Sample Vow Renewal Script
Are you in need of a sample script for your upcoming vow renewal ceremony? Whether you want something brief or inspiration for the entire script, we’ve got you covered. And don’t be afraid to throw some special reading into the ceremony as well, this is your day and it’s all about how you want the event to flow.
First, a Brief Primer on Vow Renewals
Vow renewals are just that – renewals. You can use old wordage with minor changes to create brand new promises to each other to signify a change in your lives, relationship and visions for the future. Or you can switch things up completely and use new readings and new vows.
You’re already legally married, so the script is completely up to you and your spouse.
Use some of the examples below as inspiration and create something personalized from what speaks to your heart and your marriage.
Two Example Vow Renewal Scripts You Can Use
Traditional
[Husband and Wife], it is a pleasure to share today’s wonderful occasion with you.
Many people believe that entering into marriage is the final step in a romantic relationship. A couple meets, get to know one another and fall in love, decide they want to spend their lives together, and then take the final step—marriage.
But marriage is hardly the final step in a couple’s relationship, rather it is the beginning of a grand adventure!
You have shared the joys, blessings and challenges of married life for _______ years. Today you want to reconfirm your commitment to working together and ensuring your marriage blossoms for years to come. May this renewing of the vows you took to become husband and wife remind you that despite the stresses inevitable in every life, your love, respect, trust and understanding of each other will continue to increase your contentment and heighten your joy in living.
Please join hands.
[Husband], will you continue to have [Wife] as your wife and continue to live in this marriage? (I WILL)
Do you reaffirm your love to her, and will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live? (I DO)
[Wife], will you continue to have [Husband] as your husband and continue to live in this marriage? (I WILL)
Do you reaffirm your love for him, and will you love, honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live? (I DO)
On your wedding day you exchanged rings as a symbol of the never-ending circle of love. Rings serve as a reminder of your vows to each other, and your commitment to live in unity, love and happiness. At this time, reconfirm the meaning of the rings you wear.
Please join your left hands together so that [Husband’s] hand is on top. [Husband], please repeat after me…………………
[Wife], I wear this ring you placed on my hand————- as a symbol of my love and commitment to you.
Now, with [Wife’s] hand on top, [Wife] please repeat after me:
[Husband], I wear this ring you placed on my hand——–as a symbol of my love and commitment to you.
I ask that you each continue to cherish each other as special and unique individuals and that you respect the thoughts and ideas of one another. And most of all, be able to forgive each other, and not hold grudges against. Live each day in love with each other, always being there to give love, comfort, and refuge, in good times and bad.
[Husband and Wife], today you have renewed the vows you made to each other on your blessed wedding day. You have symbolized the renewal of your union by the joining of hands, the taking of vows, and by the wearing of your rings.
It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that joined you and binds you as husband and wife. Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a kiss!
Secular
[Bride and groom], When you first joined in marriage ___ years ago, you did not know what life would bring you.
You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through it all. And while life has brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult challenges over the years, here you are today, having fulfilled the vows to love, honor and cherish each other. And God is smiling on you!
As you celebrate your renewed commitment here today, and as you reflect on your life together as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the vows you took ___ years ago?
WE DO
Please face each other and join hands.
Renewal of Vows Ceremony
[Groom], will you continue to have [Bride] as your wife and continue to live in this happy, loving marriage?
Groom: I WILL
Do you reaffirm your love for her, and will you love, honor and cherish your wife in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?
Groom: I DO
[Bride], will you continue to have [Groom] as your husband and continue to live in this happy, loving marriage?
Bride: I WILL
Do you reaffirm your love for him, and will you love, honor and cherish your husband in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?
Bride: I DO
(insert optional reading here)
Exchanges of Rings
[Bride and Groom], on your wedding day many years ago you exchanged rings as a symbol of the never-ending circle that connects you to the eternal quality of God, unending strength, and unending love!
May you always wear your rings as a reminder of your vows to one another, and your commitment to continue to live in unity, love and happiness. To remind you of this commitment, you will now renew your vows.
[Groom], please place the ring on [Bride’s] hand and say the words, “With this ring I renew my pledge of love and commitment.”
[Bride], please place the ring on [Groom’s] hand with the words, “With this ring I renew my pledge of love and commitment.”
Reading and Blessing of Couples
Marriage is a commitment to care for one another in mutually-fulfilling ways. It is not an act but rather a life-long relationship that’s always evolving.
Marriage enriches every part of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, and even anger is felt more strongly. However, it passes away more quickly.
Marriage understands and forgives mistakes. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in this way, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any words, whether written or spoken.
Marriage is the promise made in the hearts of two people who love each other. The potential of marriage takes a lifetime to fulfill.
Optional Sections
[Bride and groom] have expressed how blessed they are to have enjoyed ___ years of marriage. Their greatest wish is that everyone here today be a part of this special ceremony celebrating love and marriage. We would like all married couples to please rise and stand with their spouses.
At this time, we offer a special blessing upon all married couples celebrating with [Bride and Groom] here today.
May they be blessed with the guidance, strength and direction to make their relationship grow and blossom in the years ahead. May their home be blessed with joy and happiness, and may they strive together to make their hopes and dreams come true.
Most of all, we ask that all couples be blessed by the love and support of family and friends as they continue life together as husband and wife.
And, from this day forth, may their worries be few, may their joys be many, and may their love grow more abundantly with each passing day. Amen.
Optional involvement of children:
One of the great blessings of marriage is the joy and responsibility of raising a family. [Bride and Groom] have truly been blessed to be the parents of _______(and) _______
As [Bride and Groom] renew their vows today, they also renew their commitment to be loving, caring parents to _______(and)__________, recognizing with gratefulness the the happiness and fulfillment that ________(and)____________ (has, have) brought to their marriage and family life.
Pronouncement
[Bride and Groom], today you have renewed the vows you made to each other on your wedding day. You have symbolized this renewal by the joining of hands, the taking of vows, and the exchanging of rings.
It is with great pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing your vows of marriage. Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a sign of affection….you may now kiss!
Vow Renewal Readings
Traditional
I Carry Your Heart With Me
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
—e.e. cummings
Secular
Bible Reading from Corinthians:
Love endures and is kind.
Love is not envious or jealous.
Love wants not for itself.
Love is not puffed up, nor does it behave wrongly.
Love seeks not for it’s own.
Love is not easily provoked.
Love is not rude.
Love thinks No evil.
Love does not rejoice in wrong, but dwells in the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things, and love never fails.
