Writing Wedding Vows-What We Can Learn From Political Speeches

I was thinking last night, after listening to the vice president candidate for the Republican Party, Sarah Palin, about how the format of electoral speeches is a bit like the format for writing wedding or marriage vows.

There seems to be three main parts to the speech.

1. Who am I, where did I come from and what do I stand for

2. What is the dream I’m trying to sell you on

3. This is what I’m willing to do to make that dream come true

Let’s see how this translates into the writing of your vows.

Let’s start with ‘who I am.’ You could write something like this: “I am the most lucky woman in the world to be marrying my soul mate, my love, the light of my life. You have added a dimension to my life that I cherish. With you I have dreamed bigger than I ever thought I could and believed in myself with more passion than ever before.”

Then the dream. I suggest that to get the most out of your vows you sit down together and talk about the life you want to live together. (I give you more guidelines and idea generators in my Ebook, The Secret Life of Wedding Vows. www.WeddingVowsandCeremonies.com

What are the elements that will make it an amazing life? What will it look like, feel like (as in a hand resting on your shoulder or holding hands), feel like (energy, passion, and comfort), taste like (late night spaghetti dinners by candlelight with wine after the kids are tucked tight in bed-if you want kids and have you talked about that?) sound like (lots of laughter, singing, encouraging conversation and affirmations), look like (where are you living, what are the ‘things’ that compliment your family). “We have created a dream that will give us the energy to keep striving for the best in ourselves and in each other. We have affirmed that we will seek to grow together, to keep our passion alive, to be models for our children and others and make a difference in the world.”

Next the promise. What are you willing to do to keep the dream alive? Some of the answer to this question has to do with your own sweet self. “I will love you by striving to grow and be healthy for both our sakes.” “I will honor who I am by living from my values and my integrity and be impeccable with my word.”

“I will love you by always making our relationship a priority in my life.” “I will love you be encouraging you to be successful in everything you do.” “I will promise to read our vows every day to keep the dream we have crafted alive and growing.”

That should just about do it for today.

Except for this. Political speeches usually seem to be pointing fingers at others and throwing cold water on who they are and what they are offering. That is not an option in your life.

You life is about supporting each other, building each other up when there are times your partner doesn’t know who they are or whether they are even living up to their own expectations of themselves.

Your life is about sometimes seeing more than is visible and continuing to affirm that the dream is alive and well!

Keep living the dream. Follow the RSS feed to sign up to receive postings as they appear.

Love, light and laughter,

Rev. Linda, The Wedding Vow Coach-Helping couples ‘live the dream.’

“Email me. I want to know what you’re thinking.” RevLinda@weddingvowsandceremonies.com