Marriage marks a profound commitment, a pledge of our entire selves to the one we love deeply.
For many, the wedding day serves as a testament to the gravity and sincerity of this commitment. Yet amidst the solemnity, there’s room for spontaneity and levity.
A wedding is a rare occasion, a canvas upon which couples paint their personalities, preferences, and humor.
Injecting humor into your vows can be a delightful release, a shared moment of laughter amid the gravity of the ceremony.
Consider Pablo Neruda, a maestro of passion in poetry. Drawing inspiration from his verses can infuse your vows with a deep, tender romanticism. Crafted with care, these vows become an artful blend of his passionate prose and your unique connection.
While humor adds charm, the key is to find a delicate balance, ensuring the sincerity of your vows resonates.
As you work on crafting your vows, let this guide light the way, making sure your ceremony is full of heart and joy.
Key Takeaway
- Injecting humor and inside jokes into wedding vows makes them more personal and memorable, and can lighten the mood amidst the gravity of the ceremony.
- When adding humor, it’s important to balance it with sincere expressions of love and admiration to ensure the vows still capture the depth of feeling and commitment.
- Funny vows allow the couple’s personalities to shine through, setting an authentic, joyful tone for the marriage ahead grounded in friendship.
- By adapting romantic poems to include personal details and laughs, these vows beautifully blend passion and levity into a unique love letter celebrating the couple’s bond.
Writing Humorous Yet Loving Wedding Vows
If you aren’t a funny person overall, do not worry about that. You can still create meaningful and funny vows for special occasions with some assistance.
Keep in mind that it is not a roast. Therefore, this is not the time to roast your soul mate for being unable to pay the bills or hold their job for more than six months in front of your friends and family.
Remember, the goal is to make them laugh and not to humiliate your better half, especially at the altar.
That said, if you are considering humor in your vows, here are some tips to help you:
Use Inside Jokes, But Sparingly
When planning your ceremony, consider the ‘guest experience.’ Keep in mind that guests who aren’t familiar with you or your partner may not grasp your humor, and some might misinterpret jokes about your partner.
Certainly, writing your wedding vows means being personal and unique. This allows you to express your deepest feelings. However, it’s not the ideal moment for inside jokes that others won’t understand.
Of course, if you’re okay with some guests being puzzled by inside jokes, feel free to include them. Just remember, not everyone will catch the humor behind your inside references.
Include Statements of Affection and Admiration
There’s no better occasion than your wedding day to express your profound love and admiration for your partner. Incorporating humor into your vows doesn’t mean sacrificing the tender moments.
Adding humor adds authenticity to your ceremony, preventing it from feeling overly sentimental. However, it’s essential to balance the laughter with expressions of love and admiration.
After sharing a funny anecdote or story, take a moment to explain why you’ve chosen to marry your partner. Highlight how they’ve enriched your life and express appreciation for their kindness, passion, and other admirable qualities. Your vows should leave your spouse feeling deeply loved, cherished, and understood, even amidst laughter.
Additionally, remember to include promises for your future together. While traditional vows may include commitments to love, honor, and obey, modern vows can encompass a range of promises tailored to your relationship.
For example:
- “I promise to make you feel secure and cherished, protecting you from spiders, insects, and anything lurking under the bed.”
- “I promise to snuggle with you on the couch every night, even when the Cowboys game is on.”
- “I promise to save the next episode of [their favorite show] for us to watch together.”
These promises symbolize the commitment and shared adventures that lie ahead in your life together.”
Use Self-depreciating Lines
As mentioned, your wedding vows should not be the time to make fun of your partner. Even if they love a good joke, do not embarrass them on their special day. You can joke about small things most people know about, like loading a machine. But it’s not necessary to talk about the time they were drunk and wasted.
Instead, tease yourself a bit. You can say:
- “I promise to clean my shoes immediately when I come home.”
- “I promise to give you a break from cooking and learn how to prepare boiled water.”
At the same time, refrain from making references to family members.
Samples of Humorous Wedding Vows
Writing your own vows can be challenging. You have so much to say, yet you can’t find the right words. If you are struggling with crafting your wedding vows from scratch, feel free to borrow from other people. But remember to tread lightly.
You can use quotes from renowned romantic poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and John Donne. Let’s look at the different romantic poems and some words you can borrow from their art.
Pablo Neruda
And Because Love Battles
And Because Love Battles is not a popular Neruda’s poem. But it’s beautiful and important, and you can get some inspiration to express your bond of love.
In this poem, the speaker talks about his lover and defends her from the world and people who speak lowly of her. He tells the listeners that he loves and adores her just as he is and has no desire to change anything about her.
“Tomorrow, we will only give them
a leaf of the tree of our love, a leaf which will fall on the earth
like if it had been made by our lips”
Don’t Go Far Off
In this masterpiece, the speaker urges his lover not to leave him as he will live the rest of his life alone.
He pleads with her not to go too far away from his presence since life would lose meaning.
He says he would shut down if that happens, like a train at night that does not have a purpose. And assures her that he will wander the world searching for her if he leaves him.
“Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because
then, the little drops of anguish will all run together
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.”
Love Sonnet XI
Neruda has several love sonnets, but this is among the most sensual sonnets.
He talks about his lover’s features that he cannot wait to see and touch. He desires to consume his lover, using a metaphor deeply.
The most profound element of the poem is the speaker’s hunger. He compares it to a prowling puma, stalking the thing it desires.
“I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair,
silent and starving, I prowl through the streets
bread does not nourish me; dawn disrupts me all-day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.”
William Shakespeare
Sonnet 18: The Valentine’s Day Sonnet
This is one of Shakespeare’s most beautifully written short love poems in the English language. It is considered so since William captures the spirit of love in a simple way.
The speaker elaborates on human emotions succinctly in just 14 lines, stating that love is eternal. He contrasts love with seasons, which change at different times of the year.
“By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed
but their eternal summer shall not fade
nor lose possession of that fair thou owest”
Sonnet 116: The Wedding Ceremony Sonnet
This masterpiece is a popular reading during wedding ceremonies worldwide. It celebrates love and marriage. However, the reference to marriage here is not of the actual wedding ceremony but that of minds. The sonnet considered love as eternal and unfaltering, an idea conquered by the traditional wedding vow line “…in sickness and in health.”
“Love alters not with brief hours and weeks
but bears it out even to the edge of doom”
Sonnet 29: The Love Conquers All Sonnet
Sonnet 29 regards love as a cure for our problems and worries. It starts with an ominous scene that makes listeners wonder whether it is a love poem. But in the end, it offers hope and thoughts that we can overcome bad feelings by inspiring love.
Here are the lines you can borrow for your wedding vows:
“Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate:”
E. E. Cummings
E.E. Cummings has made significant contributions to poetry. But the most famous piece often used in weddings is “I Carry Your Heart with Me.”
Published in 1852, the poem talks about different kinds of connections. It is a beautiful reading to include on your wedding day that will evoke everyone’s emotions. Lines that are mostly loved are:
“I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). I am never without it (anywhere I go, you go, my dear, and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling).”
“I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet). I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true), and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you.”
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou has written many poems throughout her lifetime. But one that stands out and is loved by many couples is “Touched By an Angel.”
The masterpiece reminds us that we shouldn’t take true love for granted; instead, we should embrace it since it is a rare gift.
Lines you might use are:
“Love arrives/and in its train come ecstasies/old memories of pleasure/ancient histories of pain/Yet if we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls.”
Other quotes by Maya that you can use are:
“I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved and to be able to love because that liberates. Love liberates.
“I know for sure love saves me and that it is here to save us all.”
Adapting Love Poems to Include Personal Details and Humor
Adapting love poems involves infusing them with personal details and humor, transforming them into intimate reflections of the couple’s unique bond.
It’s a creative process where verses are tailored to include specific moments, inside jokes, and shared experiences, making the poetry resonate deeply with the couple and their journey together.
By incorporating personal anecdotes and humorous elements, these adapted poems become more than just romantic expressions; they become snapshots of the couple’s love story.
The inclusion of humor adds a playful dimension, lightening the mood and fostering laughter amidst the tender sentimentality.
Ultimately, adapting romantic wedding poems this way creates a heartfelt and authentic tribute to the couple’s relationship, capturing the essence of their love in every line.
To the Moon by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,
And ever changing, like a joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?
How Do I Love Thee?”(Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.”
Delivering Comical Wedding Vows with Sincerity
Writing is not the only challenge when it comes to funny wedding vows. Once you have crafted your vows, the next step is to figure out how to say them to bring out laughter and sincerity. The first thing to consider is your audience.
Are they easy people to laugh at? Are they sensitive? Will your jokes leave them scratching their head?
Your guests, besides your partner, will influence your delivery. You know the kind of people coming to your wedding. So you need to know how to say the joke to have them on board with you. It’s wise to set the tone by deciding the level of humor to give. You can tease or go full-blown on comedic vows if it feels right for you.
Then, before your wedding day, test the waters first. Run your vows with your best friend or another trusted loved one and ask them for feedback. If you think they are well-presented, here are some tips to help you deliver them correctly.
Rehearse
Your vows and comedic timing need to be in sync. That’s why rehearsing is important. Practice as much as you can to deliver them with a grin and twinkle in your eye. Remember that you intend to make people love while pouring your love and commitment into the right partner.
You can even practice with your closest friends and see if they will note the sincerity of your vows and laugh at the same time.
While your wedding day does not have to be perfect – though we have tips to create the perfect day – delivering your vows is an integral part, and you need to ensure it is close to perfection, if not perfect.
The more you practice your wedding vows, the less nervous you will be on your big day. If you will hold a microphone when reading the vows, then hold one when practicing. It doesn’t have to be a real mic. You can use a hairbrush to do the trick.
Look at Your Partner When Saying the Vows
Your vows are a reflection of what you feel. They should not sound like you are reading. But they need to sound like they are coming from your heart. It’s okay to mess up.
If that happens, repeat what you said. The most important thing is that you are honest and heartfelt. Remember that eye contact is part of what makes you sound sincere.
So, look at your partner when delivering the vows. If you find yourselves giggling during the ceremony, that is okay. It is part of the fun, after all.
Allow Humor and Laughter from Your Guests
You are crafting funny vows for you, your partner, and your guests to laugh and break the tension of this part of the wedding.
If you’ve said a line and your guests laugh, allow them a moment to take in the joke.
Yes, you shouldn’t spend much time delivering your wedding readings as you don’t want to bore your guests. But at the same time, they came to witness your union. So, giving them some extra time to laugh will not hurt.
It’s not wise to continue reading your vows when they are laughing, as some of the words may not be properly heard.
The Importance of Humor and Shared Joy in Marriage
Laughter is the best medicine. It heals the heart and strengthens the soul, reminding us we should not take life too seriously. And there is no better place to share a laugh than marriage.
Numerous studies have stated the benefits of laughing together as a couple. One study found that humor helped keep the feeling of love alive.
When you share wonderful moments with your spouse, including funny times, good times, silly jokes, family jokes, etc., you begin seeing them as your friends and cultivating a true friendship with them.
And who wants to let go of a dear friend?
That is why laughing together is encouraged for couples, whether in marriages or friendships. Here are the reasons to include humor in your marriage.
Laughter Can Help Overcome Old Griefs
Marriage is a long-life commitment to spend time with your loved one. Although it is filled with happy moments, it also includes grief and sadness.
Whether a loss of a family member, a job, financial constraints, or even infidelity. These issues can pile up and bring separation in the marriage.
However, when a couple finds a moment to laugh together or share joyous times, it can help them overcome life’s hurdles and find the appropriate solutions. Laughing together makes the difficult times easier since your true love will be your pillar of strength or support system.
It’s also worth mentioning that couples laughing together can be a stress reliever for both of them. It is a great way to relieve stress.
Finding the Deepest Secret Nobody Knows About Your Partner
Did you know you can spend a long time with someone without knowing their deepest secret? Most of the time, people share what they want other people to know and keep some things to themselves either because they are hurt, embarrassed, or feel unsafe.
But something about laughing with someone makes us feel we can be our true selves and express our inner thoughts. It’s easy to open up with someone you laugh with as they have a spot in your heart.
Laughing with someone makes them feel safe, and when they can find themselves revealing things that you never knew about them. Also, they may share their secrets in a funny way, such that they don’t feel pressured or judged.
Better Health and Sex Life
A relationship characterized by laughter and silly incidents creates many positive experiences.
So, when couples laugh together, the happy hormones secreted create a positive impact on physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Overall, couples who laugh together are likely to be healthier.
At the same time, humor is highly beneficial to sexual intimacy. When having sex, there is a chance that many funny things will happen. Some of them may be deliberate. Others may not be.
Farting, quaffing, and awkward role-playing are likely to happen, and when they do, incorporate humor in them so that you can both look back with happiness.
Why Are Comic Vows Important?
Wedding vows are promises exchanged between spouses, often stirring emotions and tears. However, injecting humor into your vows can add a delightful twist. Funny vows serve as tension-breakers, especially for those uneasy with public speaking or facing a large audience.
A well-timed joke can lighten the mood, bringing you and your guests laughter.
Moreover, comical vows are more memorable. Your partner and loved ones will fondly recall the moments of laughter amidst your vows, adding a unique touch to the ceremony.
Choosing to start your marriage with funny vows sets the tone for a relationship filled with friendship and joy, fostering a sense of freedom and comfort between you and your spouse. You can also insert a few Bible verses in your vows to make it more beautiful..
Other Ways to Incorporate Humor in Your Wedding Readings
- Singing or rapping your vows: You don’t have to be the world’s best singer to do this. Singing or rapping your vows at the altar can entertain your guests and help you relax. Choose a familiar tune from a love song to set the pace and go for it.
- Dancing while reading: You can stop your wedding readings periodically and dance. Ensure the dance emphasizes a portion of the vows. Alternatively, you can do a silly dance move to break the solemnity of the special occasion. You and your partner can participate in the dance for maximum effect.
- Interrupting the reading: Interrupting your vows can also be entertaining. Here, you and your spouse occasionally interrupt each other during the reading. You can interrupt to agree on what the other is saying or so that you can say your vows simultaneously. The interruptions should appear natural and as if the two of you are having a fast-paced conversation.
Example of Funny Wedding Vow Poems
A Vow of Laughter and Love
In the realm of love, where hearts entwine,
I vow to be your Valentine,
Through every quirky, oddball phase,
In countless, whimsical, love-struck ways.
I promise to laugh at all your jokes,
Even those that make folks groan and choke.
To cherish every smile, every glance,
And in the kitchen, with you, I’ll dance.
I’ll be the one to steal your fries,
But make it up with sunset skies.
In coffee language, I’ll say “I do,”
A latte love, forever brew.
I’ll hold your hand in every crowd,
Whisper “I love you” way too loud.
I’ll be your partner in pillow fights,
And kiss away scary, late-night frights.
In silly socks we’ll slide on floors,
Build forts of sheets and close the doors.
I’ll let you win at video games,
But only if you do the same.
I vow to make you giggle and grin,
Through thick and thin, through loss and win.
Together we’ll be a perfect pair,
In love and laughter, beyond compare.
So here’s my vow, both fun and true,
A life of smiles I promise you.
For in this crazy whirl of fate,
You, my love, are my perfect mate.
Promise To Make You Smile
In this church where love and laughter meet,
I make a vow, oh so sweet.
To be the one who makes you grin,
From the outside and deep within.
I promise to keep our lives so light,
Filled with laughter, day and night.
To crack a joke when things go wrong,
To keep our love forever strong.
I’ll be the one to make you smile,
In every moment, every mile.
In times of joy and when it’s tough,
I’ll be there with humor enough.
We’ll share jokes, both old and new,
In skies of grey or brightest blue.
I vow to keep our days so bright,
With smiles that shine like morning light.
In health or when we’ve got the flu,
I’ll be the one to entertain you.
With this ring, I say “I do,”
To a life of laughs, just me and you.
So here’s my vow, and it’s no jest,
To make our happy life the best.
Hand in hand, with love that’s true,
In a life that’s full of fun and you.
Sunshine or Rain
In this crazy journey, we call life, I take you as my lawfully wedded husband/wife. From this day on, let’s laugh and play, As we join hands and say, “Okay!”
I vow to love you in sunshine or rain, Even when you drive me slightly insane. In health, in sickness, and in all weathers, We’ll be two birds of the strangest feathers.
I promise to cherish each quirk and flaw, Even your snoring, which I never foresaw. We’ll be partners in crime, in joy, and in strife, In the hilarious sitcom that is our life.
Through the chaos of life, with its ups and downs, I’ll be your smile to counter your frowns. In the maze of the world, sometimes wild and vast, I vow to be your companion, first and last.
So here’s to us, on this wondrous ride, With love and laughter as our guide. In the story of us, so wonderfully strange, Together, let’s be ready for every change.
Conclusion
Funny wedding vows create joyful marriages. You can expect to share more laughter when you add humor to your marriage from the first day. Additionally, they lighten up the mood, making your ceremony lively.
Whether you have borrowed or are using your own words, you can be sure that your guests will remember them. But, the only thing to remember when crafting funny wedding vows is to use sincere words and showcase your personality.
As much as you want to be funny, reflect on your inner self and communicate that which is inside in a humorous way. Also, avoid statements that will embarrass your partner, even if they are just jokes.
Hopefully, the ideas above have given you some inspiration. Good Luck!