The Most Important Promise We Will Ever Make
April 24th, 2007 @ 6:58 pm by Mrs. Emerald
137 days to go! I tend to be a plan-aheader, so I asked our officiant (the lovely Terry Brady) if he could hash out an outline of our ceremony. Summer is just around the corner, and I don’t want to be stressed out and swamped with a To-Do list up the wazoo. I love that he is so flexible and willing to personalize the ceremony to our liking 100 percent! So Terry was kind enough to email us a rough draft yesterday.
Wow.
It’s not perfect yet and it needs a bit of tweaking. But sitting there, reading through what he wrote… it nearly brought me to tears and I had to look away from my computer to compose myself. I guess it was the combination of his words, and also the realization that soon, we will be making the most important promise of our lives! We plan on writing our own vows… it just seems more personal that way. But Terry also included a simple set of vows just in case we opt not to, that got me all choked up. If for any reason we develop a case of writers block, or suddenly are tongue tied on our wedding day, I would be happy just to repeat these words that Terry wrote.
I, Miss E take you Mr. E, to be my husband
My partner in life, and my one true love
I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you
I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst
Through the difficult and the easy
What may come I will always be there
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep
The other line in his draft that really got me all mushy-gushy was the final line…
Please stand and join me in celebrating for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. B & C Emerald!!
I swear, I am gonna be an absolute emotional mess that day… but in a good way!
So, how much input are y’all getting in your ceremonies? Yay or Nay to writing your own vows?
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11 Responses to “The Most Important Promise We Will Ever Make”
Two nights ago when we were going to bed I randomly burst into tears and tried my best to hide it from FH. I thought I did a good job until yesterday when he asked me what was wrong the night before. I think the event that will trigger my tears will involve my dad, and then I’ll continue crying all the way through to the reception. I’m definitely going to SWIM in my makeup after the trial to be certain it won’t smudge! How awful would it be to have to redo all my makeup between the ceremony and the formals?!
Oh, and we are doing the “hands ceremony” that I think I found on here a long time ago, because while I’m a word-fiend, FH not so much and this way it will be something to do together without singling either of us out 
We’re using these celtic handfasting vows for our formal vows - “You cannot possess me for I belong to myself. But while we both wish
it, I give you that which is mine to give. You cannot command me for I
am a free person. But I shall serve you in those ways you require and
the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand. I pledge to you
that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night, and the eyes into
which I smile in the morning. I pledge to you the first bite from my
meal and the first drink from my cup. I pledge to you my living and my
dying, each equally in your care. I shall be a shield for your back,
and you for mine. I shall not slander you, nor you me. I shall honor
you above all others, and when we quarrel, we shall do so in private and
tell no strangers our grievances. This is my wedding vow to you. This
is the marriage of equals.”
Since we’re not engaged yet, we haven’t decided about the vows or anything, but your post title is sweet to me because my BF is so serious about all of the promises he makes — he even opted not to take a vow when he joined the military (which is usually required) because he wanted to save his promises for times like the wedding vows.
aww - that is really tear-jerking!
i’m going to be a mess on our big day..(even though we’re not writing our own vows)…
i think FH isn’t going to be that emotional..
so i keep trying to convince him to shed a tear for me. HAHAHAHA - i’m so lame. hahaha~
We did the traditional vows, repeating after the minister. Writing and memorizing vows was one thing from the very beginning we knew we didn’t want to stress over. It was perfect for us.
We haven’t talked about this aspect of things yet, I worry that I will be so lost in the moment that I won’t remember what he says (much like my memories of the proposal)…so perhaps prewritten will be better…….
It’s true that the VOW is really the most important detail of all, starting from the moment of engagement until you get home from the honeymoon. And yet somehow this detail can easy get lost in all the other mountains of minutae that demand constant attention. Bravo for reminding us about what matters so much!
I didn’t think the vows were “important”. I thought no one ever even listens to them. But everytime I have seen a wedding on tv or I was in one, it gets me everytime! I start crying like a baby. That gets me all chocked up.
We can’t write our own vows because it has to go according to the church’s way. But I think they will be just as meaningful anyway. Anything we want to say to eachother, we already have and we know what we MEAN no matter what the words may be.
Heh…we have the same wedding date Miss. Emerald!! Easy to remember, too.
My sister is a Presbyterian Minister and will be conducting the ceremony. Any ideas on how not to be a complete blithering mess when I walk down the aisle and see my older sister and my fiance waiting for me.
Seriously.
I’m crying as I write this!!
ARGH!
Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Hospitality Administration
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal
Engagement Date: October 8, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: November 29, 2006
Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL
About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
we plan on writing our own vows. i think, if you can swing it, it is a great way to personalize your wedding. from what the bf has already written me in cards and notes coupled with the significance of the day, i’m gonna need a box full of kleenex. just the thought of our wedding sometimes makes me tear up. funny since i always figured i wouldn’t be the one crying. i guess this is my reward for taking bets on who was going to cry in my friends’ weddings. lol. so don’t bet on me!