Easy step-by-step guide for Brides & Grooms
Your Fairy Godmother Celebrant’s Magic Formula for How to Write Wedding Vows
Oh my gosh gorgeous…
YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!!!
And now it’s time to write the words that will live in your hearts forever because wedding vows are the heart of your ceremony. They’re not just poetic lines and cute jokes (although I am obsessed with those too) ~ they’re where you declare your devotion, your future, your forever in front of the people who matter most.
Now, I bet you’re thinking “but how do I put THIS kind of love into a few words?”
Don’t worry ~ I got you.
I’m your Fairy Godmother Celebrant and I’ll guide you step-by-step on how to write wedding vows.
Take a deep breath.
Wedding vows don’t need to be pages long or perfect. They just need to be true to you.
Let’s write vows that melt hearts, make your guests cry in the best way because you want to give your partner all those heart bursting wedding day feels!
💜 What Are Wedding Vows?
Your wedding vows are the words ~ the promises ~ you speak to one another during your ceremony.
They are the moment where love becomes spoken, witnessed, and real, so think of how to write wedding vows as:
⚡ Wedding vows are a love letter
⚡ Your devotion, declared out loud
⚡ All the things you want to say in everyday life, but rarely do
During every wedding ceremony in New Zealand, your vows must include a legally recognised statement of intention.
This can be customised and written in your own voice however at some point during your ceremony you’ll need to say words that carry this meaning:
“I, [name], take you, [partner], to be my legal wife/husband/partner”
(plus include your full legal names at least once in your marriage ceremony).
You can add humour, romance, poetry, private jokes, sparkly declarations however these vows seal the deal, legally.
1) Choose Your Vow Style
There are a few options for wedding vows ~ choose what feels right for you to make sure they sound authentic:
⚡ Write your own vows from scratch
⚡ Use my Vow idea starters below (Lucky in Love couples I look after will get more options in their full Idea Starter pack).
⚡ Keep classic traditional wording
⚡ Mix modern + romantic + funny + personal
Your love isn’t copy-paste so your vows shouldn’t be either.
2) Brainstorm Your Love Out Loud
Don’t overthink ~ just write like nobody’s watching.
⚡ Who is your person to you? (bestest friend, my soulmate in every lifetime, biggest cheerleader…)
⚡ What do you adore most about them?
⚡ Share quirks that make you laugh or melt?
⚡ Do you have any defining stories in your relationship?
⚡ How did you know you were in love?
⚡ Looking to the future, what are you most excited about?
⚡ Describe how forever looks for you two?
This is where the magic lives.
3) Pick Your Tone
You can be:
⚡ Funny & playful
⚡ Deep & sincere
⚡ Romantic & poetic
⚡ Pop-culture quoting & cinematic
Or all four babe ~perfection.
Use strong vow words like:
⚡ I vow, I promise, With you, Together we…
because these anchor your vows with weight + intention.
4) Structure It Beautifully
Think of how to write your wedding vows like a love letter:
⚡ Start by addressing them by name
⚡ Say what you love most about them
⚡ Add a moment or memory
⚡ Make your promises ~ funny, romantic or both
⚡ Declare your future vision
⚡ End with one forever line
Concise, powerful, goosebump-inducing.
Final Tips for How to Write Wedding Vows That Hit the Heart
⚡ Start early, not the night before
⚡ 3 drafts max ~ after that, trust yourself.
⚡ Read aloud for rhythm + emotion.
⚡ Pause for laughter + heartbeats (actually write the word ‘pause’ down)
⚡ Humour + warm sincerity = swoon.
⚡ When using humour, remember ~ you’re not auditioning for a comedy special
⚡ A movie quote can make the perfect opening moment or final mic-drop moment.
⚡ Keep vows secret for a heartmelting surprise moment.
⚡ Length never needs to “match” ~ love isn’t measured in words.
Your vows don’t need to be perfect ~ just true to you.
🔥 Four wedding vow styles + samplers you can steal or make your own
1) Funny Wedding Vows (playful, modern, cheeky)
Dear Name/petname
⚡ I promise to love you even when you leave dirty socks on the floor
⚡ I vow never to watch the next episode without you ~ even if the cliffhanger is torturing me emotionally.
⚡ I promise to learn your dishwasher-stacking system, despite it defying physics and reason.
⚡ I vow to share my fries, even when you said you weren’t hungry
But most of all ~ I promise to choose you every morning, every season, every lifetime.
My love, my better half, my favourite notification.
I am yours ~ now and always.
2) Romantic Wedding Vows (soft, heartfelt, poetic)
My Darling Name,
⚡ You are the calm in my chaos and the spark in my every sunrise.
⚡ I love the way your laughter lives in my chest like light.
⚡ I vow to walk with you through storms and summers.
⚡ To build a home of warmth, kindness and whispered dreams.
With you, I am more myself than I ever knew.
I am blessed to love you. Honoured to choose you.
And today I vow to do so for every tomorrow we are gifted.
3) Sincere & Soul-Deep Wedding Vows
Dearest Name,
⚡ Thank you for being my safe place and my greatest adventure.
⚡ I vow to listen fully, love gently and forgive quickly.
⚡ I promise to celebrate you, support you, hold you steady.
⚡ I will stand beside you through triumphs and through the messy middle.
You are my home. My heart. My chosen person.
Today I give you my honesty, my loyalty, my forever.
4) Pop-Culture Inspired Wedding Vows (cinematic love)
Name/pet name,
⚡ “I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad… all I wanna do is grow old with you.” The Wedding Singer
⚡ “It’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. But I want you — every day.” The Notebook
⚡ I vow to keep life fun, keep love loud, keep choosing you.
⚡ I promise to be your teammate, your favourite co-pilot, your late-night snack-runner.
You are my plot twist, my soulmate, my forever movie.
Fade to black ~ we don’t need credits.
Our love is the whole story.
You’ve Got This you gorgeous couple
No stress, pressure or perfect wording required.
Speak from your heart and you will instinctively know how to write your vows so they land like lightning.
Love is the magic. Your vows are the moment it sparks.
And I’m right beside you every step.
Want me to write YOUR vows for you?
⚡ I can craft your vows from scratch
⚡ Edit your drafts into tear-worthy magic
⚡ Create matching vow books + cue cards
⚡ Build a personalised vow writing workbook
Just message: “Help me write my vows”
And consider it done. 💜
Lots of love + fairy dust
your Wedding Fairy Godmother / Marriage Celebrant / Small Wedding Planner
