For the first draft of your wedding vows, you need to get everything out on paper as fast as possible. Free write without thinking or editing to create as much material as you can. Once you've written enough to work with (and only you can be the judge of how much is enough), start editing and shaping your vows. As you begin to apply yourself to editing your vows, do not feel compelled to keep your pencil in perpetual motion. Since editing is about the quality and not the quantity of your writing, thinking will probably take up most of your time. No doubt, you'll also find yourself doing a great deal of research, flipping through the following pages and consulting other texts that you find personally relevant.

Today's Arts and Crafts Projects

If you made a collage, you're a natural storyteller. Pay special attention to the images and words you chose to feature in your project. If you look long enough, you'll find that these tell a special kind of love story, and it just might be one that deserves to be summarized in your vows.

Those who chose to draw a picture should understand that your decision reflects your hopeful and wishful state of mind. Your dreams are important to you, so don't be shy about incorporating these into your wedding vows.

Look at your picture of this morning and consider what it is that you compared your wedding day to. Go with this insight, not only including it in your vows, but also elaborating and building upon it to create a true love poem. As you look at your morning's artwork, note the colors you used and try to connect these to the feelings and emotions you might be experiencing as you approach your wedding day. Again, these might merit inclusion in your vows.

Something Borrowed

William Shakespeare had good reason to warn against borrowing; history has yet to witness a more imposed-upon scribe. But one man's loss is another's gain, so feel free to rifle through this book's lengthy collection of quotes for inspiration. Just one brilliant sentence can open the floodgates to your creative process.

You could also begin by choosing to crib a solitary line, such as Edmund Spenser's “Let baser things devise to lie in dust, but you shall live by fame.” From that point on, you can carry on however you like, writing your own heartfelt poem. For instance, “Let baser things devise to lie in dust, but you shall live by fame, for I vow to celebrate your virtues and glorify your name. But, whether toiling in obscurity or renowned throughout, you'll always be the only one whom I can't live without.” Have fun, and may the spirit of the occasion move you!