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.

This wording is from the traditional Christian marriage rite in the Anglican tradition, widely known through the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer. It forms part of the vows exchanged during the wedding ceremony, expressing a lifelong covenant that persists through changing circumstances (prosperity or hardship, health or illness). Because the Book of Common Prayer shaped English-language worship and culture from the 16th century onward, these phrases became the best-known English wedding vows and were later adapted across denominations and in civil ceremonies. The language is often treated as “anonymous” in quotation collections, but it is best understood as liturgical text standardized by the prayer book tradition rather than a personal utterance.

The vow frames marriage as a binding commitment grounded not in present feelings or favorable conditions but in steadfastness over time. Its paired contrasts (“better/worse,” “richer/poorer,” “sickness/health”) acknowledge that life is unstable and that love is proven by endurance through reversals. “To have and to hold” emphasizes both legal union and intimate companionship, while “love and to cherish” adds an ethical dimension of care and honor. The closing clause, “till death us do part,” defines the promise as lifelong, making the vow a public declaration that marriage is a covenantal bond rather than a temporary arrangement.

1) “...for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health...”
2) “...to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
3) “...from this day forward... till death us depart.”