One of my cartoons, first published in The Sun - 18th May, 2002, and signed under my pen name NIGE, is set during a wedding ceremony in a traditional church.
The priest stands with a book of vows in hand, while the bride and groom face him at the altar.
When asked the familiar question, “Do you take this woman…”, the groom looks confused and interrupts with: “DO I TAKE THIS WOMAN WHERE?”
The humour comes from his literal misunderstanding of the phrase, turning a solemn tradition into a playful misinterpretation.
The cartoon works because everyone knows the wording of a wedding vow, and the punchline disrupts that rhythm in a way that’s instantly funny.
The groom’s puzzled expression alongside the bride’s exasperated reaction captures the clash between ceremony and comedy.
It’s a light-hearted reminder that even at the most serious moments, language can trip us up — and that’s what makes the cartoon so effective.
