Bilingual Wedding Vows: English and Swahili Templates

Saying your vows in both English and Swahili isn't just beautiful — it's a declaration that your love belongs to both worlds you carry.

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More Kenyan couples are choosing to say their wedding vows in both English and Swahili. Some do it because Swahili is the language their grandparents speak and they want those grandparents to hear the promises clearly. Others do it because Swahili carries an emotional weight — a warmth and directness — that English can't quite match in that moment. Many do it simply because both languages are home.

Whatever your reason, a bilingual vow done well is one of the most moving moments in a Kenyan wedding. This guide gives you complete templates — not just word-for-word translations but vows that feel natural in both languages.

How to Use These Templates

Each template below is a complete bilingual vow. You can:

• Read the full vow in English, then the full vow in Swahili — effective if you want each language to be heard as a complete thought
• Alternate line by line — one line in English, same line in Swahili — which creates a rhythmic, powerful effect but requires practice
• Assign languages by partner — one partner reads the English version, the other reads the Swahili version of the same vow

The alternating approach is the most visually and aurally striking, but only if you're comfortable enough to deliver it smoothly. If you're nervous, read the full version in each language back-to-back.

Practice out loud. Multiple times. The Swahili should feel like yours, not like a reading exercise.

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Template 1: Traditional and Straightforward

This template is grounded in the classic wedding vow structure. It works for church weddings, civil ceremonies, and everything in between.

English:

I, [Name], take you, [Name], as my wife / husband. I promise to love you faithfully — in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in abundance and in need. I will be your companion, your shelter, and your truest friend. From this day forward, for all the days of my life.

Swahili:

Mimi, [Jina], ninakuchukua wewe, [Jina], kuwa mke wangu / mume wangu. Naahidi kukupenda kwa uaminifu — katika furaha na huzuni, katika afya na ugonjwa, katika wingi na upungufu. Nitakuwa mwenzako, mahali pako pa kupumzika, na rafiki yako wa kweli kabisa. Kuanzia leo, katika siku zote za maisha yangu.

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Template 2: Personal and Specific

This version is warmer and more personal — better suited for couples who want their vows to reflect their actual relationship rather than a formal structure.

English:

[Name], I fell in love with you not in one moment but in a hundred small ones — the way you listen, the way you show up, the way you see me. I am not the same person I was before you, and I am glad. Today I choose you — your laughter, your stubbornness, your kindness, the whole of you. I promise to stand beside you. To tell you the truth even when it's hard. To be the person you can count on, no matter what changes around us. All the days of my life.

Swahili:

[Jina], nilikupenda si kwa wakati mmoja tu bali kwa mambo madogo madogo mengi — jinsi unavyosikiliza, jinsi unavyonijali, jinsi unavyoniona. Mimi si mtu yule yule niliyekuwa kabla yako, na ninashukuru kwa hilo. Leo nakuchagua — kicheko chako, ukaidi wako, wema wako, wewe wote kabisa. Naahidi kusimama pembeni yako. Kukuambia ukweli hata wakati ni mgumu. Kuwa mtu unayeweza kutegemea, chochote kitakachobadilika kutuzunguka. Katika siku zote za maisha yangu.

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Template 3: Faith-Centered

For couples whose faith is central to their relationship, this template brings God into the vows naturally — without being sectarian in a way that excludes guests of other faiths.

English:

[Name], I believe our meeting was not an accident. I come before God and before these witnesses to make you the promise I have prayed over: I will love you as I am loved — with patience, with grace, with faithfulness even when it is difficult. I will honor you. I will protect you. I will walk this life beside you. Until my last breath, you are mine and I am yours.

Swahili:

[Jina], ninaamini kukutana kwetu hakukuwa bahati mbaya. Ninakuja mbele za Mungu na mbele za mashahidi hawa kukuahidi ninachokuomba: Nitakupenda kama ninavyopendwa — kwa uvumilivu, kwa neema, kwa uaminifu hata itakapokuwa vigumu. Nitakuheshimu. Nitakulinda. Nitaishia maisha haya pembeni yako. Hadi pumzi yangu ya mwisho, wewe ni wangu na mimi ni wako.

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Template 4: Nature and Ancestry

This template draws on imagery of land, seasons, and community — language that resonates across many Kenyan cultures and connects the couple to those who came before them.

English:

As the long rains come and go and come again, I will return to you. As our people have built homes and raised children and kept promises before us, I will keep mine to you. I promise to be your companion through every season — the ones that are easy and the ones that ask everything of us. I honor the families that made us, and I begin the family we are becoming. You are home to me. You have always been home to me.

Swahili:

Kama mvua ya masika inavyokuja na kupita na kurudi tena, nitarudi kwako. Kama watu wetu walivyojenga nyumba na kulea watoto na kutimiza ahadi kabla yetu, nami nitatimiza yake kwako. Naahidi kuwa mwenzako katika kila wakati — wale wa urahisi na wale wanaotudai kila kitu. Naheshimu familia zilizotuzaa, na naanza familia tunayoianzisha sisi. Wewe ni nyumbani kwangu. Umekuwa nyumbani kwangu siku zote.

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Template 5: Short and Powerful

For couples who want their vows brief but resonant — especially useful if you're doing them in alternating lines and don't want the ceremony to be too long.

English:

I choose you. I choose you every morning, every difficulty, every year that comes. I promise my presence, my honesty, my faithfulness. You are my person. That does not change.

Swahili:

Nakuchagua. Nakuchagua kila asubuhi, kila tatizo, kila mwaka utakaokuja. Naahidi kuwepo kwangu, ukweli wangu, uaminifu wangu. Wewe ni mtu wangu. Hilo halibadiliki.

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Notes on Language and Pronunciation

A few things to keep in mind when working with these templates:

"Mke" and "mume": Mke means wife; mume means husband. Insert the correct one based on who you are addressing.

Tone and pace: Swahili vowels are consistent — a, e, i, o, u are always pronounced the same way. Slow down slightly when reading Swahili aloud, especially in a large venue with acoustics that can muddy consonants.

Personalize the Swahili: These templates use standard Swahili. If your partner or their family speaks a dialect with different registers (coastal Swahili has its own richness), consider working with a Swahili-speaking friend or elder to adjust the phrasing to feel more native.

Write what you'll actually say: If you're adding personal lines in Swahili — things beyond these templates — make sure someone who is fluent reviews the phrasing before the day. A grammatical error in your vows is not the end of the world, but getting it right feels better.

Combining With Personal Vows

These templates work as complete vows on their own, or as a bilingual foundation onto which you add personal lines. For guidance on writing the personal sections, see our full guide on writing personal wedding vows in Kenya.

If your wedding is an interfaith ceremony and you need your vows to navigate two religious traditions, see our guide on interfaith wedding vows.

For what to avoid — including the most common bilingual vow mistakes — see our article on wedding vow mistakes to avoid.