Writing your vows can be one of the most important, but intimidating parts of planning a wedding. If you're not someone who is particularly good at expressing your emotions, writing the vows can seem like an impossible task. Guess what? You're not alone. For centuries, there have been incredible writers describing love in the most beautiful ways you can imagine so here are some examples you can use for inspiration when you have writers block.
One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII - Pablo Neruda
"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams."
Pablo Neruda is one of the most beautiful writers of all time. This is one of his most beautiful and tender poems (this is just a snippet of the sonnet,) and it talks about loving his wife not because she is beautiful, he loves her deeply for who she truly is. He can't explain this love, as it comes so naturally to him, but Neruda explains that he loves his wife so much that their bodies are essentially connected.
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
I love this quote by Victor Hugo. Love at its core means loving the best of your partner while still loving and accepting the parts of them that might not be so great. Moreover, I think this quote is a way of saying that true happiness is being loved by someone even when we might not love ourselves as much.
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein,
“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
This is from a text and writer you might not have heard of - but it's an incredibly simple but powerful message about love. I think it speaks for itself - but it could be a beautiful way to really explain to your partner just how important they are to you.
Allegiant - Veronica Roth
“I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up...I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.”
I chose this one because marriage is hard work. It's something that two people have to decide they are committed to every single day. This quote is simple, but powerful. Roth acknowledges that love is an equal decision and despite any arguments or setbacks - it is still be the most powerful bond that can overcome anything.
Sonnet 116 - William Shakespeare
"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."
This sonnet describes love as a partnership that is strong enough to withstand any challenges. He explains that love is powerful enough to guide someone who may have felt lost, onto a path that will make them better. Shakespeare explains that while love remains a mystery and it's worth can't truly be calculated, it's clear that love is powerful enough to defy logic and lasts forever - even beyond death.
I know that some of these quotes seem complicated - but it's the message of each little snippet that makes them powerful. When you're stumped about where to begin when writing your vows, inspiration can come from anywhere. These are just a few examples of ways to think about how to start attempting to explain how much you love your partner.
Photography: Hailey and Joel Photography
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