Renewed Commitment
I stand today in front of our family, our friends and you, my husband/wife, to reaffirm my marriage vows. ______ years ago we stood in our church and said words that were written for us. Today I am not simply taking a vow; I am giving you a vow and a promise in words that are my own. My love for you has grown over the last _____ years. There have been times when I believed the problems before us were too big to overcome, too painful to forgive. I have since learned that I love you more than I could ever have imagined and that it is enough to overcome and forgive the broken promises in our past. Today I give in to that love and the overwhelming desire to recommit myself to you. I love you more today because of all that we have been through and because of your willingness to move forward with renewed commitment. I promise, from this day forward, to love and trust you even more as time passes. I promise to be there for you when you are sick, hurt, in need of comfort or when you just want to share your day. I promise to make you feel needed and appreciated for all that you bring to my life. Today I stand in front of our family, our friends and you, my husband and promise to give you all of the best of me for as long as we both live.
The memory of all those years
Bride: We are here for a celebration.
Groom: We are here to celebrate love.
Bride: We are here to celebrate marriage -- our own specific marriage which has endured for X years.
Groom: Today we celebrate those X years. We rejoice that X years ago we had the good sense to marry one other.
Bride: We have dried each other's tears. We have applauded each other's successes. For X years, we have lived and loved.
Groom: Today we celebrate the memory of all those years. We celebrate, as well, the hopes we cherish for the years ahead. Most of all, we celebrate now, today, this special once-in-a-lifetime occasion which our love has earned for us.
Bride: It is a day of days, a time of times, a dream come true. Like all the other days of our lives, we celebrate it together.
The rebirth of our commitment
The word renaissance means rebirth;
today we celebrate the rebirth of our commitment
before this honoured gathering.
_________________, with full confidence in the solid anchor of our love,
I take you once again as my (husband/wife).
To continue my devotion to you
X years ago, I pledged my loyalty to you, (name), as your wedded husband/wife, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony. I promised to love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, in sickness and in health. I further promised that, forsaking all others, I would keep myself only unto you, so long as we both shall live. During these X years, I have been faithful to that pledge. Now, again, at the beginning of the X year of our life together, in the presence of God, in the presence of our family, and in the presence of friends who have gathered for this happy occasion, I renew these vows, pledging myself to continue my devotion to you as long as we both shall live.
You were and are my love for life
|
Perhaps the only thing truer than one's first love
is to recommit to that love before family and friends.
______________, you were and are my love for life;
I take you from this day forward as my (husband/wife)
| | |
