Something old, something new

Pet hates and secret love signals are part and parcel of modern-day wedding vows, a Masterton celebrant says.

Around the country, vows incorporating Dr Seuss-style rhymes or All Black Dan Carter's wedding poem are becoming popular and a recent Australian survey of 1200 revealed one in three couples now refused to vow "till death do us part".

Gaye Gough, who has been officiating weddings for nearly 15 years, said many couples liked to add their own personal touch to their special day.

"I married this couple once ... who'd had a pretty rocky but passionate relationship."

As a rule, the pair had never been allowed to drive each other's cars, she said.

"It was a real thing in their relationship.

"If one was parked in front of the other in the driveway, and they'd run out of milk ... they'd say: 'give me the keys to your car because it's parked behind mine' and it would just be a 'No'."

However, to show how much they loved each other on their wedding day, they decided to vow the other person could drive their car, Mrs Gough said.

"I had guests come up to me after who couldn't believe it."

Nationally, 20,231 couples took the plunge last year, 170 in the Wairarapa.

And while wedding vows now come in a variety of quirky packages, one thing remains constant across all ceremonies.

"You certainly will never get the 'obey' word back in there," Celebrants Association of New Zealand's Doug Scott said.

Mr Scott, who has been officiating marriages for nearly 20 years, said most couples liked to mix the old with the new.

"In the past five-to-10 years, it went to very soft and romantic words and ... fun statements like, 'I will love you as long as you keep the fridge full'."

However, there's been a recent swing back to slightly more conservative wording," he said.

"It's quite common to incorporate some of the traditional ideas with some of those more free-flowing ideas."

And saying vows off-the-cuff is becoming more and more trendy.

"Some couples have a few prompt words they have in mind and then they just speak it from the heart," Mr Scott said.

Wedding attire and surname choice have also evolved over time.

"About five-to-10 years ago, there was a phase when grooms would turn up in jeans and a nice shirt," Mr Scott said.

"But now a bride wants to look like a bride and almost always the man is suited up."

He added that women were also more likely to take their husband's name now than they were a decade ago.APNZ