How to Write Moving Ring Exchange Vows for Your Wedding Ceremony

Wedding ring vows are the statement you make while presenting your ring to your beloved. The best wedding ring vows are short and meaningful, but if you need a bit of help personalizing or writing them, we’ve got all the advice and samples you need.

From ancient times to the not-so-distant past, if a ring presentation was part of a wedding ceremony, there was only one ring and the groom gave it to the bride. Today it’s common to have an exchange of two rings between the couple, often called a double-ring ceremony. A religious ceremony performed by a priest or minister may not allow for any changes to the script used in the sacrament or rite of marriage. But, if you are having a non-denominational or a civil ceremony, in most instances, you may write your wedding ring vows if you wish.

Here's how to write your ring exchange vows along with a few tips and questions to help you get started.

Ring Exchange Vow Template

Start by Expressing Your Joy

You just made your commitment, so consider including what your ring symbolizes to you.

Look to a Quote or a Poem

There is lots of leeway with regards to style for these vows, and they don't have to be original. Inspiring quotes from your favorite figures could offer inspiration as well.

Ask Your Officiant to Offer a Few Words

You may also have a blessing of the rings before the exchange if you wish. Many Christians like to have their rings blessed on a Bible. If the officiant is blessing your wedding bands as part of the ceremony, you may also have your engagement ring blessed at the same time. Both the engagement ring and wedding ring will be placed on the hand together during the ring exchange.

Tell Your Partner You Love Them

On your wedding day, the words "I love you" can never be said enough.

Ring Exchange Vow Tips

Consider the Length

The vows should be one to three sentences in length. You've already said your wedding vows, so ring vows are just the icing on the cake, the exclamation point, the symbolic seal to your wedding vows. The classic, “With this ring, I thee wed," says it all. 

Practice Beforehand

Unless you memorize your vows, you'll be repeating them after the minister. Your hands will be busy putting a ring on your cherished one’s finger so you can’t hold a piece of paper with your vows on it. That's why it's important to practice and memorize them.

Don't Worry About What Your Partner Will Say

Your ring vow doesn’t have to be the same as your partner’s. The beauty is that you each express your feelings for one another in your own words.

Engrave Them As a Keepsake

A phrase from your ring vows may be engraved inside your rings to preserve the moment you exchanged your wedding ring vows, forever. 

Answer These Questions to Get Started

Getting started is often the hardest part. Here are some thought-provoking questions to ask yourself:

• What does your wedding ring mean to you?
• When did you realize your partner was the one?
• How will you show your commitment throughout your marriage?
• What promises do you want to make to your partner?

Ring Exchange Vow Examples to Make Your Own

Here, we've gathered examples of ring vows to inspire you to write your own. Most are vows for a separate wedding ring exchange following your wedding vows while others are wedding vows which include exchanging rings.

 “I give you this simple gold ring I have made by my own hands. Shaped by my dreams and honest desires, of many hours spent late into the night, I endured. And now to see it on your hand here today as God and the angels surround us makes me the happiest man/woman/person in the world.” 

 “With this ring, I ask you to be my (wife/husband/partner), 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 you, for time and all eternity.”

"As we stand here in this blessed space and enter into a more sacred love, I give you this ring and, with it, all of my heart. With total commitment, I give myself to you and promise you my trust, my devotion, my compassion, and my love.”