A World of Weddings

Vows from all cultures

Wedding vows are one of the major parts of the ceremony and most people are familiar with the traditional pronouncements.

But may different cultures have their own interpretations of how to announce a lifetime of commitment.

This is from Apache Native American beliefs:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.

May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years,

May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Explanation:

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship - as they threaten all relationships at one time or another - remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.

The Buddhist vows are as follows:

In the future, happy occasions will come as surely as the morning.

Difficult times will come as surely as the night.

When things go joyously, meditate according to the Buddhist tradition.

When things go badly, meditate.

Meditation in the manner of the Compassionate Buddha will guide your life.

To say the words ‘love and compassion’ is easy.

But to accept that love and compassion are built upon patience

and perseverance is not easy.”

A Muslim couple exchange the following vows:

Bride: “I (name) offer you in myself in marriage in

accordance with the instructions of the Holy Quar‘an

and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing be upon Him.

I pledge, in honesty and with sincerity, to be for you an

obedient and faithful wife.”

Groom: “I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you

a faithful and helpful husband.”

In a civil ceremony the following words are often stated:

(Name), I take you to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife).

Before these witnesses I vow to love you and care for you

as long as we both shall live.

I take you, with all your faults and strengths,

as I offer myself to you

with all my faults and strengths.

I will help you when you need help, and

turn to you when I need help.

I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.