Renewing your wedding vows is the rare second chance to say the second most important sentence of your life. Whether you're marking a milestone anniversary, rebuilding after a hard season, or finally getting the ceremony you dreamed about, a vow renewal is your ceremony—there are no rules, only the ones you bring. This guide covers everything: what to say (with complete renewal scripts you can borrow), how the ceremony differs from a wedding, what renewing your vows typically costs, and the etiquette questions guests are too polite to ask. And if you want renewal vows written around your shared story—raising kids, surviving the pandemic, thirty years of inside jokes—our AI vow renewal generator drafts them from your details in about a minute.
“Ten years ago I promised to love you for better and for worse. We've had both—more laughter than I deserved, more hard days than we expected. Today I renew that promise with full knowledge of what it costs and what it gives: I choose you again. I would choose you again in every version of our story.”
“When we married, I promised you forever. What I know now, that I didn't know then, is that forever is made of Tuesdays—school runs, burned dinners, ordinary evenings that add up to an extraordinary life. Today, in front of the people we love most, I promise you all my Tuesdays, again.”
“We said our first vows in a small chapel with two witnesses. Today we say them again surrounded by the family we've built. The words are the same; the meaning is deeper. I renew my vow to be your partner, your loudest supporter, and your softest place to land—for all the years ahead.”
Make any of these yours: generate personalized vows with AI in about a minute.
Renew wedding vows packages exist at almost every resort and chapel destination. Typical inclusions: officiant, ceremony site, music, a bouquet and boutonniere, photography (30-60 minutes), and a commemorative wedding vow renewal certificate. In the US, packages run roughly $150-$800 for a chapel ceremony and $1,500-$4,000 at resorts — the all-inclusive ceremony-and-dinner tier. What to check before booking: whether the officiant allows personalized vows (some only permit the standard renewal wording), how many guests the base package seats, and whether the certificate is decorative or signed by the officiant. Vow renewal packages almost never include legal elements — no license or witness is required, because you are already married.
A hawaiian wedding vow renewal ceremony usually opens with a lei exchange — partners, children and parents each receive leis before the words begin, and many officiants blend a brief Hawaiian oli (chant). Popular settings are sunset beaches on Maui and Oahu; officiants charge $200-$500 and permits for beach ceremonies are often required. Renewing wedding vows in Hawaii needs no paperwork — book the officiant, check the beach rules, go. A Las Vegas wedding vow renewal with an Elvis impersonator is the other classic: chapels on the Strip offer 20-minute Elvis-led renewals from about $150, sequined jumpsuit optional but encouraged. When to renew wedding vows is entirely your call — the traditional milestone is the 10 year wedding vow renewal, but couples renew at 5, at 1, after an illness survived, after a hard year, or simply because a decade deserves a party. A beach wedding vow renewal close to home works just as well: a licensed beach, a friend as officiant, your original words.
A wedding vow renewal certificate is the one prop every renewal ceremony benefits from. Three routes: ask your officiant to prepare and sign one at the ceremony (many include it in their fee); order a decorative certificate for renewal of wedding vows online ($20-$60) and sign it together during the ceremony; or frame your original marriage certificate beside the renewal one on an anniversary. Couples with children often have them sign as witnesses — a small ritual that turns the certificate into a family document.
Every style page below includes full sample wedding vows you can read, borrow, and personalize — not just snippets. Here's a taste of what you'll find, plus where the complete wedding vows examples live.
"I, [Name], take you, [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 and to cherish, till death do us part."
See the full wording and variations: traditional vows for him · traditional vows for her.
"I promise to love you not only on our best days, but on the hard ones too. You are my favorite conversation, my safest place, and my greatest adventure. I choose you — today, tomorrow, and always."
More: romantic vows for him · romantic vows for her.
"I promise you this: I will laugh with you, stand by you, and love you — every single day. You are my person, and I am yours. Forever."
More: short vows for him · short vows for her.
Want vows written from your actual love story instead of a sample? Generate personalized wedding vows with AI — takes about a minute.
Looking for vows from a specific side of the aisle? Start from a complete hub, then narrow by tone:
Choosing wedding vows starts with understanding what kind of ceremony you're having and what feels authentic to you as a couple. Here's a framework.
Need help getting started? Our AI Wedding Vow Generator creates personalized vows. Read our complete guide to writing wedding vows.
Pair your vows with our wedding ceremony script generator, or prepare a best man speech or father of the bride speech.
Simple wedding vows prove that plain words carry the most weight. A generic wedding vows base you can say as-is: "I take you as you are, and I choose you as you are, all the days of my life." Simple vows for a wedding ceremony work best when both partners match register — if one reads scripture, the other shouldn't do stand-up. Contemporary wedding vows in the simple register trade poetry for precision: "I promise to be your partner in everything — the big adventures and the ordinary Tuesdays." Basic wedding ceremony vows for nervous speakers can be as short as three lines; the bride and groom wedding vows exchange needs no symmetrical length — say what's true, stop when it's said.
Ready-made options: simple vows for him · simple vows for her · standard traditional wording.
Beach wedding ceremony vows lean sensory — reference the horizon, the tide, the sand between your shoes: "Like the tide, my love will return to you every single day." Courthouse wedding vows fit a two-minute civil ceremony — keep them short and skip props entirely; many couples simply repeat the standard civil wording and save personal vows for the reception. Private wedding vows (spoken just to each other, no audience) are the fastest-growing format — no performance pressure means the words can be completely unguarded. Court wedding vows and elopement vows share one rule: nobody's watching, so say the real thing.
Planning the moment around the words? Our AI vow generator drafts from your actual story — free to try, no sign-up wall before you see your vows.
Wedding vows examples for him tend to work best when they lead with a promise rather than a feeling — grooms often speak more naturally when the vow describes what he will do. A strong example to adapt: "I promise to be your steady place on every shaky day — to fix what I can, to carry what I can't, and to make you laugh about the rest. I choose you, and I'll keep choosing you, for all the days after this one." Shorter version for nervous speakers: "You are my favorite person. I promise to show up for you, grow with you, and love you out loud. Today and every day after."
More vows written from the groom's side: wedding vows for him (complete hub) · romantic vows for him · short vows for him.
Wedding vows examples for her often carry more storytelling — a moment the couple met, a detail only the two of them share. Borrow this structure: "From the day we met, you made the ordinary feel like an occasion. I vow to be your soft place and your loudest cheerleader, to keep choosing you on the beautiful days and the broken ones, and to never let us run out of things to laugh about." A brief traditional-leaning option: "I take you as you are, and I choose you as you are — my partner, my home, my greatest adventure."
More vows written from the bride's side: wedding vows for her (complete hub) · romantic vows for her · short vows for her.
Traditional wedding vows examples still anchor most ceremonies — the classic Book of Common Prayer wording remains the most repeated in the English language. Full traditional form: "I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part." Roman Catholic couples add "to honor and obey" or use the questioning form, where the officiant asks each partner "Do you take...?" and the answer is simply "I do."
Full wording, denominational versions, and modernized variants: traditional wedding vows (complete guide) · traditional Christian vows · Catholic vows.
Short wedding vows examples prove that under 50 words can still land — two-minute ceremonies, elopements, and nervous speakers all favor them. Ready-to-say versions: "I promise to love you faithfully, forgive you quickly, laugh with you daily, and choose you always." Or: "You are my best decision. I vow to stand with you, grow with you, and keep falling for you — every day of our life together." Civil-ceremony minimal: "I take you to be my lawfully wedded partner, in kindness and in courage, for all our days."
More short options by tone: short wedding vows (style hub) · short vows for him · short vows for her.