7 new & unique wedding vows every modern couple should take

Times are changing and its impact can be seen in all aspects of life. With the changing times, our outlook, belief and values too change.

For example, earlier marriages were either fixed by family or couples had love marriage; nowadays, we have matrimonial sites to find life partners and the married couples’ respective roles in the marriage too are changing.

If we look at an South African family of a few decades back, most would consider the father as the sole breadwinner of the family while the mother took care of all household responsibilities.

Nowadays, most married couples share equal responsibilities, be it financial or household chores.

Given the changing roles and ecosystem involving a marriage, should not the couples take some new vows in addition to the traditional ones?

Let’s look at some new and unique wedding vows that can help modern couples deal with their married life better.

No matter how close you are with your partner, every individual needs some space. And respecting your spouse’s personal space is very important in a marriage. Living under the same roof and sleeping in the same bed does not mean a person no longer needs ‘me time’. Promising to respect each other’s personal space would help the married couple build a stronger relationship.

In most families, people tend to consider the person who earns more money to hold a more important job. Such beliefs might lead to ego tussles between working couples. To lead a happy married life, it’s important for couples to respect their jobs or what they do. If the wife or husband stays at home and looks after household responsibilities, it does not mean he or she is doing a lesser important job than the other partner who does a regular job to earn money. So, modern couples can take this vow of respecting each other’s job and role in a marriage.

Sometimes our married life makes us sacrifice our dreams and personal goals. Marriage comes with a lot of responsibilities, which can make us give up on our dreams. But a supportive partner would understand what our heart desires and would help us fulfill those desires and dreams. One wedding vow that all modern married couples should take is to help each other achieve their personal goals and dreams.

Communication is the key to any successful relationship, including marriage. Communication isn’t merely talking and telling the other person about yourself, your problems etc. It is as much about talking as it is about listening. A good listener always pays attention to what the other person is saying and thereby he or she understands the other person well. In every marriage, the spouses should also be a good listener if they want to keep their communication healthy.

This situation is faced mostly by married women—they are forced to agree to ideas and beliefs of the new family and adjust as per their customs. For example, most married women are expected to dress or behave in a particular way as per the norms of her new family. Such demanding behaviour from a spouse or his family can make it very difficult for a newly-wed woman to adjust after marriage. Hence, it’s very important for a husband to promise that he would never impose his ideas or the ideas of his family on his wife.

Trust is as important as love to make any relationship successful. We all know that trust once broken is very difficult to be mended. For a healthy relationship and marriage, the partners should never lie or deceive each other. Therefore, taking a vow to build trust and never to deceive each other can help married couples to grow closer.

Earlier, the man used to promise that he would protect the honour of his wife and fight her battles. But today, a relationship is as much about equality as it is about facing all struggles of life like a team. A supportive spouse is a desirable quality to seek in a life partner. So instead of taking the vow to protect one partner, both can take the vow to fight each other’s battle as a team.