Traditional weddings are becoming a thing of the past for most.  We want to express our individuality as a couple while professing our love.  This is not to say we won’t have a little tradition within our weddings.  All weddings include vows we make to each other.  We may stray from the more traditional vows to the more original, but we still find deep meaning in the words we speak.  Original wedding vows may be poems, filled with humor, or simple words of love.

A lot of individuals want to keep their vows private until the wedding.  This can be a drawback when you write original vows because you might not know what your partner wishes.  One way to gain the knowledge of what your partner expects is to talk over what type of vows you would like to have.  Ask your partner if they want to speak the traditional vows or if they would like something more from the heart.  Once you have your partners input you can simply start with lists of what you value in your partner, what you value in marriage, and what you might have in common.  
 
Ask yourself some questions:
What do I want to say?  Where did we meet, can I use that story for my vows?  What were your feelings when you decided to get married?  How did you propose/ how did your partner propose?  What do I want to say in 50 years?  How will our lives be in 20 years?  Most individuals feel they could not possibly love their partner more than on their wedding day, use those feelings to project what you might see in your future.  What promises do you wish to proclaim?  Know your partners feelings, what they see for your marriage.  Use those commonalities to write your original wedding vows.

A simple list may turn into a lovely poem that rhymes or maybe an unstructured poem that gives way to your feelings.  You might opt for a little humor to lighten the mood with laughter and your partner’s smile.  An example may be including struggles you have had making it to the alter, by reminding your partner that these struggles only made you love them more.
 
When writing your original wedding vows keep in mind a few things, such as your audience, how your partner will react, and being appropriate.  Your audience may determine the vows you chose.  While being original in your words of love you might take a more traditional approach because you have an older audience.  You might decide sexual innuendo’s fits the humor you wish to have in your original wedding vows, but is your audience going to appreciate these jokes, will your partner?

You should decide with your partner what is appropriate.  What you may think is humorous and loving may not be the same idea your partner has.  Your partner may want the more traditional vows and be offended by trying to lighten the mood with humor.  Remember no bad surprises for your partner.  Being original doesn’t mean you have to include humor, it is just one of the many options.  When writing your wedding vows use the resources you have at hand, the Internet, or books about wedding vows.
 
Keep the heart in your vows.  Don’t lose the meaning because you are trying to be different.  Vows are full of love, and promises.  Maybe you don’t want to promise to obey your partner in the traditional sense, but instead want to promise that you will always listen and communicate no matter your differences in opinion.  Another idea for original wedding vows is choosing your favorite poem to read.  An example may be a John Donne poem that professes love in every stanza.  A favorite poem may allow you to speak of love in an original manner by adding your own thoughts and feelings to the poem.  Even the well-known speeches in Romeo and Juliet could lend to the inspiration in your wedding vows.  If you’re not a poet maybe a favorite passage from a book will inspire you.  You might even choose a favorite song to quote.  Inspiration comes from many things, from the world around us, to the humor we find with in ourselves, or the words of others mingling with our own.  
 
Remember following tips you find online or speaking with your partner can help you to write the perfect vows.  Original wedding vows are beginning to be more popular during weddings, but this doesn’t mean you lose the meaning.  In fact writing original vows may give more meaning to the wedding for your partner and your audience.  Your audience may in part determine, which vows you chose, but it is still you and your partners wedding.