Trying to write funny wedding vows? As a professional vow writer, many of the brides and grooms I collaborate with desperately want to strike that difficult balance between humor and sentimental sincerity.
But how can you actually write funny wedding vows?
It’s great to add some humor to your vows as a way to playfully off-set the serious tone. It might even be a better fit for your personality. But don’t confuse reciting your wedding vows with testing your skills as a stand-up comedian.
So how do you master this technique of writing funny wedding vows without sounding corny or making your guests squirm uncomfortably in their chairs?
It’s all about knowing where and how to add humor to create funny wedding vows. Follow these six tips and you’ll have guests smiling while simultaneously reaching for a tissue.
Tip #1: Don’t Swim in the Shallow End for Your Funny Wedding Vows
There’s an art to writing funny wedding vows just like there’s an art to writing a well-delivered joke. To deliver the right amount of humor, don’t swim in the shallow end. In other words, avoid gimmicky one-liners. These lines tend to only really work in movies.
For example, vowing to always pick up his wet towel from the floor might feel like a way to be cute and playful but often it just comes across as awkward and out of place. Unless you’re staring in a romantic comedy, these sort of funny wedding vows tend to fall flat. Instead, stick to more meaningful promises and sprinkle humor into your vows with more depth.
For example, you might talk about how your fiancé has always supported you. This is the meaningful statement you’ll make but then you can add humor to it by noting a funny memory when he supported you.
It might sound something like this:
I am so grateful for your never-ending support. Whether it was cheering me on as I worked tirelessly to earn my doctorate, or whether it was showing up to my graduation ceremony dressed as an actual cheerleader—your support has meant the world to me.
You can see from this example that the focus is on a more serious topic—your fiancé’s continuous support—but you created funny wedding vows by adding a cute anecdote. This allows your vows to be playful without being cliché.
Tip #2: Embrace Humor as a Theme
Well written wedding vows have clear and chosen themes that the vows are rooted in. Perhaps the main topics you want to convey to your fiancé are his thoughtfulness, sense of humor, and dream of starting a family together.
Sense of humor is an identified theme. This is where you now have an opportunity to write funny wedding vows. When you touch on his sense of humor, you can sprinkle in a bit of your own.
Let’s look at an example to see what part of your wedding vows could look like when you talk about your fiancé’s sense of humor.
Example:
Your sense of humor has been my saving grace. Whether it’s helping us pass the time during our long road trips by doing your best Barbra Streisand impression, or how you manage to make my tears fade away when you make our dinner rolls do stand-up that would most definitely require a two-drink minimum—you always put a smile on my face. I vow to always find the humor in your jokes and to find the humor in the more challenging moments of our marriage.
Do you see how the wedding vows are funny without you trying too hard to make jokes? When a sense of humor is a theme in your wedding vows, it gives you an easy way to talk about things that will naturally create funny wedding vows.
Tip #3: Include Funny and Cute Nicknames
A cute way to add light-hearted meaning to your wedding vows is by using nicknames. What special name do you have for your fiancé?
Kick off your funny wedding vows by addressing your fiancé using that nickname. You can also close using the name.
Be sure to stick with names that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to say in front of your guests. And remember, your future grandchildren will watch your wedding video years from now!
#4: Be True to Your Personality
Are you the entertainer in your family? Are you the type of person who is always making people laugh? Maybe you even get uncomfortable in situations that are too serious. When it comes to reciting your wedding vows, you’ll want to feel true to who you are.
To capture your personality in your funny wedding vows, the vows must sound like you. To do this, I recommend recording yourself. You can use the voice recording feature on your phone. Once you turn the recording feature on, start talking about your relationship, fiancé, and how you envision your future marriage.
Then transcribe the recording by writing down every word that you spoke. Use this as material for your funny wedding vows.
By talking about your relationship before writing about it, you will sound more authentic and capture tone and phrases that align with your naturally funny personality.
Tip #5: Consider Including Family Jokes
I discourage couples from including inside jokes within their wedding vows. These jokes typically make guests confused and won’t be relevant to you and your fiancé in a few years.
Family jokes on the other hand are a different concept. If you want to write funny wedding vows, choose funny family anecdotes that have been talked about for years.
We all have those family stories that we’ve heard countless times. Are there any that could be applicable to your wedding day or marriage?
What about touching on a playful rivalry between your family and your fiancés? The key to this is to make sure the rivalry is light-hearted and know where to draw the line. Families might be okay with joking about rooting for opposing football teams but it could cause some tension to touch on your different political beliefs.
Stick with playful points and your funny wedding vows will likely bring a bit more joy to your guests and your vows.
Tip #6: Rely on an Expert
If you’re challenged with how to write funny wedding vows, you might consider hiring help. At Wedding Words, I collaborate with engaged couples to write personalized wedding vows.
My goal is to capture what’s in your heart and articulate those feelings into wedding vows that you’ll be ecstatic to recite on your wedding day.
If you have a playful personality and want to write funny wedding vows but don’t know how to make it happen, get in touch. Together we’ll write vows that will have your fiancé and every guest giggling.
Funny Wedding Vow Script Examples
Do you need more inspiration to write your own funny wedding vows? Reference these script examples and get ready to giggle.
Funny Wedding Vow Introduction Examples
Who knew signing up for a dating app on Valentine’s day would lead me to the love of my life but standing here today, I’m so thankful I swiped right.
For years, I had always seen you as just one of my best friends but then you surprised me with your romantic side, thoughtful gestures, and ability to karaoke Whitney Houston songs better than any in the world and I was instantly hooked!
I love all that you are: your beautiful smile, your kind heart, and your two left feet.
Funny Wedding Vow Promises Examples
I promise to comfort and care for you and to always carry you to bed because you’ve fallen asleep on the couch yet again.
I promise to be there through good times and in bad—to celebrate in your joy and to comfort you when the Jets lose...which will be often throughout our marriage.
I promise to share my life with you which also means sharing the covers and the last bite of my favorite cheesecake.
I promise to support all of your dreams—even if that means joining you on your annual Comic Con trips.
Funny Wedding Vow Closing Examples
To my greatest love and my best friend, I can’t wait to wake up next to you every morning—bedhead and all.
Here’s to a lifetime of crying through the challenges together, smiling through the joyful moments, and laughing every time one of us does an impression of Darth Vader.
You are my clown when I’m sad and my comedian when I’m happy and I know our life will be full of continuous laughter as long as we’re together.
