7 Tips on Writing your own Wedding Vows

 Check with your Officiant

Before rolling up your sleeves and writing your own wedding vows, you’ll want to check with your wedding officiant to make sure they don’t mind custom wedding vows. If you don’t yet have an officiant, consider asking a friend or family member to get ordained, so they can preside over your ceremony. Some ministers or churches may require that you use the traditional set of vows, however this isn’t always the case.

Get started early

A wedding vow is a promise that is meant to last a lifetime. If you’re writing your own, don’t wait until the last minute. You’ll want time to write and rewrite your vows until they are perfect.  Much of writing is rewriting, and with time you can compose several drafts, each a little better than the last. It helps to set goals, like coming up with a final draft a week before the wedding. This will allow some wiggle room should anything unexpected happen.

Borrow From Tradition

To get ideas flowing, take a look at some traditional wedding vows. You might also want to look at vows from other religions. You can deconstruct traditional vows to get the foundation for your own. Then with your own words you can build up new vows and fashion a script that is to your liking.

Determine the mood for your wedding vows

Will your wedding vows be humorous or serious? Romantic or hopeful? Or a combination? Whatever you decide, make sure it comes from the heart. This will also depend on your spouses’ personality. Keep in mind that if you write humorous vows, make sure they capture the seriousness of the commitment you are entering. Being too silly would undercut the mood during the ceremony.

Technical Aspects

­If you and your spouse are writing custom vows, will you be writing them together or separate? Writing together creates the opportunity to play off each other’s words, but writing separately could be better depending on your relationship dynamic. Also, if writing separately you may want to have a third party look them over before the wedding to ensure they are the same length and similar in tone.

 Consider the Audience

If you write your own vows you get the freedom to write what you want, but don’t take it too far. If your vows or too personal, the audience might not understand, or may even become embarrassed. A wedding is not just about the couple- friends and family come to witness your union, so make sure the audience can feel included as well.

 Practice, practice, practice!

Writing the vows is only half the work; you will want to deliver them eloquently as well! Reciting vows at your wedding is ultimately the same thing as giving a speech in front of all your friends and family. This makes it important to practice out loud, and by doing so you will catch any tongue twisters or sentences that are too long.

7 Tips on Writing your own Wedding Vows

 Check with your Officiant

Before rolling up your sleeves and writing your own wedding vows, you’ll want to check with your wedding officiant to make sure they don’t mind custom wedding vows. If you don’t yet have an officiant, consider asking a friend or family member to get ordained, so they can preside over your ceremony. Some ministers or churches may require that you use the traditional set of vows, however this isn’t always the case.

Get started early

A wedding vow is a promise that is meant to last a lifetime. If you’re writing your own, don’t wait until the last minute. You’ll want time to write and rewrite your vows until they are perfect.  Much of writing is rewriting, and with time you can compose several drafts, each a little better than the last. It helps to set goals, like coming up with a final draft a week before the wedding. This will allow some wiggle room should anything unexpected happen.

Borrow From Tradition

To get ideas flowing, take a look at some traditional wedding vows. You might also want to look at vows from other religions. You can deconstruct traditional vows to get the foundation for your own. Then with your own words you can build up new vows and fashion a script that is to your liking.

Determine the mood for your wedding vows

Will your wedding vows be humorous or serious? Romantic or hopeful? Or a combination? Whatever you decide, make sure it comes from the heart. This will also depend on your spouses’ personality. Keep in mind that if you write humorous vows, make sure they capture the seriousness of the commitment you are entering. Being too silly would undercut the mood during the ceremony.

Technical Aspects

­If you and your spouse are writing custom vows, will you be writing them together or separate? Writing together creates the opportunity to play off each other’s words, but writing separately could be better depending on your relationship dynamic. Also, if writing separately you may want to have a third party look them over before the wedding to ensure they are the same length and similar in tone.

 Consider the Audience

If you write your own vows you get the freedom to write what you want, but don’t take it too far. If your vows or too personal, the audience might not understand, or may even become embarrassed. A wedding is not just about the couple- friends and family come to witness your union, so make sure the audience can feel included as well.

 Practice, practice, practice!

Writing the vows is only half the work; you will want to deliver them eloquently as well! Reciting vows at your wedding is ultimately the same thing as giving a speech in front of all your friends and family. This makes it important to practice out loud, and by doing so you will catch any tongue twisters or sentences that are too long.

How to be a Pastor

How to be a PastorAnyone who has recently become ordained may be wondering exactly how to be a pastor. The responsibilities of being a pastor include delivering a well prepared sermon to the congregation each week during church services. The goal of these sermons is to assist the parishioners with their belief in both the doctrine of the church and their relationship with Christ.

Prior to being able to stand before a church and be it’s leader, one must complete the journey of the ordination process. By completing this process, the church officially recognizes the individual’s abilities to perform various types of religious services, including weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other church doctrine-specific acts. Once completed, the individual can apply to openings within their church network for employment as a pastor.

Pastors take on the role of counselor and crisis manager, as members of the church deal with crises, or have experienced a life altering tragedy such as death or sickness. When undertaking the responsibilities of counsel, these church leaders assume the same legal expectation of confidentiality as do licensed medical practitioners such as clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. Without this bond of trust and confidence, the lines of communication between member and leader would break down.

One of the most important tasks that is performed once an individual becomes ordained, is to administer communion. Leaders within the church such as elders and deacons who have not completed the ordination process cannot give communion, as that task is strictly adhered to by the ordained personnel within the church. Another very important portion of being ordained is the teaching of the scripture and church beliefs. This is completed through formal bible study, Sunday school services and organization, and one on one counsel with members of the congregation.

When disputes or disagreements find their way into the business dealings of the church, the ordained leader of the church acts as the buffer. An example would be if members of a board of directors cannot come to a suitable agreement on actions directly affecting the church, or if there are disagreements and friction between individual members of the congregation. This leader acts on the belief of good faith, and attempts to temper any ill-will that may have lasting effects within the church body. These duties are implicitly required to be a successful leader within any church.

The ordained leader of the church will often lead prayers, not just for members of the church, and not just for Christians, but for anyone who is deemed in need of God’s love and guidance. Asking for the Lord’s blessing for those who are in desperate need of his love or forgiveness, provides the church an opportunity to convey the Lord’s message through prayer and good deeds for their fellow man. As the ordained leader of the church and all that encompasses, this individual oversees the junior ordained leadership to ensure a strong structural hierarchy.

How to be a Pastor

How to be a PastorAnyone who has recently become ordained may be wondering exactly how to be a pastor. The responsibilities of being a pastor include delivering a well prepared sermon to the congregation each week during church services. The goal of these sermons is to assist the parishioners with their belief in both the doctrine of the church and their relationship with Christ.

Prior to being able to stand before a church and be it’s leader, one must complete the journey of the ordination process. By completing this process, the church officially recognizes the individual’s abilities to perform various types of religious services, including weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other church doctrine-specific acts. Once completed, the individual can apply to openings within their church network for employment as a pastor.

Pastors take on the role of counselor and crisis manager, as members of the church deal with crises, or have experienced a life altering tragedy such as death or sickness. When undertaking the responsibilities of counsel, these church leaders assume the same legal expectation of confidentiality as do licensed medical practitioners such as clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. Without this bond of trust and confidence, the lines of communication between member and leader would break down.

One of the most important tasks that is performed once an individual becomes ordained, is to administer communion. Leaders within the church such as elders and deacons who have not completed the ordination process cannot give communion, as that task is strictly adhered to by the ordained personnel within the church. Another very important portion of being ordained is the teaching of the scripture and church beliefs. This is completed through formal bible study, Sunday school services and organization, and one on one counsel with members of the congregation.

When disputes or disagreements find their way into the business dealings of the church, the ordained leader of the church acts as the buffer. An example would be if members of a board of directors cannot come to a suitable agreement on actions directly affecting the church, or if there are disagreements and friction between individual members of the congregation. This leader acts on the belief of good faith, and attempts to temper any ill-will that may have lasting effects within the church body. These duties are implicitly required to be a successful leader within any church.

The ordained leader of the church will often lead prayers, not just for members of the church, and not just for Christians, but for anyone who is deemed in need of God’s love and guidance. Asking for the Lord’s blessing for those who are in desperate need of his love or forgiveness, provides the church an opportunity to convey the Lord’s message through prayer and good deeds for their fellow man. As the ordained leader of the church and all that encompasses, this individual oversees the junior ordained leadership to ensure a strong structural hierarchy.