We aren't writing our own vows...I believe vows should match and kinda like going with something our officiant suggested..
I did, however, get FI to agree to sharing some thoughts that we wrote for each other (and did not share beforehand). it's kinda equivalent to a reading and I know 5min was mentioned as a possible time frame (its only about a 30min ceremony
I have a rough draft and wanted to see if y'all had any input...
I beg your
forgiveness. I think most of you know
that I am quite at home and in touch with my words when it’s just me and my
laptop. However, you take the laptop
away and put me in front of a crowd, not to mention, a crowd filled some of the
very best people the world has to offer, and I’m likely to stumble over my
words or ramble too fast.
(Groom's Name)–
I wish I
could tell you you’re the man of my dreams.
But I can’t. I’d never have dared to dream for so much. I’d never have imagined I could dream that
big or hope for someone so wonderful to love and the miracle that he’s love me
in return.
I always
assumed that, despite having so many wonderful friends and family members in my
life and in my heart, I was fundamentally something of a solitary soul. And then you appeared. And I learned what it is to feel truly at
peace with another person, the beauty of feeling wholly content sharing a
simple quiet moment with a partner and a love.
The beautiful, impossible contrast of feeling so at peace at the same
time as my heart beats a bit faster because you’re there with me. You are my journey and my destination.
I love you
and admire you. I am humbled by your
commitment to everything you believe, a commitment you live each day. I may always be a pacifist, but your
willingness to stand up for your country is a level of bravery I’ll never stop
admiring.
I love that
you can be so serious, a big strong Military Man, and then, usually behind
closed doors, be so completely silly. I
love that you take pictures of an ailing fish so we can remember each one, I
love overhearing you talking to them by name, and the fact that you set up a
camera to keep an eye on our crazy little frogs whenever we’re away…or even if
we’re just in the next room.
I am honored
to have a place in your heart, knowing how fiercely you are committed to those
you love, be it your mother or your closest friends. I am proud to stand here with you, to choose
you and be chosen in return.
I have many
wishes and many dreams for the years to come but one of the greatest is this –
I hope that when I look back on this day that, despite my heart feeling so full
at this moment, I realize that today was the day in our marriage that I loved
you the very least and that our love only grew in the months, and years, and
decades to come. I can’t wait for that
journey to begin.