Wedding vows in sickness and in health: wording and rewrites

“In sickness and in health” promises that you will stay and care for your partner when they are unwell, not only when life is easy. In the classic vow it sits here: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish.” You can say it as written or rewrite it, and for your personal vows the rewrite is your call. The table below gives ten versions, each with a word count and a tone.

Rewrite table: the phrase in ten versions

These versions keep the promise to varying degrees, noted in the tone column. Word counts are exact counts of the words in each line. Speaking time uses our assumption of 130 words per minute.

Table: ten rewrites of in sickness and in health with word count and speaking time (our estimate, assumptions below)

Assumption: 130 words per minute is our own slower pace for emotional delivery. The Baruch speaking-rate page puts the average English rate near 150. Times are rounded to a tenth of a second and are estimates, not rules.

To keep the table, use Print this page: the ten rewrites print as a one-page card with word counts. To send your shortlist, pick two versions in the tool and use the Share control. The link carries only your two picks, so your partner opens the same pair.

What comes before and after the phrase

In the classic vow the lines run in this order: “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” The phrase is the third of three pairs of opposites, and it is followed by the only two verbs of feeling in the whole vow, love and cherish.

That position matters when you rewrite it. A rewrite sits between money and love, so it works best when it is short enough not to stall the run of pairs (versions 1, 6 and 8) or when it opens a new sentence of its own (versions 2, 5 and 7). The wider history of these lines, including the change from “depart” to “do part”, is on the page about traditional vows.

What the phrase promises

The line makes three promises.

1. Presence. You will be there, whether or not you can fix anything.
2. Care. You will do the practical work: the pharmacy run, the phone calls, the cooking.
3. Staying. The promise holds when the news is bad and the timeline is unclear.

Version 2 covers all three in two short sentences. Version 6 covers only presence and trades detail for rhythm. Versions 9 and 10 promise presence in the first person and say nothing about specific care. Each is a different bet on what your guests need to hear. For a short vow built around version 6, see the page on vows under a minute.

Which version fits which couple

These are our suggestions, not rules.

• You want to keep the old rhythm. Keep version 1 and add one sentence of your own after it.
• Your guests are mixed ages and faiths. Versions 2 and 3 use everyday words, which suits a mixed room.
• Your vows are mostly jokes. Version 4 gets the laugh, but its last clause is the joke. Add a plain sentence after it, such as “I mean it.” For more lines in that mood, see funny wedding vows.
• One of you is ill now, or has a chronic condition. Versions 5, 8 and 9 fit. Name the condition only if you both agree, and say it the way you say it at home. The how-to-write guide has a step for drafting the personal part.
• Your vows are already long. Version 6 closes a paragraph in six words.
• You want both partners to say the same thing. Version 7 works in either voice, and it makes the promise about action.
• You are borrowing a reading. Match tone with the reading. Our page of Bible passages to borrow lists public-domain readings that sit well beside version 1 or 2.

The ten rewrites run 5 to 22 words, so even the longest takes about ten seconds.

Fit it into your vows: a worked example

Below is a vow with a gap marked [phrase] before the closing line. We wrote it for this page, with the placeholder name Priya, and counted it with our own tool logic.

The phrase costs very little time whichever version you pick, so choose by sound. Put it before the last line, as above, so the vow ends on “for good” and not on illness.

Three mistakes to avoid

Saying it without hearing it. Read the line aloud with your partner in the room. If you both wince, change it.

Making it a joke the whole way down. One funny line is a gift. A whole vow of hospital jokes can feel brittle to a guest who has sat in a real waiting room. End on the sincere part.

Surprising your partner with a heavy version. If you plan to name a real condition, tell them first. Nobody should hear their own health spoken to a crowd for the first time at the altar.

Ask your officiant or registrar first

Ceremonies differ by place and by faith. Some places require set legal wording in the ceremony, and a religious officiant may have fixed wording of their own. Ask early and ask plainly: “Can we say a plainer version of this line, and where do we need the set words?” Most will tell you what is allowed, and some will help you phrase it. For the order of the whole ceremony, see the ceremony script.

Next steps

Start from a vows template and drop your favorite rewrite in. Renewing vows instead? The vow renewal page covers how the wording changes.

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Updated November 5, 2026 by bigdaydesk editorial