Love of TV shows, pets creeping into vows

Stories of overseas adventures, pet hobbies and favourite TV shows provide special quirks for some couple's wedding vows, a Rotorua-based wedding celebrant says.

Carole Parker, who works in Taupo and Rotorua, said many couples used their personal background to add something different to their big day.

"I had one couple where she just loved animals. In the vow that he said to her, he would support her in her love of animals and her wish to save them."

Another Rotorua couple's vows incorporated the groom's love of Coronation St. Because he was a huge fan, during their vows the bride had to promise to never interrupt him while he was watching the British TV show.

Ceremonies with personalised wedding vows are part of a growing trend.

Around the country vows incorporating Dr Seuss-style rhymes or All Black Dan Carter's wedding poem are becoming popular.

A recent Australian survey of 1200 couples revealed one in three couples were now refusing to vow "till death do us part".

Mrs Parker, who has been officiating marriages for about 15 years, said many different types of couples were now choosing to marry.

"When it's a blended marriage, it's about respecting and loving each other's children and coming together as a family.

"And if she decides to take his name and her children do, too - then often a naming ceremony is incorporated in it."

Nationally, 20,231 couples took the plunge last year - 283 in Rotorua.

And whilst 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 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.

"So long as the legal declaration is made word-perfect ... the vows themselves are promises made by the couple to each other."

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."