How to Do Your “I Do”

“I do.” These two words each signify so much in the perfecting of a brand new marriage. By saying these two simple words, you move from that dating phase into a marriage phase of your hopefully forever and ever relationship. But there are some important words that come before these two that help signify and shape what you think your future together will be. Your wedding vows, which of course end in “I do,” are mutual definitions of who you two will be, both individually and together. Developing these vows should take some deliberate thought and preparation.

Composing Those Vows

When coming up with your vows, it should truly be a joint effort. As obvious as this may seem to some, it is not always done. Sometimes one person is the one who either gets delegated or grabs the responsibility of writing the vows. This would be the wrong thing to do. The vows are a mutual affirmation, not just an expression of one person’s thoughts and feelings on the relationship. You do not want such an important statement to be from just one person instead of a mutual statement.

A good tip for developing your vows is to go research and read other people’s vows. A simple internet search can yield a treasure trove of these vow archives. Browsing through them can give you some ideas about style, content and tone. However, you can use these, but ultimately your vows should be a statement about your relationship. So think about a statement that you would like to make about who you are as a couple and where you would like your relationship to go as it enters this new phase.

As a general rule of thumb, you have to take all of that information about who you are, who you were as a dating couple, what type of married couple you will be and so forth, then consolidate that down into one to two minutes maximum. You don’t want to have a whole essay in place of your vows. Read over this draft and make sure it is something that says what you wanted to say about you two as a couple. While humor can be used, avoid anything that can be too embarrassing or off-color. Remember, people will remember that part of your ceremony.

After all of that, just remember those two simple words, “I do.” These two little words will be the big and great gateway to your matrimonial life. And don’t forget to turn to a trusted bridal boutique so you can get the right dress for the occasion.