To Have and To Forever Cherish Your Vows - A Wedding Keepsake

Vows are an incredibly special part of any wedding ceremony, of course, and they become so much more special when you and your partner write personalized vows.

Source: Heart Shaped Lock Box

It’s easy enough to save these vows by putting them in a photo album or in a box of other important papers, but it is just as easy for them to be forgotten there. More likely, they will get lost in the day-to-day shuffle, and it will be up to the two of you to remember the words.

Your wedding vows are important, though, and should be kept somewhere equally special. Your vows are the most heartfelt profession of your love you’ve likely ever spoken. They should continue to serve as a frequent reminder of the promises you made to each other. This white and gold heart-shaped lockbox is a beautiful way to save your vows. During your wedding, after you each say your vows, place the written vows inside the box and lock it.

Source: Locking Vows Inside

During the reception, display this unique keepsake on the head table in front of you. After the wedding, the box can be displayed somewhere in your home, on a dresser or the mantel, for instance, and your vows of love will always be within easy reach.

Source: Heart Box Display

The best thing about this lock box is that it stores and protects the emotions you felt about each other at one of the highest peaks of your relationship. These feelings deserve to be held on to and cherished. just as you hold on to and cherish each other. Every time you look at this box, you can be reminded of those emotions. Any time you are struggling or maybe have forgotten how your wedding day felt, all you have to do is unlock the box and read through your own words and relive some of the best moments of your relationship.

You could even make a tradition out of reading the vows together on your anniversary, and add new vows to them as your relationship grows and evolves.

Source: Writing Vows, Writing With Daughter

If you have children at the time of your wedding, you could write a letter to them as well, a parental vow of sorts, and keep that in the heart-shaped box, for them to read when they’re older. Or, if they’re old enough at the time of the wedding, you could have them participate in the vow-writing so their own words can be included in the lock box along with their parents’.

This elegant vow box is an exquisite, romantic supplement to a wedding ceremony and to a bride and groom’s devotion to each other, and will keep the written vows alive and fresh far longer than a memory could.

Elizabeth graduated from The University of Findlay with a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. She now resides in Portland, Oregon where she is employed in the real estate business and is particularly enjoying the local cuisine. As a writer, Elizabeth believes in a quote from one of her favorite TV shows: "We have only two jobs on this Earth. The first: to learn. The second: to cope." A deep desire to learn struck Elizabeth when she was young, and now she hopes to help you cope by sharing information, and helping you apply the knowledge. Weddings and event planning can be overwhelming; sometimes it's okay to take a little advice from a stranger on the internet.

Blended Family Wedding Vows

Including your children in your wedding is the ideal way to reinforce positive feelings about your union and to form new bonds between your children and your new spouse. I myself am married for the second time and I know how hard it can be to make your children feel like a part of your special day. I have, in my years of experience come up with a few ideas of how to incorporate your children to make them feel included and special.

• Have your child play a role in the wedding, such as flowergirl, ringbearer, bridesmaid, usher, male attendant, best man or maid of honor.

• The actual wedding vows are also a way to include your children. You can ask the minister or officiant to add the children's name to the ceremony. By also pledging a vow to love and honor your stepchild, you will indeed make them feel like they are a special part of the day.

• Include your children in the receiving line so that you may be greeted by your guests as a new family instead of just a new couple.

• Sand ceremony kits are one of my favorite ideas for including the children. Using sand ceremony unity sets allows each person to pour a small amount of colored sand into a large cylinder. The mixing of the different colored sand represents the individuals becoming blended in their new lives together. You can even get each small cylinder engraved with your children’s names to give a personal touch.

I recently read a story online about a couple who after they read their vows to each other and exchanged rings, they presented each others children with a necklace that had a special medallion on it representing family. While giving each child the gift, they promised to love and cherish each child and to make a loving family together.

I am lucky to have a very special husband who told me that when he married me he also married my children. Including your children will make them feel important and let them know that marriage is not just about joining a husband and a wife, but it can also be about creating a new family!

Carrie