by Scott Johnson
Welcome one and all to our final Favorites of 2018 countdown! You’ve seen our favorite new wedding venues, repeat wedding venues, indoor and outdoor wedding ceremonies, and now it’s time for the granddaddy of them all: Favorite Wedding Vows. In a year full of love and happiness, tears and laughter, we have boiled down our Top 24 Favorite Wedding Vows and are presenting them to you in three parts! So grab some tissues or prep your hankey, because the feels are coming! Let’s get the show on the road:
Spiziri Wedding
The wonderful early September Spiziri Wedding led us over to Chateau Lill in Woodinville. Though the sky was a little cloudy, it didn’t stop the vows from making this day so full of love and warmth. Remember when I said to have the tissues ready? Well, you might need one as soon as Christina begins her vows to Andrew. “Today is the best day. Ever. I get to marry my best friend. Since the day we met, there was only you. I was twenty-one. I thought I was a little crazy, but the more I got to know you, the more sure I became.”
She then goes into a storied history of their time together, the things they’ve done and will continue to do. But the line that sums things up pretty well for us is: “Even after seven years together, I cannot stop finding new reasons to love you every single day.” Hey, I’m not crying, you are!
Plummer Wedding
Over at our favorite misnomer farm, Dairyland, we saw the Plummers get married on a brisk October day. Both Ashley and Cole came ready with some poignant vows. Like others, Ashley’s vows detail their time together. Starting with their summer romance and how she didn’t know it would “grow into the lifelong love” she had always dreamed of. To really drive it home, she says “You have been the best person I could depend on during the best and most difficult moments of my life.”
Cole did not wait around to return some of his own emotion-stirring vows. Starting out with the basic truths, “I love you so much. You are my best friend and my soulmate. I must’ve hit the lottery when I found you, because you make me the luckiest man on earth.” You’re not gonna find too many people who disagree!
Leslie Wedding
The Semiahmoo Resort played host to the lovely Leslie Wedding in September. Their stunning waterfront ceremony also contained some truly inspiring vows that anybody can take lessons from. Brian started out first, essentially showering Lindsey with all of the amazing things she does and is, “I absolutely adore your playful spirit and the silliness you bring to our home. Thank you for embracing my weirdness and always allowing me to be myself. You bring optimism and positive energy into all that you do and that truly does motivate me.”
Not to be outdone, Lindsey brings out the emotion right away, “Brian, life is a funny thing, you can try to plan it and predict it, but it has its own agenda. As most people here can attest to, I am a planner. I tried to plan my future a long time ago, and life just laughed in my face and said, ‘we’ll see about that.’” Hey Lindsey, you available for coaching?
Grybos Wedding
One of our absolutely favorite stomping grounds, Salty’s, was an excellent venue for the Grybos’ wedding. Marcy and Mark were poised and ready, overlooking the Sound, to deliver their soul-stirring vows. Going first, Mark recalls meeting Marcy in Seoul, “Our road here wasn’t the easiest. With almost two years of long-distance we had to endure, the distance mattered little because what you meant to me was so much more. Every late night talking on the phone, all the times we had to say goodbye, it was all worth it.”
Mark goes on to really make us swoon, but you have to check out the video to find out what he says!
Snow Wedding
The Snow wedding took us down to the Inglewood Golf Club for a late-August ceremony. Starting right out with the humor, Sterling makes us all laugh, “Alright, I’m gonna try to get through this without crying, so bear with me here. From the first day I met you, I knew it was going to be special…” And he kept to his word! Imbuing it with love and laughter, it was a superb speech.
Genieve did not quite do so well on the emotion front, but nonetheless dazzled with some deep words, “Your heart is so pure, everything you do is with the best of intentions, not expecting anything in return. My heart is so full every chance I get to speak with you.” Oh boy, grab the tissues!
Lin Wedding
Over at the stellar Hollywood Schoolhouse, April and Tyson Lin got hitched. The tender ceremony which had the bride and groom looking doe-eyed at each other, even had the officiant getting in on the digs. April, going first, says “you truly are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are my lover, my encourager, my provider and my best friend. I feel so blessed to have you as a life partner and husband.” She goes on to make a series of promises to her husband-to-be, only for Tyson with a sob-worthy speech.
“You have often heard me refer to our relationship as going up a mountain. We have climbed and grown together, we have experienced switch-backs, tougher trails, but most importantly we have pushed forward, persevered and experienced some beautiful destinations.” Cue the waterworks!
VanNieuwenhuise Wedding
The extravagant Thornewood Castle was the perfect destination for the VanNieuwenhuise wedding. Rhianna and Wes came ready to dazzle with their vows, but it's Rhianna who really brought the emotion, “I choose you in friendship and in love, in strength and in weakness. I promise to love you faithfully in the good time and the bad. I vow to not to just grow old with you, but to grow with you.” Short, sweet and to the point, these two didn’t need long, storied history to get their messages across.
Bullard Wedding
Kimi and John’s regal wedding at the Woodmark Hotel came along with tons of laughter and tears. Kimi could hardly get going without the tears overwhelming her, “I feel not only protected but invincible in your presence.” That’s when the emotions started to flow, so let’s switch over to John who says, “You proudly tell family and friends that early on, you knew our relationship would amount to more than dating. You had it all figured out, well before I did, and were patiently waiting for me to grow up, sober up, and get down to business.” These two are just grand!
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And that’s it for the first installment of our Favorite Wedding Vows of 2018! I hope you’re not too sad because we have plenty more coming your way! Have your own wedding vows to share? Leave them below!