For the bride who chose the old words on purpose
James, I had the option to write something clever, and I chose these words instead — the ones my grandmother said, and hers before that — because I wanted you to hear me join something older than us. I take you as my husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better and for worse — and we’ve already sampled both, so I say it informed. For richer, for poorer — your student loans and all, my love. In sickness and in health — I signed up the week I drove you to urgent care and you apologized to the doctor for “wasting his time.” To love and to cherish, until death parts us. Ancient words, James. Brand-new heart behind them. I mean every syllable, the way every woman in my family meant them before me.
Why it works: Annotating each classic clause with lived evidence makes centuries-old words feel freshly chosen, not recited.
Customize it: Keep the traditional clauses and swap in your own proof for each — your urgent-care story, your version of richer and poorer.