The Oldest Wedding Vows ~ 1549

The Oldest Wedding Vows ~ 1549

The Oldest Wedding Vows ~ 1549

The oldest standard wedding vows can be trace back to the Book of Common Prayer, by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury:

"I, name, take thee, name, to be my wedded Husband,/Wife.

To have and to hold from this day forward,

for better for worse,

for richer for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love, cherish, and to obey,

till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance."

Book of Common Prayer

The vows included in that book are derived from the Sarum rite of medieval England, which was originally translated in the early versions of the Book of Common Prayer as "to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us depart."

The earlier 1549 version of the Book of Common Prayer retained the "till death us depart" ("depart" meaning to separate), changing over as of the 1662 version to read "till death us do part."

Eventually, the "us" and "do" were swapped, giving us the modern version: "till death do us part."

Remarkably, they've remained much the same ever since.

Weddings I Do ~ Examples of Vows

I, Name, take you Name as my Wife/Husband/Spouse. I give myself to you, and I promise to love and cherish you for all the days of my life.

I, Name, take you, Name to be my wife/husband/spouse/partner. Today I pledge my love to you, to be given without restraint. I lay my life in your keeping and will do my utmost to protect yours. I'll care for you though illness and rejoice in your health. My wealth is yours to share, as are our burdens and our losses. Your every breath is sacred to me and should death ever separate us, I vow my love shall be undying.

I, Name, take you, Name to be my wife/husband/partner/spouse, and I agree to be your loving wife/husband/partner/spouse.

I, Name, take you, Name to be my wife/husband/spouse/partner

I Name, take you Name as my wife/husband/spouse. I vow to love you no matter what happens to you or us. I will share all the possessions that I own with you. I will be supportive and loyal to you in every way possible; I will be faithful to you forsaking all others; and I will be your ever present friend, your constant lover and your lifelong spouse.

I, Name, take you, Name to be my wife/husband/spouse. All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you. Whatever the future holds I will love and stand by you throughout our lives together. This is my solemn vow.

If you are getting married this year or next, I would love to meet you!

xJanet