I have a serious weakness for personalized wedding vows.

Maybe that’s because when an officiant is doing all the speaking, I can probably recite the entire ceremony by heart. To me, the personal vows take a formal ceremony with its usual pomp and circumstance and boil it down to a guy and girl who fell in love with each other as unique and quirky individuals. It gives your guests such an intimate peek into your relationship. Of course, it’s never a bad thing to stick to the basics- Rich, poor, sick, well, happy, sad… But if we were to get married today and use the standard list, I’m pretty sure Nate would at least throw “In hangry and full” in there, as well. ;)

I thought it could be cool if a few times a year I post the personalized vows of some of our brides and grooms who just knocked it out of the park. Erin’s words created, in my opinion at least, the very definition of a perfect moment. As she fought her way through genuine tears and sniffles, she had all of us laughing and crying along with her.

Over our past 7 years together we have grown and learned so much from each other. At this moment, here with you on our wedding day, I feel nothing but excitement and love from the bottom of my heart. No one knows me better than you, or loves me more than you do. You know all of my quirks… Like how I hate to call and order Chinese food. And you know how to talk me down when I get wound up, like when I get lost in the ghetto of Philly. And most importantly, you know how much I’m going to bug you for a puppy the minute we get back from our honeymoon, and yet you’re still marrying me, so I know you love me completely and I trust that you always will.

As your wife I promise to be true to you, and honest with you. I promise to listen to your fears and support you through hard times. I promise to celebrate your successes- your happiness will be my happiness. I promise to be patient with you and work through differences of opinion, because life goes by much too fast to be angry. I promise to cherish each day with you as a special day, and I look forward to sharing each moment of our future together as husband and wife. There is no one I’d rather share my life with but you… And our puppy.

Thank you Erin for letting me share your sweet words with other couples out there! We’re still crossing our fingers for that puppy. ;)