Rebecca Douglas gives these tips on writing wedding vows

1. Check in With Your Partner This might sound like strange advice to give, as your wedding vows are usually a surprise for your other half on the day, but it’s important to check in with each other to agree on the type, style and length of your vows.

2. Get Some Ideas Down on Paper In terms of getting the content down on paper, head somewhere it’s quiet and you can think. You might find it easier to write your vows in stages so start by making some notes.

3. Think About the Length Your vows should only be around a minute or two long per person. Pick out five to seven of the most important things you want to say to your partner and use them as the foundation of your vows. You’ll want a mix of the reasons you love them and some key promises you want to make to them for your life together.

4. Research Other Wedding Vows Read lots of examples of other people’s wedding vows and see if you prefer a more traditional or modern style.

Do you want religious or secular wedding vows? Are they going to be funny or emotional? Will it be promises, or a speech or a poem?

5. Ensure They Sound Like You This may sound like an obvious one, but you’d be amazed at the amount of wedding ceremonies we’ve seen where someone has clearly felt pressured to make their vows, speech or reading sound ultra-fancy.

6. Get Your Celebrant Involved Rebecca says, “I would advise sending your vows to the celebrant so they can look at them both and make sure they are reasonably aligned with each other.”

7. Practise Makes Perfect Practice reading them out loud.

Top Tip:  No reading vows off phones please – it’s not a great look. Rebecca advises, “Presentation-wise, it is much nicer if you have your vows in a folder or wedding booklet, rather than a piece of paper and it means you can add some ribbon to match your colour scheme too so they are coordinated.”

8. Accept Your Emotions

If you are worried about writing anything too emotional and getting upset, don’t.