90+ In Sickness and In Health Vows (Meaning & Examples)

In sickness and in health vows are among the most familiar words spoken at any wedding. They are short, but they carry the heaviest promise of a marriage: to stay when life becomes difficult. Understanding what these phrases truly mean will help you speak them with sincerity, or write your own version.

This guide explains the meaning behind each classic promise, including “to have and to hold”, “for richer or poorer” and “for better or for worse”, and then gives you more than 90 original vow lines to use or adapt. If you are writing a full set of vows, start with our guide to writing wedding vows.

Read these as moral promises between husband and wife: loyalty, patience, mercy and shared responsibility.

Quick tips before you write

1. Treat the phrase as a promise of presence, not just of care. Staying close, listening and helping with daily tasks is what makes the promise real.
2. Pair a classic phrase with a personal detail, such as how you will care for him or her, so it sounds like your own voice.
3. Say the contrast out loud: sickness and health, richer and poorer, better and worse. The balance of opposites is what gives the promise its strength.
4. Keep the language simple. A calm, steady sentence is more powerful than a long one.
5. Avoid promising things outside your control. Promise your effort, loyalty and patience.

What Does “In Sickness and In Health” Mean?

The phrase means you will care for your spouse whether they are well or unwell, and that your commitment does not depend on good circumstances. Each companion phrase adds a layer.

1. “In sickness and in health” means I will care for you when you are unwell and rejoice with you when you are strong.
2. “To have and to hold” means I accept you as my own and I will stay close and protect your heart.
3. “For better or for worse” means my promise stands whether the days are kind or painful.
4. “For richer or poorer” means my loyalty is to you, never to your wealth or position.
5. “To love and to cherish” means I will show care in my actions, not only in my words.
6. “From this day forward” means this is a decision I make once and then renew daily.
7. “Until death parts us” means I intend a lifetime, not a season.
8. “To honour and respect” means I will protect your dignity in private and in public.
9. “In good times and in bad” means I will not leave the room when the atmosphere changes.
10. “Through sickness and health” means I will carry the responsibility of your care willingly.
11. “For as long as we both shall live” means this promise has no expiry date.
12. “To be faithful” means my loyalty belongs to you alone, in thought and in action.

Classic In Sickness and In Health Vows in Plain Words

These versions keep the familiar structure but use everyday language.

1. I promise to stand with you in sickness and in health, today and every day.
2. I take you as my husband, and I will care for you when you are well and when you are weak.
3. I take you as my wife, and I will care for you in strength and in weakness.
4. In sickness, I will be your nurse. In health, I will be your friend.
5. I promise to be at your side, in sickness and in health, through all the years ahead.
6. I vow to care for you when you cannot care for yourself and to celebrate with you when you recover.
7. For better, for worse, in sickness and in health, I am yours.
8. Whether you are strong or tired, whole or healing, I will be here.
9. I will not leave when life becomes inconvenient.
10. I promise to take care of you as gently as I would hope to be cared for.
11. In sickness and in health, I will be patient, and I will not complain.
12. I promise to remember that your health is more important than my comfort.

To Have and To Hold Vows

The phrase “to have and to hold” describes closeness and security. These lines turn it into a personal promise.

1. I will hold your hand through every appointment, every worry and every good result.
2. I promise to hold you up when you are tired and to hold your secrets with care.
3. I take you to have and to hold, from this day forward.
4. I promise to hold our family together when it is under strain.
5. To have you in my life is a gift, and to hold you in my heart is my promise.
6. I will hold fast to our marriage even when other things loosen.
7. I promise to hold my tongue when anger rises and to hold my arms open when you need comfort.
8. I will hold our home steady for you.
9. I promise to hold your dreams as carefully as I hold my own.
10. To have and to hold, to guard and to respect: this I promise you.
11. I will hold your name with honour wherever I go.
12. I promise to hold on to patience when it is hardest to find.

For Richer or Poorer Vows

Money is one of the most honest tests of any marriage. These promises speak to that directly.

1. I promise to love you when we have plenty and to love you when we have little.
2. For richer or poorer, I will work beside you to build a home that is secure and honest.
3. I vow to be content with what we have and thankful for what we are given.
4. I promise to make financial decisions with you, openly and without secrecy.
5. If we are tested by hardship, I will not blame you. I will plan with you.
6. I promise to be careful with what we earn and generous with those in need.
7. My loyalty to you does not rise or fall with our income.
8. For richer or poorer, I will count what we have before I count what we lack.
9. I promise to be honest about money, even when the truth is uncomfortable.
10. I vow never to measure your worth by what you can provide.
11. I will live within our means and teach our children to do the same.
12. I promise to build our wealth on good character before anything else.

For Better or For Worse Vows

These vows face the hardest days directly and promise loyalty through them.

1. For better or for worse, I will choose to understand you before I choose to argue.
2. When the worse comes, I will remember why I said yes.
3. I promise that the hard days will bring us closer, not further apart.
4. I vow to forgive quickly and to ask forgiveness gently.
5. For better or worse, I will be the one who stays.
6. I promise to speak to you with respect, even in a disagreement.
7. When things go wrong, I will ask, “How can we fix this together?”
8. I will not keep a record of past mistakes.
9. For better or for worse, I will protect the peace of our home.
10. I promise to be the calm voice when you are overwhelmed.
11. When we are tested, I will hold to patience and honesty.
12. I promise to see the worst days as chapters of one long story, not as endings.

Personal In Sickness and In Health Vows for Him or Her

Use these as they are or change a word or two to fit your spouse.

1. If you ever fall ill, I will make your care my first duty.
2. I promise to learn how to look after you in the ways you need most.
3. When you are weary, I will take on more so that you can rest.
4. I promise to accompany you to every appointment and to ask the questions you forget.
5. If your health changes, my promise will not change.
6. I will speak gently to you on your most difficult days.
7. In health, I will remind you to rest. In sickness, I will remind you that you are not alone.
8. I promise to take care of myself too, so that I can take care of you for a long time.
9. I vow to be thankful for every healthy day we share.
10. If we grow old together, I will still be proud to walk beside you.
11. I promise to remain patient when recovery is slow.
12. I will remember that sickness is a visit, not a verdict on our marriage.

Short In Sickness and In Health Vows

When you want the promise in one or two lines.

1. In sickness and in health, I am yours.
2. I will be there in sickness, and glad with you in health.
3. Sickness or health, I will stay.
4. I promise you my care, in every season of life.
5. In health I will celebrate you, and in sickness I will serve you.
6. Whatever your health, my promise is the same.
7. I promise to be near you when you need me most.
8. For better, for worse, in sickness and in health, from this day on.

Full In Sickness and In Health Vows

Complete vows you can read aloud or shorten as needed.

1. Today I take you as my partner for life. In sickness and in health, I will be beside you. For richer or poorer, I will be loyal. For better or for worse, I will be patient. From this day forward, I am yours.
2. I promise you my faithfulness. When you are unwell, I will care for you without complaint. When you are strong, I will be glad. I will stay through every season, with kindness in my words and honesty in my heart.
3. With our families as my witnesses, I promise to hold your hand through easy days and difficult ones. I will not measure my love by comfort. I will measure it by how well I stand beside you.
4. I take you to have and to hold. I will care for you in sickness, rejoice with you in health, share with you in plenty and in need, and forgive you in every disagreement. This is my word, and I will keep it.
5. You are the person I trust with my future. I promise to protect your dignity, to nurse you when you need it, to laugh with you when we are well and to remain faithful until the end of my life.
6. I promise to meet our hard days with calm and our good days with thanks. In sickness and in health, I will be your companion, your support and your friend.

Three Sample Vows Using In Sickness and In Health

Sample one (short): “In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I promise to stay beside you with patience and kindness. I take you as my husband from this day forward.”

Sample two (heartfelt): “I am not promising a life without difficulty. I am promising that whatever comes, you will not face it alone. In sickness and in health, in plenty and in need, I will be faithful to you.”

Sample three (family focused): “Before our families, I promise to care for you when you are unwell, to honour you in every season and to build a home where kindness comes first. In sickness and in health, I am yours.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What do in sickness and in health vows mean?

They mean you commit to caring for your spouse whether they are well or unwell. The vow promises that your loyalty does not depend on good circumstances and that you will share both ease and hardship.

What does “to have and to hold” mean in wedding vows?

“To have and to hold” describes accepting your spouse as your own and staying close to protect and support them. It combines belonging, closeness and care.

What is the full traditional wording of these marriage vows?

The common structure joins several pairs of opposites: better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health. Many couples keep the structure but write their own words, which makes the promise more personal.

Can I write my own version of these vows?

Yes. Keep the opposites that matter most to you, add one concrete promise, such as caring for each other’s parents, and keep the language simple enough to say aloud with confidence.

For more help, see our wedding vows for him examples, the main wedding vows collection, and the lines in heart-melting love quotes perfect for wedding vows. You can find more in the marriage category. May your days together be full of health and goodness.