Simple Wedding Vows
Forty-five seconds, four sentences. For a small ceremony, a registry office, or anyone who would rather not stand in front of a room for two minutes.
The four-sentence template
NAME, I love you.
I promise to ONE PROMISE.
I promise to SECOND PROMISE.
I will be here for all of it, for the rest of my life.
A finished example, about forty-five seconds
Marcus, I love you.
I promise to tell you the truth, gently, and on the day rather than the week after.
I promise to make you laugh at least once before breakfast.
I will be here for all of it — the good years, the boring ones, and whatever else turns up.
When short is the right choice
- 1
Registry office ceremonies, which are often under fifteen minutes in total.
- 2
If either of you finds public speaking genuinely hard.
- 3
Elopements and very small ceremonies, where two minutes of speech feels enormous.
- 4
If the person you are marrying would prefer it. That is reason enough.
How to cut long vows down
- 5
Cut the backstory. Keep one promise from each pair.
- 6
Cut every sentence explaining a promise rather than making it.
- 7
Cut the second joke.
- 8
Read aloud with a timer. Forty-five seconds is about ninety words.
Very short options
- 9
I promise to keep choosing you. Every day, on purpose.
- 10
I will be honest with you, and I will stay.
- 11
You are my favourite person. I promise to keep acting like it.
- 12
I promise the ordinary days as much as this one.
Questions people actually ask
How short can wedding vows be?
Four sentences and about ninety words is a complete vow, roughly forty-five seconds. Nobody has ever left a wedding wishing the vows had been longer.