Catholic wedding vows are among the oldest words in any wedding — and the most constrained. Unlike civil ceremonies, the Rite of Marriage gives you the exact text, and most dioceses do not permit rewrites. Here is the exact Catholic wedding vow text, what each line means, and where your own words can still appear.
The current text comes from the Order of Celebrating Matrimony (the English translation in use since 2016). There are two approved versions — the couple chooses which to use:
The priest asks each partner three questions; the answer to each is "I do."
"Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?" — "I do." / "Will you honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?" — "I do." / "Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?" — "I do."
The most familiar form — what most people picture when they think of Catholic wedding vows:
"I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."
Version A is shorter and feels more communal; Version B is more personal and is the one most couples pick. Both are equally valid — ask your priest which your parish prefers, because some have a standing custom.
The vow text is short because every phrase carries centuries of theology. Breaking it down helps you say it like you mean it — which is, after all, the point.
The core promise is fidelity — fides in the Latin tradition, meaning both faithfulness and trust. In Catholic teaching this is the one element that cannot be amended: the vows are a covenant, not a contract, and fidelity is its substance.
This is the vow of permanence without conditions. Note what it does not say: it makes no promise about happiness, wealth or ease — only that none of those things will end the marriage.
Love and honor are named as actions ("I will"), not feelings. In the Church's reading, this is the daily-work clause — the part that makes marriage a vocation rather than a moment.
In most cases, no — the approved text is required. The Church holds that the vows are the form of the sacrament itself, the way water is the form of baptism, so substituting personal words would change what the sacrament is. Some dioceses allow small additions (a line, a name for God, a reference to your devotion), but never substitutions — check with your priest before planning anything custom.
The rite gives you four approved places to be personal, and they add up to more room than most couples expect.
Right before the vows, you can add a brief personal acknowledgment of each other — a sentence or two spoken directly to your partner. Many couples put their most personal line here.
You choose the readings. Picking the passages that describe your relationship (Ruth 1:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 13 are the classics for a reason) is where your story speaks.
You can write the intercessions — naming your families, your late grandparents, the communities that raised you.
There is no speaking slot in the rite for couple vows-with-a-capital-V, but nothing stops a personal reflection at the reception — which is where many Catholic couples say the words they would have written into their vows.
A Catholic marrying a non-Catholic in a mixed-marriage ceremony still uses the Catholic form — usually with a priest or deacon present alongside the other tradition's minister. If you are having a civil ceremony instead (with a dispensation from the diocese), you can use any vows you like there, but the Church will not recognize the marriage until a convalidation — a Catholic-form ceremony, however small — takes place later. This is common, quick, and worth planning early.
The most-used form: "I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life." There is also a question-and-answer form ending in three "I do"s — both come from the Order of Celebrating Matrimony.
In almost all cases, no. The vows are the form of the sacrament, so the approved text is required. Personal words belong in the statement of intentions, the scripture selections you choose, and the prayers of the faithful.
The vow form has the couple declare their promises directly; the question form has the priest ask three questions answered with "I do." Both are equally valid — parishes often have a custom, so ask your priest.
No — that phrase comes from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. The Catholic text uses "I promise to be true to you" instead. Civil and Protestant ceremonies are where "to have and to hold" usually appears.
Not anymore in most parishes — the vernacular translation has been standard since the 1960s, with the current English text in use since 2016. A Latin-form wedding (Novus Ordo in Latin, or the Tridentine rite) uses the Latin vows, but that requires special arrangement with the parish.