Samples of Religious Wedding Vows
August 23, 2007 by Christine Gooding
Filed under Wedding Vows

Having a religious wedding ceremony and need help in writing your wedding vows? I’ve found these samples in the web. I hope you find them useful!
Contemporary Religious Wedding Vows
Before God our Father, Who has given us the gift of love, I (Name), join with you, (Name), in the covenant of marriage. I promise to give my faithful, life-giving love to you, and to share my life with you, as long as we shall live. May this community of faith witness our love for each other for the rest of our lives.
In the sight of God’s love, and in the presence of our families and friends, I (Name), take you, (Name), to be my (husband/wife). I offer my friendship and trust in you, promising to be faithful and understanding, as long as we both shall live.
In the presence of the Lord and of this assembly, I take thee, (Name), to be my (husband/wife), promising with Divine Assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful (husband/wife), until death shall separate us.
I love you, (Name). Today is a very special day. Long ago you were just a dream and a prayer. Thank you for being what you are to me. With our future as bright as the promises of God, I will care for you, honor and protect you. I lay down my life for you, my friend and my love.
I love you, (Name), and I know that this love is from God. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you, as Christ does his Church, as long as we both shall live.
I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wedded (husband/wife); to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, or the Lord comes for His own, and hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
(Name), I will be a strong spiritual leader for us in our life, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in joys and in sorrows, until death do we part. I give you all that I have, myself, and my love. All these things I pledge to thee in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. With this ring, I seal my vow of love to you, and pray I may fulfill God’s place in our home, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I love you, (Name), and I thank the Lord for the love that has bound our hearts and lives together in spiritual fellowship of marriage. I will love, honor, and cherish you always. As we enter upon the privileges and joys of life’s most holy relationship, and begin together the great adventure of life, I will love you in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in sorrow as in joy, and will be true to you, so long as we both shall live.
(Name), I take you to be my (husband/wife). I pledge you the rest of my life, as your partner and your friend. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I promise to love you, (Name), with an unselfish devotion. I will care for you with tenderness, and I will always seek to strengthen you, comfort you, encourage you, and hold you up daily in prayer before our Heavenly Father. I pledge you my faithfulness and eternal love, from this day forward.
(Name), in the sight of God’s love, and the presence of our families and friends, I give to you friendship and trust, guidance and support, love and compassion, promising to be faithful and understanding, for as long as we both shall live.
I, (Name), take thee, (Name), to be my (husband/wife). To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore.
I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my (husband/wife). To share the good times and hard times, side by side. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace, and pledge my faith and love to you. Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. With this ring, I thee wed.
Before our friends and those so special to us here, on this wonderful day of gladness and good fortune, I, (Name), take you, (Name), as my (husband/wife), in friendship and in love, in strength and weakness, to share the good times and misfortune, in achievement and failure, to celebrate life with you forevermore.
Formal Religious Wedding Vows
Sample One
(Groom) I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wedded wife. With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband. Always will I perform my headship over you even as Christ does over me, knowing that His Lordship is one of the holiest desires for my life. I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care. I promise I will live first unto God rather than others or even you. I promise that I will lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. Ever honoring God’s guidance by His spirit through the Word, And so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.
(Bride) I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wedded husband. With deepest joy I come into my new life with you. As you have pledged to me your life and love, so I too happily give you my life, and in confidence submit myself to your headship as to the Lord. As is the church in her relationship to Christ, so I will be to you. (Name), I will live first unto our God and then unto you, loving you, obeying you, caring for you and ever seeking to please you. God has prepared me for you and so I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you. Therefore, throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as an obedient and faithful wife.
Sample Two
(Groom) I love you, (Name), and I know that God has ordained this love. Because of this I desire to be your husband. Together we will be vessels for His service in accordance with His plan, so that in all areas of our life Christ will have the pre-eminence. Through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future, I promise to be faithful to you. I promise to love, guide, and protect you as Christ does His Church, and as long as we both are alive. According to Ephesians 5 and with His enabling power, I promise to endeavor to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one.
(Bride) I love you, (Name,) and I know that you love me. Because of this I desire to be your wife. For X# of years, I have prayed that God would lead me to His choice, and I am confident that His will is being fulfilled tonight. Through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future I promise to be faithful to you. I will love, serve, and obey you as long as we both are alive. Christ told us that the wife must submit herself unto her own husband as unto the Lord. For as Christ is Head of His Church so is the husband head of his wife. (Name), I submit myself to you.
Sample Three
(Groom) I (Name), take you (Name), to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ’till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
(Bride) I, (Name), take you (Name), to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, ’till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
Sample Four
(Groom) (Name), we read in Genesis, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife,” and in Proverbs “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing.” He has ordained that the husband be the head of the wife. He instructs me, as the one who will be your husband, to love you as Christ loves the Church. It is my desire and delight to follow this scriptural teaching. With all my heart, I make this pledge to you.
(Bride) (Name), the Lord instructs me as the one who will be your wife to submit to you as unto Him. Our Father created woman to be man’s helper. It is my desire and delight to follow this scriptural teaching. With all my heart I make this pledge to you.
Sample Five
(Groom) (Name), I love you. Today is a very special day. Long ago you were just a dream and a prayer. This day like a dream come true the Lord Himself has answered that prayer. For today, (Name), you as my joy become my crown. I thank Jesus for the honor of going through time with you. Thank you for being what you are to me. With our future as bright as the promises of God, I will care for you, honor and protect you. I lay down my life for you, (Name), my friend and my love. Today I give to you me.
(Bride) (Name), I love you and I know you love me. I am confident that God has chosen you to be my husband. It is my prayer and desire that you will find in me the helpmeet God designed especially for you, and in confidence I will submit myself unto your headship as unto our Lord. Therefore, (Name), I pledge to you my life as an obedient, faithful and loving wife. Whither thou goest I will go, whither thou lodgest I will lodge, Thy people shall be my people, And thy God my God.
Sample Six
(Groom) (Name), I love you and I know that this love is from God. Because of this, I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ together. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you as Christ does his church, as long as we both shall live. God’s Word gives us the perfect example of this love in Christ’s death for the Church. I shall try always, with God’s help, to show you this same kind of love, for I know that in His sight we will both be one.
(Bride) (Name), I love you. I prayed that God would lead me to his choice. I praise Him that tonight His will is being fulfilled. Through the pressures of the present, and uncertainties of the future, I promise you my faithfulness; to follow you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God, that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ, and our home be a praise to Him.
Sample Seven
(Groom) (Name), as we stand before both God and man, making public our commitment to one another, I wish to make it known that I recognize first of all God’s authority over my life which is exercised from His loving heart. He has chosen me to be one of his own, and He is now my life. I recognize also that He has blessed me and entrusted to me your life as a free gift that I have not earned. In recognition of these things, (Name) I purpose to love you with His love, to provide for your needs through His enablement, and to lead you as He leads me, as long as He give us life together, regardless of the circumstances. As Psalm 34:4 expressed my heart when I asked you to marry me, so it expresses my heart now: “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His Name together.”
(Bride) On this special day, (Name), I am reminded of the verse James l:17 which says, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” With a gift such as you, I know that many new responsibilities face me. In I Corinthians, it explains, “It is required of a steward to be found trustworthy.” I cannot do this on my own strength, (Name), but by God’s grace and power working within me I desire to be trustworthy as your wife by following your leading submissively, even as unto Christ, loving and serving you in all circumstances as long as He give me life on this earth.
Sample Eight
(Groom) (Name), I give you this ring; wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.
(Bride) (Name), I give you this ring; wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my husband: to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. And hereto, I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one.
Sample Nine
(Groom) I, (Name), take you (Name) to be my wife, before God who brought us together; to love and cherish you even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it, to lead you and share all of life’s experiences with you by following God through them. That through His grace, (Name), we might grow together into the likeness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
(Bride) And with this ring, I, (Name), take you, (Name). to be my husband, before God who brought us together; to love you, cherish you, to submit myself unto you in all things, and to follow you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God. That through His grace we might grow together into the likeness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Sample Ten
(Groom) I, (Name), take you (Name), to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, or the Lord comes for His own, and hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
(Bride) I, (Name), take you (Name), to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love land to cherish, till death do us part, or the Lord comes for His own, and hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
Sample Eleven
(Groom) I (Name), in faith, honesty and love, take you, (Name), to be my wedded wife, to share with you God’s plan for our lives together united in Christ. And with God’s help, to strengthen and guide me I will be a strong spiritual leader for us in our life, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in joys and in sorrows, until death do we part. I give you all that I have, myself and my love. (All these things I pledge to thee) In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. With this ring I seal my vow of love to you, (Name), and pray I may fulfill God’s place in our home, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Sample Twelve
(Groom) I love you, (Name), and I thank the Lord for the love that has bound our hearts and lives together in spiritual fellowship of marriage. I will love, honor and cherish you always. As we enter upon the privileges and joys of life’s most holy relationship, and begin together the great adventure of building a Christian home, I will look to Christ as Head of our home as I have looked to Him as Head of the Church. I will love you in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in sorrow as in joy, and will be true to you by God’s grace, trusting in Him, so long as we both shall live.
(Bride) I love you, (Name), and I thank the Lord for the love that has bound our hearts and lives together in spiritual fellowship of marriage. I will love, honor, cherish and obey you always. As we enter upon the privileges and joys of life’s most holy relationship and begin together the great adventure of building a Christian home, I will look to you as head of our home as I have looked to Christ as Head of the Church. I will love you in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in sorrow as in joy, and will be true to you by God’s grace, trusting in Him, so long as we both shall live.
Sample Thirteen (sample of personally written vows)
(Groom) (Name), as we stand before both God and man making public our commitment to one another, I wish to make it known that I recognize God’s authority over my life, which is exercised from His loving heart. He has chosen me to be one of His own, and has since been my life. I recognize also that He has blessed me, and entrusted to me your life as an unearned gift. In recognition of these things, I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wife. I purpose to love you with His love, to provide for your needs through His enablement, and to lead you as He leads me, as long as He gives me life, regardless of circumstances. (Name), I look forward to establishing a home where Christ is glorified. Toward that end I promise to allow God to use you in my life as He sees best in building me into His person. I thank Him for your love and friendship.
(Bride) I (Name), take you, (Name), to be my husband. With the greatest joy I come into my new life with you. Today I am reminded of James l:17 which says, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Besides the gift of salvation, you are the most precious gift God has given me. I know that along with the new joys God has given me, I face new responsibilities that I cannot fulfill in my own strength. But by God’s grace and power working within me, I desire to be trustworthy as your wife, to serve and love you in all circumstances, to obey you, to allow God to use you to build His qualities in me, as long as God give us life on this earth. I praise God continually for you, (Name), and for your love and friendship.
The Book of Common Prayer
I, (Name) take thee, (Name) to be my wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, ’til death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; thereto I plight thee my troth. (Thereto I pledge my love).
















