Vows examined

I take you

What do you mean you are going to take me? However, the concept of taking someone in marriage is to accept him or her completely. You are taking his or her talents, flaws, dreams, failures, and potential. You are completely embracing him or her as a part of yourself forever.
By taking him or her as part of yourself, you are rejecting all others. When you say YES to your bride or groom, you are saying NO to the rest of the world. When you say “I take you,” you are saying, “Out of everyone else in the world, I am committing to you and you alone.” This is where a lot of men and women can get into trouble if they are not vigilant. source


To have and to hold
To begin, what does the promise ‘to have and to hold,’ mean? I think this is talking about an exclusive, mutually faithful and satisfying sexually relationship within marriage. This is the first vow we made. In essence we said, “I promise that you are the only one I’ll ever have in my bed. You are the only one I will ever hold in an intimate way.” source

...He said, “You really don’t know? What do you think it means to have someone?” That’s when the light bulb popped on. To have someone is for that person to be yours – intimately. For someone to have you is for you to belong to them. This means that I am committing my body to this person and he or she is committing his or her body to me. source