Marriage is an integral part of our social and societal norms. It is practiced in every religion and culture. People have different traditions affiliated with marriage ceremonies in different regions. Also, there are different vows that they take while getting married.
Many public figures and their marriages remained the center of everyone’s attention and the talk of the town for a long. Royal weddings, for instance, are always followed. The wedding ceremony of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton was one such wedding that took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 in London.
People find different rituals of wedding ceremonies interesting and fascinating. Speaking of the marriage ceremony of Western style, I think that the most fascinating moment is the marriage vow time, the time when the bride and the groom say “Yes, I do”. This made me collect and compile different versions of marriage vows in English and Chinese. Most of them have a bilingual version like English to Simplified Chinese.
Table of Content
Marriage vow of Christianity
I, [Groom’s name], take you [Bride’s name], to be my wife, my partner in life, and my one true love.
I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
What may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep
So help me God
Marriage vows in Chinese go as follows
我（新郎的名字）请你（新娘的名字）,做我的妻子，我生命中的伴侣和我唯一的爱人。
我将珍惜我们的友谊，爱你，不论是现在，将来，还是永远。
我会信任你，尊敬你，
我将和你一起欢笑，一起哭泣。
我会忠诚的爱着你，
无论未来是好的还是坏的，是艰难的还是安乐的，我都会陪你一起度过。
无论准备迎接什么样的生活，我都会一直守护在这里。
就像我伸出手让你紧握住一样，
我会将我的生命交付于你。
所以请帮助我 我的主。
I, [Bride’s name], take you [Groom’s name], to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love.
I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever
I will trust you and honor you
I will laugh with you and cry with you.
I will love you faithfully
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
What may come I will always be there.
As I have given you my hand to hold
So I give you my life to keep
So help me God
Chinese wedding vows are quite interesting and meaningful, only if you are able to read and comprehend them properly. You can always hire translation services to get through the real meanings of these vows.
我（新娘的名字）,请你（新郎的名字）做我的丈夫，我生命中的伴侣和我唯一的爱人。
我将珍惜我们的友谊，爱你，不论是现在，将来，还是永远。
我会信任你，尊敬你，
我将和你一起欢笑，一起哭泣。
我会忠诚的爱着你，
无论未来是好的还是坏的，是艰难的还是安乐的，我都会陪你一起度过。
无论准备迎接什么样的生活，我都会一直守护在这里。
就像我伸出手让你紧握住一样，
我会将我的生命交付于你。
所以请帮助我 我的主。
Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you,
For where you go I will go,
and where you stay I will stay
Your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.
May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me.
真诚的恳求上帝让我不要离开你，或是让我跟随在你身后
因为你到哪里我就会去到哪里，
因为你的停留所以我停留。
你爱的人将成为我爱的人，
你的主也会成为我的主。
你在哪里死去，我也将和你一起在那里被埋葬，
也许主要求我做的更多，但是不论发生任何事情，都会有你在身边生死相随。
Tradition version
To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. These vows in Chinese are translated as;
而今而后，不论境遇好坏，家境贫富，生病与否，誓言相亲相爱，至死不分离。
Marriage vow from the movie Four Weddings and A Funeral
Dearly _____, we are gathered here in the sight of God and in the face of this _________ to join together this man and this woman in ___________, which is an honorable ________ instituted in the time of man’s ___________. If any man can show any just cause or ___________ why they may not be lawful joined together, ________________________________.
Do you promise to _____ her, ________ her, ______ and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep thee only unto her for as long as ye both shall live?
I do.
To love and to cherish till _______. till death us do part. There to, I pledge thee my troth. With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship. And with all my worldly goods, I do thee endow.
Marriage vow from the movie Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Speaking about the Corpse Bride vow, no one would like to go through such circumstances that the couple went through in above mentioned movie. Victor, the protagonist despite rehearsing his vows well forgets on the wedding day and ruins it by going blank about his vows and also dropping the ring.
The Corpse Bride wedding vow, however, is stated below.
With this hand, I will lift your sorrows.
Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine.
With this candle, I will light your way in darkness.
With this ring, I ask you to be mine.
我将用这只手带你走出困苦与忧伤
你的酒杯将永不干涸，因为我会成为你的生命之酒
我将用这只蜡烛照耀你的路，拯救你于黑暗
我将用这只戒指向你求得永远的幸福…
Marriage vow from the movie Runaway Bride
I guarantee that we’ll have tough times. I guarantee that at some point one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don’t ask you to be mine, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart — you’re the only one for me.
+1 925-978-8211
Chinese
