.
Writer’s block? Trust me, as a professional wedding blogger and freelance writer, I know what a pain that can be. But what if you have writer’s block on the most important day of your life? This morning, Brides Up North’s resident guest blogger Alison Staples shares her own experience.
.
My advice? Step away from your record collection people.
.
.
.
.
At our civil ceremony at Chester Zoo, we had the opportunity to say some words of our own to each other. In my mind’s eye I could see myself standing in front of my nearest and dearest saying something which was personal, touching and sincere while not too mushy, to my new husband.
.
I wanted something that hit exactly the right note. A perfect paragraph which said everything I wanted to say and laid the foundations for a long and happy marriage.
.
“Ahhh, wasn’t that lovely,” I heard an imaginary aunt whisper.
.
.
.
.
The problem was that although I could see my mouth saying the words, I couldn’t hear what they were.
.
The weight of getting my vows right was enormous. Whatever I promised in the height of matrimonial bliss, I was going to have to deliver on in 40 years time when we were old and grey. They needed to last a lifetime. Now was not the time to get carried away.
.
So where to start?
.
Like Dawn and Pete from the TV series Gavin and Stacy, I thought about taking inspiration from our favourite songs. Who could forget Dawn reciting the words of Michael Jackson’s ‘Ben’ (replace Ben with Pete), while Pete chose Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ to help express his love for Dawn.
.
But Duran Duran’s ‘Save a Prayer’ and ‘Street Tuff’ by the Rebel MC weren’t giving me what I needed so I had to look elsewhere.
.
Google … surprisingly drew a blank.
.
Damnation – there was no one to copy, I was going to have to think of something all by myself.
It took me a really long time to come up with something I felt happy with. I practiced reading them out loud many, many times. I never managed to get beyond the first line without blubbing.
.
.
.
.
Wedding Vows – Alison
.
Tristan, in our marriage I promise to always be patient, honest, and kind.
.
You are my best friend, my one love, my partner throughout life, always putting my needs first above your own.
.
I promise to live a life that will honour the vows we have spoken, and make you glad and proud to have me as your wife.
.
We have so much to look forward to. In the good times and the bad, I shall love and cherish you – always.
.
.
My vows were written a good three months before the big day (as per my wedding planning spreadsheet). Tris’ however were still ‘outstanding’ the week before.
.
“Have you written your vows yet?” I asked him for the umpteenth time. I knew how difficult I’d found writing mine. This was not a five minute job. But he simply reassured me that he’d been thinking about them and told me to trust him.
.
When he finally did the big reveal, what he’d written was beautiful – not a line of early ‘90’s rap in sight.
.
.
Wedding Vows – Tristan
.
Alison, I promise always to be there when you need me, to provide the shoulders you can rest your head on, to fill your days with sunshine, to make you smile and laugh.
.
To comfort you and encourage you, to help you reach your goals, to be your best friend ever and to love you all my life with all my heart.
.
.
.
.
It’s a very strange feeling when your wedding day does finally arrive and you are quite literally living in your dream. I surprised myself by actually managing to get to the last line of my vows before surrendering to the need for tissues, which were there (courtesy of our best man) as soon as I started to falter.
.
Not so my three pregnant friends, who had all decided to sit together, creating a hormonal vortex which kicked off before I’d even entered the room. Our vows just about finished them off!
.
.
As a footnote, we had our six month wedding anniversary recently, which seemed like a good time to dust off the old wedding vows to see how I was doing.
.
- Patient – Very poor start. 5/10. I shouted at him for not putting his trainers away. They’d only been off his feet for five minutes.
- .
- Honest – Better. 7/10. I told him his butt looked nice in his cycling shorts yesterday.
- .
- Kind – Very good effort. 9/10. Last week I stood on the side lines in torrential rain, cheering him on in a triathlon, running along the home straight with him in a cagoule.
- .
I’d say I’ve had mixed success. But this time Coldplay can help. ‘Nobody said it was easy’, but I’m trying hard to get better.
.
.
.
.
Do you plan to write or have you written your own vows? Where did you draw inspiration from? This is officially up for discussion. Leave us a comment and start the debate.
.
.
Alison writes her own personal blog at http://alison-staples.blogspot.com.
.
Alison’s latest posts for Brides Up North:
.
Up For Discussion- Empty Chairs
Up For Discussion- Achieving The Perfect Level Of Wedding Morning Zen
Up For Discussion- The Name Game (and meet Alison!)
.
Would you like to guest blog for Brides Up North? Email julia@bridesupnorth.co.uk
.
.
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2011 John Roach at FourT4 Photography
This is not a sponsored post
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
.
.
