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Theatre Reviews
by Jeniva Berger

| WEDDING VOWS

Wedding, Ring and Renewal Vows

The wedding vow is said to be the highest vow spoken. The social and religious value of the traditional wedding vow goes back to the Bible (Hebrews 13:4) which advises everyone to honor marriage and its vows. Down through the years, traditional vows have been said at weddings by ministers, priest and rabbis. In the 1950s, wedding ceremonies began to become less formal with the growth of interfaith and interracial ceremonies.

Vows that officiants traditionally use include:
"Do you, (Groom's name), take (Bride's name) to be your lawful wedded wife, to love, to honor, to cherish for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?" The Groom would response "I do". The officiant would then ask the Bride: "Do you, (Bride's name), take (Groom's name) to be your lawful wedding husband to love, to honor and to cherish for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?" The Bride would respond "I do."

There are now hundreds of ways to say "I Do". The exchanging of vows is one of the most awesome and treasured part of the wedding ceremony, and it shouldn't be overlooked during your diligent planning to make everything perfect.

Vows can be formal, traditional or you may choose to write your own personalized, non-traditional vows for first and second time marriages, ceremonies of reaffirmation, vows including children from previous marriages, older couples, spiritual vows.

Before you start to write your vows, check with your officiant to make sure this is in keeping with your planned ceremony. Some religious ceremonies insist traditional vows be used.

Most non-traditional vows are written either in a question-answer format; a monologue or a dialogue format. There are no guidelines for content or length except to check with your officiant. Your personalized vows can be anything you wish - a poem, a selection from the classics, an ethnic heritage piece, or a symbol of your love such as a flower that the groom can hand to his bride when he says his vow to her. The bride accepts the flower and responds.

Additional types of vows - or create your own
• Special occasion vows - when the wedding date is on a holiday such as New Year's Eve, Christmas or Valentine's Day.
• Environmental emphasizing - where the wedding is taking place and why you chose it . . . such as a garden, on a beach, in a park and so forth.
• Second time around - are usually very personalized, especially as these weddings often include children from a former marriage.
• Most older couples - have probably been married before. Quite often, brides and grooms-to-be are either divorced or widowed. Some want the traditional vows, but often write personalized vows or request special ones that are meaningful to their personal particular situation.
• Spiritual vows - are made not only to each other, but also reinforce the religious commitment the couple has to their God. Many vows take the form of prayers.

The ring vow
Many couples are also writing their own ring vows which are usually made after the officiant blesses the rings, which are seen as the symbol of the couple's lifetime commitment to each other.

Renewal of vows - the reaffirmation ceremony
The renewing of vows at a reaffirmation ceremony often takes place after a couple has been married five years or longer. Some couples duplicate their original wedding ceremony as closely as they can, including their original spoken vows, to which they often add new thoughts.

The reception is usually a wonderful home party where the "wedding couple" proudly display their photographs and video taken on their wedding day as well as family photos and mementoes of their children and grandchildren.

www.WeddingsHoneymoons.com | April 4, 2008

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