How To End Your Wedding Vows

Starting a wedding vow is challenging enough, but many brides and grooms-to-be run into a real writer’s block when it comes to the ending.

Remember that no one will judge you, and there’s no such thing as a perfect wedding vow ending. You don’t write your vow for anyone but for your partner, and their opinion is all that matters.

Consider your overall vow tone, wedding formality, what makes your relationship unique, and draw inspiration from wedding vow examples to create the perfect ending.

The Vow Style

When thinking about how to end your wedding vow, consider the overall vow style. Define whether it’s humorous, romantic, formal, short and sweet, or sentimental.

As a rule of thumb, the tone should be consistent throughout the entire speech. For example, if your vow has a romantic beginning, it should also have a romantic ending.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t insert a couple of lighthearted jokes here and there in your vow, but the ending shouldn’t be drastically different from the main part.

Suppose you’ve been serious and a bit sentimental throughout your entire vow. Inserting a dumb joke at the end may be odd. The guests and your partner may simply not understand it because they didn’t expect it.

Your vow’s tone should also align with your wedding formality level. Typically, religious or highly formal civil weddings call for traditional vows, while casual ceremonies allow more freedom of expression.

Wrap With a Look in The Future

One of the best ways to end a wedding vow is by sharing your thoughts, hopes, and goals for the future. Of course, you should share thoughts on your future with your partner rather than your personal objectives.

Wrapping up a wedding vow with a look into the future is both romantic and logical. A traditional wedding vow begins with a look at the past in the form of a story or a short statement and expression of current feelings.

Sharing your hopes and goals is a perfect way to tie together the past, present, and future. After all, you plan to be with your partner forever and ever, beyond time. Your wedding is only the beginning of your life as a family.

The wedding ceremony signifies the new chapter of your lives, so your vows are an opportunity to outline what you expect from this new stage. Maybe you’re looking forward to growing old together.

Perhaps, you’d like to travel the entire world with your partner by your side, build a business empire, or create a loving family with many kids.

Most importantly, your look in the future should reflect your attitude to life and relationship goals.

For instance, if you’re both adventurous people, say something like, “I can’t wait to see what adventures await us ahead.”

Or, if you’re both artsy, you may say, “I look forward to visiting every art gallery around the globe with you.”

End With a Promise

Although a traditional wedding vow structure is specific, no rules are set in stone. You can refrain from any vow element but one – the actual vows. A promise is what makes an ordinary speech a vow.

Some people prefer short vows that consist solely of promises. Even if you want to begin with a declaration of love, an explanation of what you love about your partner or a story, promises are an excellent way to wrap up your speech.

Perhaps, the first vows that come to mind are to cherish, love, and support your partner until the end of your life.

Feel free to incorporate these words into your vow if you genuinely feel like it, but also try to elaborate and make your vows more personal to avoid them sounding generic.

Think of what matters the most in your relationship with your significant other. Maybe they value honesty in any situation, good or bad; perhaps, they always come up with wild ideas and appreciate you for accepting them.

In this case, you may say something like, “I vow to always stay truthful, in the good times and the bad,” or “I vow to always support your ideas, no matter how crazy they are.”

Your vows are also an excellent place to sprinkle in humor but don’t say anything that could humiliate or embarrass your partner. For example, saying “I vow to never watch new episodes without you” is alright.

However, saying “I promise to never remind you about your ex” or “I promise to always unclog the bathtub from your hair without saying a word” may be inappropriate for a formal ceremony, even if you both find it funny.

Don’t Overthink It & Keep It Short

Many people struggle to end their wedding vows because they overthink. Your wedding vow ending is undoubtedly important, but it isn’t the most critical part of your speech, and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Frankly, there’s no such thing as “perfect” when it comes to wedding vows. A general fear of writing, saying something dumb, or insufficiently romantic hinders most people from writing their vows.

Say what you think as long as it’s appropriate for the occasion and location. You don’t have to write a Shakespeare-style poem; simply be genuine and sincere.

One of the most common wedding vow writing mistakes is excessive length. This refers to wedding vows in general and endings in particular. Don’t write a 50-word sentence about your hopes and dreams for the future.

Keep the ending relatively short. You can write down everything you can think of your goals, hopes, dreams, and promises. However, you should reread the text and shorten it for clarity afterward.

If you struggle to define the best statements, consider reading your vow to a close friend. They can advise you on which sentences seem redundant and which are spot-on.

Examples of Funny Vow Endings

Each relationship is unique, so there’s no wedding vow ending that would work for everyone. However, wedding vow ending examples can serve as an inspiration source for your writing.

There’s nothing wrong with inserting a statement found online in your vow if you genuinely share the thought. Still, the best practice is to customize the example to better reflect your relationship and feelings towards your partner.

If you’re looking for a humorous vow ending, remember to keep your jokes appropriate and lighthearted. The funniest jokes are usually the most relevant ones, so consider your relationship’s unique traits.

Suppose you deeply admire your partner, but they have odd food habits you often joke about. You may wrap up with something along the lines of:

“I vow to love you for your best traits, for those that drive me a bit mad, and for those that leave me completely perplexed… pickles on peanut butter, really? Either way, I accept all of you for who you are, today and always.”

Or, let’s assume your partner is a very introverted person. You may end the vow with “I promise to always stand by your side, take care of you when you’re sick, and advocate for you when you’re too shy to send back a wrong meal at the restaurant.”

If your partner admires comics, your final promise can be “I vow to always protect you, your secrets, and your comics collection.” The idea is to combine romance with humor without going overboard and transforming the speech into a comedy.

Examples of Formal Vow Endings

You can’t go wrong with a formal wedding vow style. It may feel a bit impersonal, but it’s always perfectly balanced and never awkward. Traditional vows are typically short, only consisting of a couple of sentences.

Perhaps, the most traditional wedding vow wording is “in sickness and death, until death does us part” and its modifications. You likely know it without reciting it, and it usually ends with “I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”

However, you can customize this conventional format to your preference. For instance, you may say, “I will respect and cherish you until the end of times,” instead of “I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”

Either way, a formal wedding vow typically ends with a declaration of love and a promise to love/cherish/respect/honor the partner forever/until death does you part/until the end of times or a variation of it.

Examples of Romantic Vow Endings

Romantic wedding vow wording is similar to formal but more personal and emotional. The goal is to melt your partner’s heart – and everyone else’s.

For example, the bride may end her vow with, “I know I can achieve and overcome anything by your side. I’m proud to call you my lawful husband.”

Or, the groom may say something like, “I promise to always take care of you, be there for you, day or night, to share my hopes and dreams as we build our family. You’re my soulmate and best friend; I love you to the moon and back.”