travel related wedding readings

30 Adventure Wedding Readings for the Wanderlust Couple

• Post author: Brittany
• Post published: February 18, 2020
• Post category: Readings & Vows

After much research and contemplation, I have compiled a list of what I think are the best adventure wedding readings for those couples looking for a nod to their next great adventure together… which is of course marriage!

These can also be incorporated into wedding vows for the adventurous couple!

Related Post: 25 Nerdy Wedding Readings for Unique Ceremonies

I’ve chosen readings that either explicitly talk about adventuring together, or that speak on this theme in a more subtle way. I tried to include some unique, less common ‘adventure’ wedding readings in this list, as well as many adventure love quotes interspersed throughout!

Before you read, you might want to download my FREE 10-Page Wedding Ceremony Guide on creating your own personalized wedding ceremony (complete with a sample script, readings, and vows!). You can get it here along with the Wayfaring Weddings newsletter! 🙂

PRO-TIP: After your wedding, keep your readings and vows ( and maybe the whole ceremony script! ) bound together in a cute binder that you can treasure forever in your home. I personally recommend checking out prices for artistic 3-ring planner binders on Amazon.

#1 – Our Great Adventure

We are today still dizzy with the astonishment of love. We are surrounded by affection – by smiles and kindliness, By flowers and music and gifts and celebration. Yet they enclose a silence Where we are close with one another. My eyes see only you. I hear nothing but the words We speak to one another This is the day we start our life together. This is our new beginning. – Pamela Dugdale

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” J.K. Rowling

#2 – The Last Battle

“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” — C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, #7)

#3 – “I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love…”

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!” It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments. — Oriah Mountain Dreamer

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.” Jack Kerouac

#4 – The Love of God

The love of God, unutterable and perfect, Flows into a pure soul… The way that light rushes into a transparent object. The more love that it finds, the more it gives itself; So that, as we become clear and open, The more complete the joy of loving is. And the more souls who resonate together, The greater the intensity of their love, For mirror-like, each soul reflects the other. – Dante Alighieri 

#5 – The Meaning of Marriage

The meaning of marriage begins in the giving of words. We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our word. And this must be an unconditional giving, for in joining ourselves to one another we join ourselves to the unknown. We can join one another only by joining the unknown. We must not be misled by the procedures of experimental thought: in life, in the world, we are never given two known results to choose between, but only one result that we choose without knowing what it is.

Because the condition of marriage is worldly and its meaning communal, no one party to it can be solely in charge. What you alone think it ought to be, it is not going to be. Where you alone think you want it to go, it is not going to go. It is going where the two of you — and marriage, time, life, history, and the world — will take it. You do not know the road; you have committed your life to a way.

In marriage as in poetry, the given word implies the acceptance of a form that is never entirely of one’s own making. When understood seriously enough, a form is a way of accepting and of living within the limits of creaturely life. We live only one life, and die only one death. A marriage cannot include everybody, because the reach of responsibility is short. A poem cannot be about everything, for the reach of attention and insight is short. – Poet and environmental activist   Wendell Berry

“I have always known That at last I would Take this road, but yesterday I did not know that it would be today.” Kenneth Rexroth, One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

#6 – The Country of Marriage

“…our life reminds me of a forest in which there is a graceful clearing and in that opening a house, an orchard and garden, comfortable shades, and flowers, red and yellow in the sun, a pattern made in the light for the light to return to. The forest is mostly dark, its ways to be made a new day after day, the dark richer than the light and more blessed, provided we stay brave enough to keep on going in.” -Wendell Berry

#7 – “Can one have love?”

“Can one have love? If we could, love would need to be a thing, a substance that one can have, own, possess. The truth is, there is no such thing as “love.” “Love” is abstraction, perhaps a goddess or an alien being, although nobody has ever seen this goddess. In reality, there exists only the act of loving. To love is a productive activity. It implies caring for, knowing, responding, affirming, enjoying: the person, the tree, the painting, the idea. It means bringing to life, increasing his/her/its aliveness. It is a process, self-renewing and self-increasing… To say “I have a great love for you” is meaningless. Love is not a thing that one can have, but a process, an inner activity that one is the subject of, I can love, I can be in love, but in love I have … nothing. In fact, the less I have, the more I can love.” -Erich Fromm, From To Have or To Be

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” Henry David Thoreau

#8 – Gift from the Sea

“When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity – in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.” -Anne Morrow Lindbergh, From Gift From the Sea

“”Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward at the same direction.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

#9 – Song of the Open Road

The road is before us! It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well—be not detained!

Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopened! Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearned! Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher! Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law.

Camerado, I give you my hand! I give you my love more precious than money, I give you myself before preaching or law; Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live? – Walt Whitman

“The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

#10 – Patagonia

I said perhaps Patagonia, and pictured a peninsula, wide enough for a couple of ladderback chairs to wobble on at high tide. I thought

of us in breathless cold, facing a horizon round as a coin, looped in a cat’s cradle strung by gulls from sea to sun. I planned to wait

till the waves had bored themselves to sleep, till the last clinging barnacles, growing worried in the hush, had paddled off in tiny coracles, till

those restless birds, your actor’s hands, had dropped slack into your lap, until you’d turned, at last, to me. When I spoke of Patagonia, I meant

skies all empty aching blue. I meant years. I meant all of them with you. -Kate Clanchy

“Here? Where is here? But you understand. In my heart Within your heart Is home. Is peace. Is quiet.” Eugene O’Neill, Quiet Song in Time of Chaos

#11 – On Marriage

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?      And he answered saying:      You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.      You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.      Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.      But let there be spaces in your togetherness,      And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.      Love one another, but make not a bond of love:      Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.      Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.      Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.      Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,      Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.      Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.      For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.      And stand together yet not too near together:      For the pillars of the temple stand apart,      And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow. -Khalil Gibran

“No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go, we will go together, over the waters of time. No one else will travel through the shadows with me, only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.” Pablo Neruda

#12 – Friendship

Such love I cannot analyse; It does not rest in lips or eyes, Neither in kisses nor caress. Partly, I know, it’s gentleness

And understanding in one word Or in brief letters. It’s preserved By trust and by respect and awe. These are the words I’m feeling for.

Two people, yes, two lasting friends. The giving comes, the taking ends There is no measure for such things. For this all Nature slows and sings. – Elizabeth Jennings

“Two separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise.” Simone de Beauvoir , The Second Sex

#13 – Tell Me

Tell me where you go When you look faraway, I find I am too slow To catch your mood. I hear The slow and far-off sea And waves that beat a shore That could be trying to Call us toward our end, make us hurry through This little space of dark. Yet love can stretch it wide. Each life means so much work You are my wealth, my pride. The good side of me, see That you stay by my side Two roots of one great tree. -Elizabeth Jennings

#14 – A Lovely Song For Jackson

If I were a seaweed at the bottom of the sea, I’d find you, you’d find me. Fishes would see us and shake their heads Approvingly from their submarine beds. Crabs and sea horses would bid us glad cry, And sea anemone smile us by. Sea gulls alone would wing and make moan, Wondering, wondering, where we had gone.

If I were an angel and lost in the sun, You would be there, and you would be one. Birds that flew high enough would find us and sing Gladder to find us than for anything, And clouds would be proud of us, light everywhere Would clothe us gold gaily, for dear and for fair. Trees stretching skyward would see us and smile, And all over heaven we’d laugh for a while. Only the fishes would search and make moan, Wondering, wondering, where we had gone. – V.R. Lang

“No matter what transpires between us, in this life or in any other, I will be with you always. You really are my soul mate. We have traveled together before, and we will travel together again.”    Diane Rinella

#15 – Passage from Love in the Time of Cholera

“She clung to her husband. And it was just at the time when he needed her most, because he suffered the disadvantage of being ten years ahead of her as he stumbled alone through the mists of old age, with the even greater disadvantage of being a man and weaker than she was. In the end they knew each other so well that by the time they had been married for thirty years they were like a single divided being, and they felt uncomfortable at the frequency with which they guessed each other’s thoughts without intending to, or the ridiculous accident of one of them anticipating in public what the other was going to say. Together they had overcome the daily incomprehension, the instantaneous hatred, the reciprocal nastiness and fabulous flashes of glory in the conjugal conspiracy. It was the time when they loved each other best, without hurry or excess, when both were most conscious of and grateful for their incredible victories over adversity. Life would still present them with other mortal trials, of course, but that no longer mattered: they were on the other shore.”

― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez, From Love in the Time of Cholera

#16 – The Confirmation

Yes, yours, my love, is the right human face. I in my mind had waited for this long, Seeing the false and searching for the true, Then found you as a traveller finds a place Of welcome suddenly amid the wrong Valleys and rocks and twisting roads. But you, What shall I call you? A fountain in a waste, A well of water in a country dry, Or anything that’s honest and good, an eye That makes the whole world seem bright. Your open heart, Simple with giving, gives the primal deed, The first good world, the blossom, the blowing seed, The hearth, the steadfast land, the wandering sea. Not beautiful or rare in every part. But like yourself, as they were meant to be. – Edwin Muir

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”  Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

#17 – My Wife

Trusty, dusky, vivid, true, With eyes of gold and bramble-dew, Steel-true and blade-straight, The great artificer Made my mate.

Honour, anger, valour, fire; A love that life could never tire, Death quench or evil stir, The mighty master Gave to her.

Teacher, tender, comrade, wife, A fellow-farer true through life, Heart-whole and soul-free The august father Gave to me. – Robert Louis Stevenson

“Love, like everything else in life, should be a discovery, an adventure, and like most adventures, you don’t know you’re having one until you’re right in the middle of it.” E.A. Bucchianeri

#18 – “Love should run out to meet love…”

“Love should run out to meet love with open arms. Indeed, the ideal story is that of two people who go into love step for step, with a fluttered consciousness, like a pair of children venturing together into a dark room. From the first moment when they see each other, with a pang of curiosity, through stage after stage of growing pleasure and embarrassment, they can read the expression of their own trouble in each other’s eyes. There is here no declaration properly so called; the feeling is so plainly shared, that as soon as the man knows what it is in his own heart, he is sure of what it is in the woman’s.” -Robert Louis Stevenson, From Virginibus Puerisque

“They who travel the rocky road together arrive in paradise undivided.”  Karey White

#19 – Not Love Perhaps

This is not Love, perhaps, Love that lays down its life, that many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, But something written in lighter ink, said in a lower tone, something, perhaps, especially our own.

A need, at times, to be together and talk, And then the finding we can walk More firmly through dark narrow places, And meet more easily nightmare faces; A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand, And then find Earth less like an alien land; A need for alliance to defeat The whisperers at the corner of the street.

A need for inns on roads, islands in seas, Halts for discoveries to be shared, Maps checked, notes compared; A need, at times, of each for each, Direct as the need of throat and tongue for speech. – Arthur Seymour John Tessimond

“But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me.” Pablo Neruda

#20 – The Master Speed

No speed of wind or water rushing by But you have speed far greater. You can climb Back up a stream of radiance to the sky, And back through history up the stream of time. And you were given this swiftness, not for haste Nor chiefly that you may go where you will, But in the rush of everything to waste, That you may have the power of standing still- Off any still or moving thing you say. Two such as you with such a master speed Cannot be parted nor be swept away From one another once you are agreed That life is only life forevermore Together wing to wing and oar to oar. – Robert Frost

“And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”   Pico Iyer

#21 – Here’s another poem…

Here’s another poem, like all others before and after, dedicated to you. There isn’t anything left to be said but I will spend my life trying to put you into words. You who is every goodness, every optimism and hope. Your love is a better fate for me than anything I could wish for. If you are a part of me, then you’re the best part. And if you’re separate from me, then you are my destination. But I’ve become a weary traveller, so please, let us never be apart. ―  Kamand Kojouri

#22 – A Marriage

A marriage makes of two fractional lives a whole; It gives two purposeless lives a work, And doubles the strength of each to perform it. It gives to two questioning natures a reason for living And something to live for. It will give new gladness to the sunshine, A new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth And a new mystery to life.

– Mark Twain

#23 – Hinterhof

Stay near to me and I’ll stay near to you — As near as you are dear to me will do, Near as the rainbow to the rain, The west wind to the windowpane, As fire to the hearth, as dawn to dew.

Stay true to me and I’ll stay true to you — As true as you are new to me will do, New as the rainbow in the spray, Utterly new in every way, New in the way that what you say is true.

Stay near to me, stay true to me. I’ll stay As near, as true to you as heart could pray. Heart never hoped that one might be Half of the things you are to me — The dawn, the fire, the rainbow and the day. – James Fenton

“and then every once in a while, you remember to pull up and look at your partner, your life partner, really look at the one who travels down the lonely road right by your side, and you realize how much you are in this together.”   Harlan Coben

#24 – I Would Live in Your Love

I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea, Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes; I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me, I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads. – Sara Teasdale

#25 – These I Can Promise

I cannot promise you a life of sunshine; I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold; I cannot promise you an easy pathway That leads away from change or growing old. But I can promise all my heart’s devotion; A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow; A love that’s ever true and ever growing; A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow. – Mark Twain

“What we find in a soulmate is not something wild to tame, but something wild to run with.”  Robert Brault

#26 – Reply

I cannot swear with any certainty That I will always feel as I do now, Loving you with the same fierce ecstasy, Needing the same our lips upon my brow. Nor can I promise stars forever bright, Or vow green leaves will never turn to gold. I cannot see beyond this present night To say what promises the dawn may hold. And yet, I know my heart must follow you High up to hilltops, low through vales of tears, Through golden days and days of somber hue. And love will only deepen with the years, Becoming sun and shadow, wind and rain, Wine that grows mellow, bread that will sustain. -Naomi Long Madgett

#27 – Love’s Insight

Take me, accept me, love me as I am; Love me with my disordered wayward past; Love me with all the lusts that hold me fast In bonds of sensuality and shame. Love me as flesh and blood, not the ideal Which vainly you imagine me to be; Love me, the mixed up creature that you see; Love not the man you dream of but the real. And yet they err who say that love is blind. Beneath my earthly, sordid self your love Discerns capacities which rise above The futile passions of my carnal mind. Love is creative. Your love brings to birth God’s image in the earthiest of earth. – Robert Winnett

#28 – I’ll Still Be Loving You

I’ll still be loving you. When your hair has turned to winter and your teeth are in a plate, When your getter up and go has gone to stop and wait I’ll still be loving you.

When your attributes have shifted beyond the bounds of grace, I’ll count your many blessings, not the wrinkles in your face I’ll still be loving you.

When the crackle in your voice matches that within your knee and the times are getting frequent that you don’t remember me I’ll still be loving you.

Growing old is not a sin, it’s something we all do. I hope you’ll always understand – I’ll still be loving you. – C. David Hay

#29 – Love is…

Love is… Love is feeling cold in the back of vans Love is a fanclub with only two fans Love is walking holding paintstained hands Love is Love is fish and chips on winter nights Love is blankets full of strange delights Love is when you don’t put out the light Love is Love is the presents in Christmas shops Love is when you’re feeling Top of the Pops Love is what happens when the music stops Love is Love is white panties lying all forlorn Love is pink nightdresses still slightly warm Love is when you have to leave at dawn Love is Love is you and love is me Love is prison and love is free Love’s what’s there when you are away from me Love is…

– Adrian Henri

“Tell him he was my greatest adventure. Tell him I love him.”  Fisher Amelie

#30 – Unlimited Friendliness

This is what should be done by the man and woman who are wise, who seek the good, and who know the meaning of the place of peace. Let them be fervent, upright, and sincere, without conceit of self, easily contented and joyous, free of cares; let them not be submerged by the things of the world; let them not take upon themselves the burden of worldly goods; let their senses be controlled; let them be wise but not puffed up, and let them not desire great possessions even for their families. Let them do nothing that is mean or that the wise would reprove. May all beings be happy and at their ease. May they be joyous and live in safety. All beings, whether weal or strong—omitting none—in high, middle, or low realms of existence, small or great, visible or invisible, near or far away, born or to be born: may all beings be happy and at their ease. Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state. Let none by anger or ill-will wish harm to another. Even as a mother watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless mind should one cherish all living beings, radiating friendliness over the entire world, above, below, and all around without limit. So let them cultivate a boundless good will toward the entire world, unlimited, free from ill-will or enmity. Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all their waking hours, let them establish this mindfulness of good will, which is the highest state. Abandoning vain discussions, having a clear vision, free from sense appetites, those who are perfect will never again know rebirth.

-From the Buddhist scriptures

That’s all! I hope you enjoyed reading these readings and were able to find one (or more) that you loved! If not, please check out my other posts on the topic of wedding readings:

30 Wedding Readings from Song Lyrics

• 30 Traditional Wedding Readings For Your Big Day
• 25 Nerdy Wedding Readings for Unique Ceremonies
• 25 Romantic Wedding Readings from Movies and TV

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Adventure Wedding Readings and Quotes | Tips for Adventurous Brides

Behind the scenes adventure wedding readings, quotes, and poems.

Over the years of working as adventure wedding photographers we’ve heard some beautiful adventure wedding readings and quotes on love. That might mean nature and love poems, quotes, and readings. We’re excited to share the best wedding quotes we’ve heard with you!

As you can imagine, I always love when a couple puts some time, thought, and intention into building their ceremony. Wedding ceremonies are important. (If you want some free relationship advice, a healthy relationship is about spending time on important things.) The words that are said, the vows that are exchanged, and the promises made are a big part of the celebration.

In fact, what are we gathering to celebrate other than a commitment? Essentially, the ceremony itself states what exactly that commitment means to the couple, and what marriage means to the couple. For us, love is an adventure and one that we’re excited to continue hand-in-hand!

love is an adventure – and the wedding is only day one

Today we’re excited to share some wedding readings about the adventure that reflect that. After this, we hope you’re asking if you can Get Married on a Mountain ! We’ve broken them down into the following categories.

• Our favorite marriage adventure quotes
• Short nature quotes on love for your wedding
• Popular wedding readings on love and adventure
• Religious or spiritual readings with a nature element

Enjoy these wedding quotations, wedding quotes and sayings, I hope you find something to inspire you!

Why I Love Nature and Love Poems for Weddings (non-religious)

A successful marriage requires falling, trusting, choosing, and committing. Every day. Happy marriages begin at the edge of your comfort zone where the adventure is. A successful marriage grows from the lesson learned through the process.

Connecting to nature quotes can remind us that love is an adventure and sometimes it’s hard, risky, and challenging. But nature teaches us how to grow as individuals and couples. The best readings for weddings non-religious, in my opinion, have their own spirituality. The spirituality of nature and the lessons we can learn from the natural world.

If you’ve heard of the concept of twin flames you’ll know that your twin flame is someone whose love is powerful enough to encourage you to meet your own soul and do the hard work of being your best self. That’s an adventure! Whenever we hear an unusual wedding readings non religious we try to add it to this post!

our favorite adventure wedding readings and quotes

Enjoy these happy marriage quotes inspired by adventure! Whether you’re seeking pagan wedding vows, funny tying the knot quotes,  alternative wedding readings or spiritual saying to tie the knot, I hope you find what you’re looking for.

These quotes can be added to your nature wedding ceremony script or built around it for a nature inspired wedding ceremony script.

1. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir

One thing I love about John Muir is that he has memorable, recognizable, and noticeable quotes and nature-inspired readings for weddings. But I am also always hearing new ones. Seems like there’s something magical and poetic for everyone.

Additionally, a lot of our brides choose where to get married very intentionally, they want a magical place to be the setting for their fairytale. A good nature quote can help set that vibe for the ceremony. For example, take this reading that one of our couples introduced me to.

2. “Forests will always hold your secrets, for that’s what forests are for. To separate and hide things. To protect, to comfort, to hold, to envelop, to demonstrate, to slow down, to hold, to teach. Go to the trees to explore your questions and dreams. Go to the tree to desire and seek. The world will listen as you walk, watch, soften, and breathe.” – Victoria Erickson

Looking for inspirational marriage poems? Check out more beautiful poems by the amazing Victoria Erickson in her book Edge of Wonder .

nature quotes and love poems:

Next, below are some more adventure wedding readings and nature quotes love to consider. Everything from short adventure wedding quotes to longer nature-inspired readings, Native American blessings, and nature-inspired poems. Some of them we’ve heard at weddings and others just inspire us. Let me know what I missed! And be sure to check out these 3 Tricks for Planning a Remote Wedding in a Wilderness Location.

Looking for inspirational quotes wedding? Enjoy these love poems nature theme.

short adventure wedding quotes that prove love is an adventure

Here are some of our favorite short wedding quotes about adventure! Their beauty is in their simplicity. They say so much with so little.

• “The journey is always towards the other soul.” -D. H. Lawrence
• “Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” -Franklin P. Jones
• “Sometimes when you fall, you fly.” -Neil Gaiman
• “We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness — and call it love — true love.” -Robert Fulghum
• outdoor inspired wedding readings on love

popular adventure wedding readings

Next, some longer wedding readings that might be perfect for your ceremony as marriage promise quotes.

1. John Muir – Sings Our Love

“Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”

2. Edward Abbey – May Your Trails

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.

May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you — beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.”

From Edward Abbey – Desert Solitaire

3. Pierre Tielhard de Chardin – Love is an Adventure

“Love is an adventure and a conquest. It survives and develops like the universe itself only by perpetual discovery. The only right love is that between couples whose passion leads them both, one through the other, to a higher possession of their being.

Put your faith in the spirit which dwells between the two of you. You have each offered yourself to the other as a boundless field of understanding, of enrichment, of mutually increased sensibility. You will meet above all by entering into and constantly sharing one another’s thoughts, affections, and dreams. There alone, as you know, in spirit, which is arrived through flesh, you will find no disappointments, no limits. There alone the skies are ever open for your love; there alone lies the great road ahead.”

Check out books by Pierre Tielhard de Chardin

4. Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as certain dark things are loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom, and carries hidden within itself the light of those flowers, and thanks to your love, darkly in my body lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I know no other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you; so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

popular religious/spiritual wedding readings with a nature element

Behold the popular readings from the word.

1. Song of Songs

If you’re looking for a religious reading, one of my favorites with a little nature inspiration is: Song of Songs 2:8-10,14,16a; 8:6-7a

“Hark! my lover—here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come! “O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see you, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet, and you are lovely. My lover belongs to me and I to him. He says to me: “Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love, relentless as the nether-world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.”

2. Apache Wedding Blessing – Shelter for Each other

This apache wedding poem is very fitting for nature lovers:

“Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.”

3. Apache Marriage Blessing – Ride the Storms

This apache wedding prayer is a great reminder of the lessons from nature:

“Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives — remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.”

4. Cherokee Wedding Blessing – Honor and Harmony

“God in heaven above please protect the ones we love. We honor all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honor Mother Earth and ask for our marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honor fire and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts. We honor wind and ask that we sail through life safe and calm as in our father’s arms. We honor water to clean and soothe our relationship — that it may never thirst for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony as we grow forever young together. Amen.”

5. Traditional Irish Blessing

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow May the soft winds freshen your spirit May the sunshine brighten your heart May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love. May the road rise to meet you May the wind be always at your back May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall soft upon your fields And until we meet again my friend May God hold you in the palm of his hand May God be with you and bless you May you see your children’s children May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in Blessings May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward May green be the grass you walk on May blue be the skies above you, And from this day forward. May the joys of today Be those of tomorrow.

marriage adventure poems

1. the day sky by hafiz.

Let us be like Two falling stars in the day sky. Let no one know of our sublime beauty As we hold hands with God And burn

Into a sacred existence that defies— That surpasses

Every description of ecstasy And love.

More poems by Hafiz: The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

2. The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have became shriveled and closed for fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you’re telling me is true I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from mysterious presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes”

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the njght of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

• The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

3. The Privileged Lovers by Rumi

The moon has become a dancer at this festival of love. This dance of light,

This sacred blessing, This divine love, beckons us to a world beyond only lovers can see with their eyes of fiery passion.

They are the chosen ones who have surrendered. Once they were particles of light now they are the radiant sun.

They have left behind the world of deceitful games. They are the privileged lovers who create a new world with their eyes of fiery passion.

• Rumi – The Book of Love: Poems on Ecstasy and Longing

4. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

Love one another But make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea Between the shores of your souls Fill each other’s cup But drink not from the same cup Sing and dance together and be joyous, But let each one of you be alone Even as the strings of the lute are alone Though they quiver with the same music Give your hearts But not into each other’s keeping For only the hand of life Can contain your hearts And stand together Yet not too near together For the pillars of the temple stand apart And the oak tree and the cypress Grow not in each other’s shadow.

• The Prophet  

nature themed weddings and inspiration for love

Since we tend to work with nature loving couples, we’ve notice them thoughtfully including the spirit of adventure in their wedding readings and vows. We’ve even seen couples be thoughtful about their adventure wedding invitation wording . Ideally, it seems to illustrate what they value in life, love, and marriage.

Check out more Mountain Top Wedding Ideas or The Appeal of an Adventure wedding for the full effect.

Most importantly, a shared love of nature and adventure is more than just a passion, it is often a lifestyle and a way of life. For some couples, nature is a big part of their spirituality as well. As a result, it makes sense that we turn to naturalists and poets such as John Muir for inspiration on days like these.

We hope you enjoyed these wedding readings about adventure and love! We’re shared everything from short wedding quotes to adventure wedding poems to readings on love.  We hope these adventurous readings on love will help you kick off your marriage!

What do you prefer? Short wedding quotes or longer adventure wedding poems? We’d love to hear what you’re planning to use for your wedding ceremony reading.

different nature-themed quotes:

Whether you’re looking for short wedding card verses or a unique wedding reading, I hope you found something you can use.

happy kayaking quotes quotes on paths and journeys 1. sailing marriage quotes:

“no matter how vast the sea, sometimes two ships are destined to meet”

“no matter the winds, no matter the see, I will set sail forever with thee”

“In high time or low tide, I’ll be by your side”

2. beach wedding quotes

“By the salty sea, I pledge my love to thee…”

“As the sea birds sing with their siren-like cry.

Precious few have answered our ocean’s calling,

Shouting out with eye bright and bawling.

So take this proposal and fly like the dove,

To come with me and be my love.” – Christoper Sousa

such a wedding for a few shared tears, laughs, and smiles

The impact of the right nature wedding ceremony script can lead to a few shared teams and a meaningful day. Your wedding officiant might have more ideas from biblical wedding invitation wording to new beginning wedding quotes. Bridal phrases are on the one hand, just words. And on the other hand the ceremony is what the wedding day is really all about.

Now that you have some ideas, inspiration, or at least some direction for your adventure wedding readings and quotes are you looking for more wedding planning information? When you join our newsletter you will get monthly tips, deals, and updates. AND you’ll have access to exclusive content such as our:

What did I miss? Modern wedding ceremony readings? Buddhist scriptures for a Buddhist wedding ceremony? Whether you’re having a spiritual or interfaith ceremony, remember love at the center.

I Bow Deeply Standing quietly by the fence, you smile your wondrous smile, I am speechless, and my senses are filled by the sounds of your beautiful song. Beginning-less and endless. I bow deeply to you. – Thich Nhat Hanh.

FREE comprehensive e-guide: Prioritize your planning so your wedding is a memorable adventure.

Stay tuned for more tips for adventurous brides and check out these wedding photography tips for adventurous brides ! You can also view more of our current and most popular wedding planning advice .  If there’s a question we can answer, reach out. Most of our content is built from questions from our readers.

Other posts you might enjoy:

• Adventure Wedding Invitation Wording
• Tips for an Adventurous Honeymoon
• Our 9 Best Outdoor Wedding Photography Tips
• Outdoor Wedding Planning Advice
• Sample Wedding Photography Timeline
• 3 Tips for Planning a Remote Wedding in a Wilderness Location
• Creativity Meditation

We also offer tips for photographers like understanding your camera settings .

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in outdoor weddings and other adventures. Capturing people in nature and the mountain lifestyle is a passion that became a dream that became a life. Cheers to creativity .

Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado wedding photographers and videographers . We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document love and adventure in a variety of memorable settings. Don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know how we can help!

Be sure to follow us ( weddings instagram  &  adventures instagram ) and/or like us ( facebook ) to stay tuned. Links to things we love on Amazon are affiliate links.

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Wedding readings for adventurous couples

Five wedding readings for adventurous couples.

As a wedding photographer, I know more than anyone that readings are a moving, sentimental part of any wedding ceremony. Heck, if yours is really good, you might even catch me tearing up behind the camera.

One of the loveliest ways to personalise your ceremony is to find readings that truly represent the essence of your relationship.  Finding those readings though, is a whole other ball game! So, to help out a little  I’ve picked out five truly unique reading readings to celebrate couples with adventurous, outdoorsy spirits, just perfect for those about to embark on that wonderful journey of marriage… ahhhh.

If you’re a mountain climbing, base-jumping, scuba diving couple…

From a real-life adventure: bear grylls.

“Life tells us we have to be more sensible and you’ve got to do that, and we grow out of our kid selves and life is a journey about not growing out of it really. But the thing is, you don’t have to climb Everest. Adventures don’t have to be super extreme to get what the heart of adventure is about. To me, adventure has always been to me the connections and bounds you create with people when you’re there. And you can have that anywhere.”

If you’re having a church wedding…

Bible passage: isaiah 55: 9-13.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,  so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord ’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Passages from favourite books are always a lovely touch and the nature of fiction means that you can find quotes that celebrate your wanderlust in subtle, magical ways…

In fiction: on the road jack kerouac.

“…the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!””

Dare to be different and embrace poetry that is subtle, humble and ethereal in tone and theme.

In poetry: ‘the road not taken’ robert frost.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Childhood is where we learn about love, playfulness and the joy of the unknown. From ‘Peter Pan’ to ‘Matilda’ children’s literature is full of beautiful quotes that can come from books that are very personal to you…

From children’s fiction: alice in wonderland lewis carroll.

‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ ‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. ‘I don’t much care where —’ said Alice. ‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

If you’re still looking for your relaxed wedding photographer , I’d love to hear from you – find out more about what I offer here . For more of my wedding planning tips, click here .

35 Non-Religious Wedding Readings Guaranteed To Bring Your Guests To Tears

Every couple getting married is different , and yet wedding readings so often fall into the same traps. Even Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn can predict that a wedding reading will often be the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind . Pretty, yes, but not for everyone.

Brides looking to sidestep religious readings have lots of places from which to draw inspiration: song lyrics, poetry, and even novels. Maybe you and your partner have a favorite book you bonded over, or maybe there's a childhood story you both loved growing up. If you're drawing a blank, but like the idea of literary wedding readings, this list could be a good place to spark your creativity. It includes classic favorites, such as the Brontë sisters and Henry James, contemporary picks, such as Haruki Murakami and Patti Smith, YA authors such as John Green and Sarah Dessen , and even some unexpected stories, such as ones from Neil Gaiman and the king of breakup novels himself, Nick Hornby .

1. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

"You will learn a lot from yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery . Be a warrior for love."

2. Every Day by David Levithan

"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be."

3. Letter from Wilfrid Owen to Siegfried Sassoon

"You have fixed my Life—however short. You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but I shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze."

4. "& " by Aracelis Girmay

"& isn’t the heart/ an ampersand,/ magnet between the seconds of days/ & dusks, the peonies/ & the fig tree & the squirrels?"

5. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

"At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together."

6. A History of Love by Nicole Krauss

"Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no longer exists, where everything was discovered, and everything was possible. A stick could be a sword, a pebble could be a diamond, a tree, a castle. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house across the field, from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was queen and he was king. In the autumn light her hair shone like a crown. They collected the world in small handfuls, and when the sky grew dark, and they parted with leaves in their hair.

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

"'I am,' he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. 'I'm in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.'"

8. Letters To Vera by Vladimir Nabokov

"Yes, I need you, my fairy-tale. Because you are the only person I can talk with about the shade of a cloud, about the song of a thought — and about how, when I went out to work today and looked a tall sunflower in the face, it smiled at me with all of its seeds."

9. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

"When you fall in love, the natural thing to do is give yourself to it. That's what I think. It's just a form of sincerity."

10. Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

"People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves."

11. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

"No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater … The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot."

12. Jazz by Toni Morrison

"It’s nice when grown people whisper to each other under the covers. Their ecstasy is more leaf-sigh than bray and the body is the vehicle, not the point. They reach, grown people, for something beyond, way beyond and way, way down underneath tissue. They are remembering while they whisper the carnival dolls they won and the Baltimore boats they never sailed on. The pears they let hang on the limb because if they plucked them, they would be gone from there and who else would see that ripeness if they took it away for themselves? How could anybody passing by see them and imagine for themselves what the flavor would be like? Breathing and murmuring under covers both of them have washed and hung out on the line, in a bed they chose together and kept together nevermind one leg was propped on a 1916 dictionary, and the mattress, curved like a preacher’s palm asking for witnesses in His name’s sake, enclosed them each and every night and muffled their whispering, old-time love."

13. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

"Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I’m gazing at a distant star.It’s dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago.Maybe the star doesn’t even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything."

14. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

"Oh, what a love it was, utterly free, unique, like nothing else on earth! Their thoughts were like other people’s songs.

They loved each other, not driven by necessity, by the ‘blaze of passion’ often falsely ascribed to love. They loved each other because everything around them willed it, the trees and the clouds and the sky over their heads and the earth under their feet. Perhaps their surrounding world, the strangers they met in the street, the wide expanses they saw on their walks, the rooms in which they lived or met, took more delight in their love than they themselves did."

15. "Love Poem Without a Drop of Hyperbole In It" by Traci Brimhall

"I’d train my breath and learn to read sonar until/ I retrieved every lost blood vessel of you. I swear/ this love is ungodly, not an ounce of suffering in it./ Like salmon and its upstream itch, I’ll dodge grizzlies/ for you. Like hawks and skyscraper rooftops,/ I’ll keep coming back. Maddened. A little hopeless./ Embarrassingly in love."

16. "Song of the Anti-Sisyphus" by Chen Chen

"I want the journey to be long. & strange, like a map/drawn in snow by our shadows shivering. I want to shiver/against you, into you. I want the sound/of your teeth. I want the sound of the wind. I want to be/like the kids with their plastic sleds, gliding down,/all the way down the hill, then trudging/their sleds & snow-suited bodies all the wayback to the top. I want to be how they do this, for hours,/till sunset, till some sensible someone has/to come drag them away from the snow, the slope,/the 3… 2… 1!/of joy. I want to be the Anti-Sisyphus, in love/with repetition, in love, in love."

17. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

"The future belongs to hearts even more than it does to minds. Love, that is the only thing that can occupy and fill eternity. In the infinite, the inexhaustible is requisite.

Love participates of the soul itself. It is of the same nature. Like it, it is the divine spark; like it, it is incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable. It is a point of fire that exists within us, which is immortal and infinite, which nothing can confine, and which nothing can extinguish. We feel it burning even to the very marrow of our bones, and we see it beaming in the very depths of heaven."

18. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches… I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids…

I love you. Okay? Want it louder? I love you. Spell it out, should I? I ell-oh-vee-ee why-oh-you. Want it backward? You love I."

19. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman

"I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me."

20. Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

"Now, I’m not going to deny that I was aware of your beauty. But the point is, this has nothing to do with your beauty. As I got to know you, I began to realize that beauty was the least of your qualities. I became fascinated by your goodness. I was drawn in by it. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. And it was only when I began to feel actual, physical pain every time you left the room that it finally dawned on me: I was in love, for the first time in my life. I knew it was hopeless, but that didn’t matter to me. And it’s not that I want to have you. All I want is to deserve you. Tell me what to do. Show me how to behave. I’ll do anything you say."

21. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

“Lying under such a myriad of stars. The sea’s black horizon. He rose and walked out and stood barefoot in the sand and watched the pale surf appear all down the shore and roll and crash and darken again. When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.”

22. Just Kids by Patti Smith

"Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads to each other. We become ourselves … 'What will happen to us?' I asked. 'There will always be us,' he answered."

23. The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life … You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. "

24. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

“I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that I love no one else, and never have loved anyone else, and never will love anyone else.”

25. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

"He dug so deeply into her sentiments that in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her love him he ended up falling in love with her. Petra Cotes, for her part, loved him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful superstition that poverty was the servitude of love. Both looked back then on the wild revelry, the gaudy wealth, and the unbridled fornication as an annoyance and they lamented that it had cost them so much of their lives to find the paradise of shared solitude. Madly in love after so many years of sterile complicity, they enjoyed the miracle of living each other as much at the table as in bed, and they grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out people they kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs."

26. "This Is Water" by David Foster Wallace

"The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day."

27. How to be Good by Nick Hornby

"The plain state of being human is dramatic enough for anyone; you don’t need to be a heroin addict or a performance poet to experience extremity. You just have to love someone."

28. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger."

29. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

"All my life I thought that the story was over when the hero and heroine were safely engaged — after all, what’s good enough for Jane Austen ought to be good enough for anyone. But it’s a lie. The story is about to begin, and every day will be a new piece of the plot."

30. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

"I have for the first time found what I can truly love – I have found you. You are my sympathy — my better self — my good angel — I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you — and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one."

31. "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke

"...believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it."

32. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

"What I’m feeling, I think, is joy. And it’s been some time since I’ve felt that blinkered rush of happiness. This might be one of those rare events that lasts, one that’ll be remembered and recalled as months and years wind and ravel. One of those sweet, significant moments that leaves a footprint in your mind. A photograph couldn't ever tell its story. It’s like something you have to live to understand. One of those freak collisions of fizzing meteors and looming celestial bodies and floating debris and one single beautiful red ball that bursts into your life and through your body like an enormous firework. Where things shift into focus for a moment, and everything makes sense. And it becomes one of those things inside you, a pearl among sludge, one of those big exaggerated memories you can invoke at any moment to peel away a little layer of how you felt, like a lick of ice cream. The flavor of grace."

33. Letter from Henry Miller to Anaïs Nin

"Anais, I only thought I loved you before; it was nothing like this certainty that's in me now. Was all this so wonderful only because it was brief and stolen? Were we acting for each other, to each other? Was I less I, or more I, and you less or more you? Is it madness to believe that this could go on? When and where would the drab moments begin? I study you so much to discover the possible flaws, the weak points, the danger zones. I don't find them—not any. That means I am in love, blind, blind. To be blind forever! (Now they're singing "Heaven and Ocean" from La Gioconda .)"

34. How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer

"It’s more like every electron in every atom in the universe paused, breathed in deeply, assessed the situation, and then reversed its course, spinning backward, or the other way, which was the right way all along. And afterward, the universe was exactly the same, but infinitely more right."

35. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

"In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”

This post was originally published on June 10, 2014. It was updated on June 7, 2019.

This article was originally published on June 10, 2014

Here Are 57 of Our Fave Nonreligious Wedding Readings

• Hannah writes and edits articles for The Knot Worldwide, with a focus on real wedding coverage.
• Hannah has a passion for DE&I and plays an integral role in ensuring The Knot content highlights all voices and all love stories.
• Prior to The Knot Worldwide, Hannah was the Social Media Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings.

It's common to include excerpts from religious texts, like the Bible and the Torah, for religious a wedding ceremony . But secular weddings can use nonreligious wedding readings from just about any source for their event. However, if you and your partner are unsure about your options, you're in luck. There are plenty of beautiful and fun marriage ceremony readings that nonreligious to-be-weds can include as part of their ceremony script. Below are our favorite choices to celebrate your special moment.

Nonreligious readings you should know: What to Read at a Nonreligious Wedding | Best | Short | Funny | Modern and Contemporary | Unique

What Do You Read at a Nonreligious Wedding?

Song lyrics , poems , book excerpts (even children's books), television and movie quotes are all great nonreligious readings for weddings. Remember, you can select whatever you want––from African American wedding readings to Harry Potter quotes , your choices are endless. While religious weddings often follow prescriptive templates and scripts, your options are truly limitless if you've chosen a secular wedding ceremony. Think about what you want to say to your best friend on your wedding day and go from there.

Best Nonreligious Wedding Readings

These selections, which range from meaningful poems to literary excerpts, are among some of the best and most famous wedding readings for nonreligious ceremonies. There's no question these cute wedding readings for nonreligious couples are top-notch.

1. "Untitled" by R.M. Drake

"You will be the clouds/ And I will be the sky./ You will be the ocean/ And I will be the shore./ You will be the trees/ And I will be the wind./ Whatever we are, you and I/ Will always collide."

2. Every Day by David Levithan

"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it's just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be."

3. "Love is an Adventure" by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"Love is an adventure and a conquest. It survives and develops like the universe itself only by perpetual discovery. The only right love is that between couples whose passion leads them both, one through the other, to a higher possession of their being. Put your faith in the spirit which dwells between the two of you. You have each offered yourself to the other as a boundless field of understanding, of enrichment, of mutually increased sensibility. You will meet above all by entering into and constantly sharing one another's thoughts, affections, and dreams. There alone, as you know, in spirit, which is arrived through flesh, you will find no disappointments, no limits. There alone the skies are ever open for your love; there alone lies the great road ahead."

4. Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words 'make' and 'stay' become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free."

5 . Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

"'Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being 'in love', which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident."

6. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

"Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side."

7. "Union" by Robert Fulghum

"Before this moment you have been many things to one another: acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this—is my husband, this—is my wife."

8 . A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

"At night, there was the feeling that we had to come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together."

9. Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

"I no longer believed in the idea of soulmates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together."

10. "Blessing of the Hands" by Unknown

"These are the hands of your partner, young and strong and full of love, holding your hands as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will hold you and comfort you in grief and uncertainty. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and joy. These are the hands that will hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength. And these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch."

11. Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

"People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn't know were there, even the ones they wouldn't have thought to call beautiful themselves."

12. Just Kids by Patti Smith

"Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads to each other. We become ourselves… 'What will happen to us?' I asked. 'There will always be us,' he answered."

13. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

"I have for the first time found what I can truly love—I have found you. You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel—I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely; a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you—and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one."

14. "Sonnet 116" by William Shakespeare

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,/ Or bends with the remover to remove./ O no! it is an ever-fixed mark/ That looks on tempests and is never shaken;/ It is the star to every wand'ring bark,/ Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken./ Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/ Within his bending sickle's compass come;/ Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,/ But bears it out even to the edge of doom./ If this be error and upon me prov'd,/ I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd."

15. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

"You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved in spite of ourselves."

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16. the amber spyglass by philip pullman.

"I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I'll drift about forever, all my atoms, till i find you again… I'll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… we'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… and when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won't just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight…"

17 . The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach

"A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life."

18. "A Walled Garden" by Anonymous

"'Your marriage', he said, 'Should have within it a secret protected place, open to you alone. Imagine it to be a walled garden. Entered by a door to which only you have the key. Within this garden you will cease to be a mother, father, employee, homemaker or any other role which you fulfill in daily life. Here you are yourselves, two people who love each other. Here you can concentrate on one another's needs. So take my hand and let us go back to our garden. The time we spend together is not wasted but invested. Invested in our future and the nurture of our love.'"

19. "She's Not Perfect" by Bob Marley

"She's not perfect—you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together—but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break—her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there."

20. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

"Madly in love after so many years…they enjoyed the miracle of loving each other as much at the table as in bed, and they grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out old people they kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs."

21. "Untitled" by Christina Rossetti

"What is the beginning? Love. What the course. Love still. What the goal. The goal is Love. On a happy hill Is there nothing then but Love? Search we sky or earth There is nothing out of Love Hath perpetual worth; All things flag but only Love, All things fail and flee; There is nothing left but Love Worthy you and me."

Short Nonreligious Wedding Readings

Wedding readings don't have to be lengthy to be impactful, as evidenced by these short readings. Sometimes, a sentence or two, packed with poignant meaning, is the best way to leave a lasting impression on the wedding day.

22. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

"My mother's last word to me clanks inside me like an iron bell that someone beats at dinnertime: love, love, love, love, love… Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' to the people you love so when it matters most to say it, you will."

23. Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

"You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but I forgot I knew until I heard it again."

24. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

"You are protected, in short, by your ability to love."

25. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough."

26. Buried Light by Beau Taplin

"Home is not where you are from/ It is where you belong/ Some of us travel the whole world to find it./ Others, find it in a person."

27. "To Be One With Each Other" by George Eliot

"What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life—to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?"

28. "Love" by Sir Walter Scott

"Love rules the court/ The camp, the grove/ And man below, and the saints above/ For love is heaven/ And heaven is love"

29. "Untitled" by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi

"The minute I heard my first love story/ I started looking for you, not knowing/ how blind that was./ Lovers don't finally meet somewhere / They're in each other all along."

30. "Our Family" by Anonymous

"Our family is a circle of love and strength/ With every birth and every union, the circle grows/ Every joy shared adds more love/ Every obstacle faced together makes the circle stronger."

Funny Nonreligious Wedding Readings

Looking to infuse a bit of humor into your wedding ceremony? These non-religious, funny wedding readings will garner a chuckle or two from everyone on the big day.

31. "About the Man Who Began Flying After Meeting Her" by Dave Eggers

"When he met her and they liked each other a great deal, he heard things better, and in his eyes the lines of the physical world were sharper than before. He was smarter, he was more aware, and he thought of new things to do with his days. He considered activities which before had been vaguely intriguing but which now seemed urgent, and which must, he thought, be done with his new companion. He wanted to fly in lightweight contraptions with her. He had always been intrigued by gliders, parachutes, ultralights and hang-gliders, and now he felt that this would be a facet of their new life: that they would be a couple that flew around on weekends and on vacations, in small aircraft. They would learn the terminology; they would join clubs. They would have a trailer of some kind, or a large van, in which to hold their new machines and supple wings folded, and they would drive to new places to see from above. The kind of flying that interested him was close to the ground—less than a thousand feet above earth. He wanted to see things moving quickly below him, wanted to be able to wave to people below, to see wildebeest run and to count dolphins streaming away from shore. He hoped this was the kind of flying she'd want to do, too. He became so attached to the idea of this person and this flying and this life entwined that he was not sure what he would do if it did not become actual. He didn't want to do this flying alone; he would rather not do it than do it without her. But if he asked her to fly with him, and she expressed reservations, or was not inspired, would he stay with her? Could he? He decides that he would not. If she does not drive in the van with the wings carefully folded, he will have to leave, smile and leave, and then he will look again. But when and if he finds another companion, he knows his plan will not be for flying. It will be another plan with another person, because if he goes flying close to the earth it will be with her."

32. The Impressive Clergyman in The Princess Bride (1987)

"Mawwiage. Mawwiage is wat bwings us togeder today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dream… And wuv, twue wuv, will fowwow you foweva…"

33. I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

"I like you because you know where I'm ticklish/ And you don't tickle me there except just a little tiny bit sometimes/ But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too/ You know how to be silly—that's why I like you."

34. "Gravitation" by Albert Einstein

"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."

35. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

"There was a sort of gallery structure in the roof space which held a bed and also a bathroom which, Fenchurch explained, you could actually swing a cat in, 'But,' she added, 'only if it was a reasonably patient cat and didn't mind a few nasty cracks about the head. So. Here you are.' 'Yes.' They looked at each other for a moment. The moment became a longer moment, and suddenly it was a very long moment, so long one could hardly tell where all the time was coming from. For Arthur, who could usually contrive to feel self-conscious if left alone long enough with a Swiss cheese plant, the moment was one of sustained revelation. He felt on the sudden like a cramped and zoo-born animal who wakes one morning to find the door of his cage hanging quietly open and the savanna stretching gray and pink to the distant rising sun, while all around new sounds are waking. He wondered what the new sounds were as he gazed at her openly wondering face and her eyes that smiled with a shared surprise. He hadn't realized that life speaks with a voice to you, a voice that brings you answers to the questions you continually ask of it, had never consciously detected it or recognized its tones until it now said something it had never said to him before, which was, 'yes.'"

36. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches… I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids… I love you. Okay? Want it louder? I love you. Spell it out, should I? I ell-oh-vee-ee why-oh-you. Want it backward? You love I…I've been saying it so long to you, you just wouldn't listen. Every time you said, 'Farm Boy, do this', you thought I was answering, 'As you wish', but that's only because you were hearing wrong. 'I love you' was what it was, but you never heard."

37. The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life … You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you."

38. "Let Me Put It This Way" by Simon Armitage

"Let me put it this way: if you came to lay your sleeping head against my arm or sleeve, and if my arm went dead, or if I had to take my leave at midnight, I should rather cleave it from the joint or seam than make a scene or bring you round. There, how does that sound?"

Contemporary and Modern Nonreligious Wedding Readings

A reading doesn't have to be from 100 years ago to be a good fit for your wedding ceremony. Here are some of our favorite modern and contemporary wedding readings for nonreligious affairs.

39. Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City

"His hello was the end of her endings. Her laugh was their first step down the aisle. His hand would be hers to hold forever. His forever was as simple as her smile. He said she was what was missing. She said instantly she knew. She was a question to be answered. And his answer was 'I do.'"

40. "Highs and Lows" by Morgan Harper Nichols

"For the highs and lows/ and moments between/ mountains and valleys/ and rivers and streams,/ For where you are now/ and where you will go,/ For 'I've always known'/ and 'I told you so'/ For 'nothing is happening'/ and 'all has gone wrong'/ It's here in this journey/ you will learn to be strong/ You will get where you're going,/ landing where you belong"

41. "A History of Love" by Diane Ackerman

"Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful it has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fuelled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love's spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots stretching deep into dark and mysterious days… The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving and being liked."

42. Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"When I say, 'I love you,' it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one."

43. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

"No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater… The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that's the key. It's like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot."

44. Jack in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

"My dearest friend, if you don't mind/ I'd like to join you by your side/ Where we can gaze into the stars/ And sit together, now and forever/ For it is plain as anyone can see/ We're simply meant to be."

45. When Harry Met Sally by Nora Ephron

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

46. Excerpt From Former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's Majority Opinion on Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court Case (2015)

"Marriage responds to the universal fear that a lonely person might call out only to find no one there. It offers the hope of companionship and understanding and assurance that while both still live there will be someone to care for the other."

47. The Priest in Fleabag

"It turns out it's quite hard to come up with something original about love, but I've had a go. Love is awful. It's awful. It's painful. It's frightening. It makes you doubt yourself, judge yourself, distance yourself from the other people in your life. It makes you selfish. It makes you creepy, makes you obsessed with your hair, makes you cruel, makes you say and do things you never thought you would do."

"It's all any of us want, and it's hell when we get there. So no wonder it's something we don't want to do on our own. I was taught if we're born with love then life is about choosing the right place to put it. People talk about that a lot, feeling right, when it feels right, it's easy. But I'm not sure that's true. It takes strength to know what's right. And love isn't something that weak people do. Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope. I think what they mean is, when you find somebody that you love, it feels like hope."

48. Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother

"Love doesn't make sense. You can't logic your way into or out of it. Love is totally nonsensical. But we have to keep doing it, or else we're lost and love is dead and humanity should just pack it in. Because love is the best thing we do. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's just true… It doesn't have to make sense, to make sense."

49. David Rose in Schitt's Creek

"I have never liked a smile as much as I like yours. I've never felt as safe as I feel when I'm with you. I've never known love like I do when we're together. It's not been an easy road for me but knowing that you will be there for me at the end makes everything okay. Patrick Brewer, you are my happy ending ."

50. "There Will Be Time" by Mumford & Sons, featuring Baaba Maal

"But in the cold light, I live to love and adore you/ It's all that I am, it's all that I have/ In the cold light I live, I only live for you/ It's all that I am, it's all that I have"

Unique Nonreligious Wedding Readings

Alternative and fun readings for weddings that are nonreligious exist too. Below are seven your loved ones probably won't expect to hear at your wedding.

51. Johnny Cash's Love Letter to June Carter Cash (1994)

"But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met. You still fascinate and inspire me. You influence me for the better. You're the object of my desire, the #1 Earthly reason for my existence. I love you very much."

52. One Day by David Nicholls

"'Live each day as if it's your last,' that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Go out there with your passion and your electric typewriter and work hard at...something. Change lives through art maybe. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance."

53. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

"You won't understand what I mean now, but someday you will: the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are—not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well."

54. Queen in Queen & Slim (2019)

"I want a guy to show me myself. I want him to love me so deeply that I'm not afraid to show how ugly I can be. I want him to show me scars I never knew I had. But I don't want him to make them go away, I want him to hold my hand while I nurse them myself. And I want him to cherish the bruises they leave behind."

55. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

56. "By Your Side" by Sade

"Oh, when you're cold/ I'll be there/ Hold you tight to me/ When you're on the outside, baby/ And you can't get in/ I will show you/ You're so much better than you know/ When you're lost and you're alone/ And you can't get back again/ I'll find you/ Darling, and I'll bring you home"

57. I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

"Life is not a series of isolated ponds & puddles; life is this river you see below, before you. It flows from the past through the present on its way to the future."

Chapelle Johnson contributed to the reporting of this piece.

70 of the Best Wedding Readings for Every Kind of Couple

Still searching for the right wedding reading? Check out our complete list of the best wedding readings and browse everything from heartfelt quotes to funny poems, religious and non-religious readings, and more

Meg Senior Ceremonies

Choosing the best wedding readings for your special day can be tricky. You are, after all, trying to find the words to perfectly sum up your relationship and reflect who you are as a couple, while distilling your hopes and dreams for the future – no mean feat. 

The good news is, almost anything goes when it comes to wedding readings these days. And whether you’re having a religious ceremony or a civil ceremony, wedding readings can be a great way to stamp your personality on the celebrations. Just be sure to check in with whoever may be conducting your ceremony if you're having the former, as some churches have stricter rules.

Whatever kind of ceremony you’re having, you’ll find the best wedding reading for you among our vast selection below. Whether you're after funny wedding readings , unique wedding readings from films and TV shows , a romantic  wedding poem  or a religious bible verse about love , our round-up has you covered.

Popular Wedding Readings

Modern wedding readings.

• Non-Religious Wedding Readings

Traditional Wedding Readings

Romantic wedding readings, bible readings for weddings, 70 of the best wedding readings for every kind of couple.

From pop-culture and Friends quotes, to Lord of the Rings poems and religious verses, somewhere in this list is the perfect wedding reading for you. As well as searching high and low for the best readings for a wedding, we've also spoken with wedding celebrant Andrew D Scott to answer your wedding reading questions.

How Many Readings Can You Have at a Wedding?

How to deliver a wedding reading, how do you introduce a wedding reading, when do readings happen in a wedding.

Sylvia Brown Celebrant

These wedding readings are the most popular ones on Hitched for a reason, but will still feel personal at your wedding. Inspiring, full of passion and utterly heart-warming, these non-religious readings are perfect for both a civil ceremony or church wedding.

1. Extract from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

2. My First Love Story – Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.

3. Oh! The Places You’ll Go! – Dr Seuss

Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, you won’t.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains! So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!

Expert tip:  If you're looking for a great family wedding reading, the short version of Dr Seuss's Oh! The Places You'll Go! is great for older children and teens who likely won't be comfortable reading anything too romantic or mushy. 

4. Extract from Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved in spite of ourselves.

5. A Lovely Love Story – Edward Monkton

The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.

Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

“I like this Dinosaur,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.  “Although he is fierce, he is also tender and he is funny.  He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.”

“I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur,” thought the Dinosaur. “She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice.  She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.”

“But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.  “He is also overly fond of things.  Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?”

“But her mind skips from here to there so quickly,” thought the Dinosaur.  “She is also uncommonly keen on shopping.  Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?”

“I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur, “for they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.”

“I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping,” thought the Dinosaur, “for she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.”

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old.  Look at them.  Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.

Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.  For the sun is warm.  And the world is a beautiful place.

6. The Art of Marriage – Wilfred A Peterson

A good marriage must be created. In the marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once each day, It is never going to sleep angry. It is having a mutual sense of values and objectives. It is standing together and facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each person can grow. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right person It is being the right partner.

7. Apache Marriage Blessing – Anon

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, But there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion to the place where the river meets the sun. And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

8. The House at Pooh Corner – A.A. Milne

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh?” he whispered.

“Yes, Piglet?”

“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”

“We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?” asked Piglet.

“Even longer,” Pooh answered. “If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”

9. The Beauty of Love – Anon

The question is asked: “Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?”

And the answer is given: “Yes, there is a more beautiful thing.

“It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired but still strong with love and devotion. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.”

10. Winnie the Pooh – A.A. Milne

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.

Expert tip: This Winnie the Pooh quote is another great option if you're looking for family readings for weddings, particularly for younger children. If they're especially young, you could ask a bridesmaid or another grown-up to help them.

Tower Photography

There’s plenty of modern wedding poems and readings among the classics. These are more unconventional and you won’t hear them at every wedding. You’ll find modern readings among the latest bestsellers, film quotes, songs and more: we have lots of wedding readings from books here.

11. Love Is Friendship Caught Fire – Laura Hendricks

Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times.

It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past.

It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack.

If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.

12. Extract from The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pullman

I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… we’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… and when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight…

13. Extract from Gift of the Sea – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When you love someone; you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity — in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern. The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits — islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

Expert tip: Though it's a little longer than some, we adore this beautifully written extract from a beloved classic. It's a cool wedding ceremony reading about love – not to mention great relationship advice! 

14. The Journals of Sylvia Plath – Sylvia Plath

I feel good with my husband: I like his warmth and his bigness and his being-there and his making and his jokes and stories and what he reads and how he likes fishing and walks and pigs and foxes and little animals and is honest and not vain or fame-crazy and how he shows his gladness for what I cook him and joy for when I make him something, a poem or a cake, and how he is troubled when I am unhappy and wants to do anything so I can fight out my soul-battles and grow up with courage and a philosophical ease. I love his good smell and his body that fits with mine as if they were made in the same body-shop to do just that. What is only pieces, doled out here and there to this boy and that boy, that made me like pieces of them, is all jammed together in my husband. So I don’t want to look around anymore: I don’t need to look around for anything.

15. Extract from The Kindly Ones – Neil Gaiman

Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defences, you build up a whole suit of armour, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life … You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you.

16. Maybe – Anon

Maybe we are supposed to meet the wrong people before we meet the right one so when they finally arrive we are truly grateful for the gift we have been given.

Maybe it’s true that we don’t know what we have lost until we lose it but it is also true that we don’t know what we’re missing until it arrives.

Maybe the happiest of people don’t have the best of everything, but make the best of everything that comes their way.

Maybe the best kind of love is the kind where you sit on the sofa together, not saying a word, and walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.

Maybe once in a lifetime you find someone who not only touches your heart but also your soul, someone who loves you for who you are and not what you could be.

Maybe the art of true love is not about finding the perfect person, but about seeing an imperfect person perfectly.

17. Extract from One Day – David Nicholls

‘What are you going to do with your life?’ In one way or another it seemed that people had been asking her this forever; teachers, her parents, friends at three in the morning, but the question had never seemed this pressing and still she was no nearer an answer… ‘Live each day as if it’s your last’, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn’t practical. Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.

18. Relativity – Albert Einstein

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.

Expert tip: As wedding readings about love go, this is one of our favourites for couples who want something short and non-cheesy.

19. Love – Bob Marley

She’s not perfect – you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together – but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold on to her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break – her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyse and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.

20. Extract from Still Life With Woodpecker – Tom Robbins

Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words “make” and “stay” become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.

21. Extract from The Bridge Across Forever – Richard Bach

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

Non-Religious Weddings Readings

Laura Gimson Ceremonies

While there are many wonderful religious wedding readings out there, there are also plenty where religion doesn't play a part. These non-religious wedding readings have something for every kind of couple, from Friends quotes and Sex and the City poems, to wedding readings from movies, heartfelt poems and even a Shakespeare sonnet – proving that wedding readings don't have to be religious to be meaningful.

22. Wild Awake – Hilary T Smith

People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.

23. The Nightmare Before Christmas – Tim Burton

My dearest friend, if you don't mind

I'd like to join you by your side

Where we can gaze into the stars

And sit together, now and forever

For it is plain as anyone can see

We're simply meant to be.

Expert tip: Sometimes the simplest wedding readings are the best, and if you're looking for wedding readings from movies, this Tim Burton classic makes a sweet but unconventional choice. 

24. Carrie's Poem – Sex and the City

His hello was the end of her endings

Her laugh was their first step down the aisle

His hand would be hers to hold forever

His forever was as simple as her smile

He said she was what was missing

She said instantly she knew

She was a question to be answered

And his answer was "I do"

25. Sonnet 18 – William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d.

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Not lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest;

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long as lives this, and this gives life to thee.

26. Just Kids – Patti Smith

"Where does it all lead? What will become of us? 

These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. 

It leads to each other. We become ourselves… 

“What will happen to us?” I asked. “There will always be us,” he answered.

27. A Vow – Wendy Cope

I cannot promise never to be angry;

I cannot promise always to be kind.

You know what you’re taking on, my darling

It’s only at the start that love is blind.

And yet I’m still the one you want to be with

And you’re the one for me – of that I’m sure.

You’re my closest friend, my favourite person,

The lover and the home I’ve waited for.

I cannot promise that I will deserve you

From this day on. I hope to pass that test.

I love you, and I want to make you happy.

I promise I will do my very best.

28. The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks

I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.

29. The Ent and The Ent Wife – Lord of The Rings, J.R.R Tolkien

When Winter comes, and singing ends; when darkness falls at last;

When broken is the barren bough, and light and labour past;

I'll look for thee, and wait for thee, until we meet again:

Together we will take the road beneath the bitter rain!

Together we will take the road that leads into the West,

And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.

Expert tip: Incorporating your favourite film or book into your wedding readings is a great way to reflect you as a couple – Lord of the Rings fans, take note! 

30. Monica from Friends

For so long I wondered if I would ever find my prince, my soulmate. Then three years ago, at another wedding, I turned to a friend for comfort. And instead, I found everything that I’d ever been looking for my whole life. And now here we are with our future before us, and I only want to spend it with you, my prince, my soulmate, my friend.

31. Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer

I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you,

or has loved you, or will love you, and also,

I love you in a way that no one loves you,

I love you in a way that I love no one else,

and never have loved anyone else,

and never will love anyone else.

32. Blue-Eyed Devil – Lisa Kleypas

I no longer believed in the idea of soulmates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together.

Sara Price Celebrant

If you’re looking for a wedding reading that’s stood the test of time, these traditional wedding readings are ideal. Some guests may have heard these oldies but goodies, while others will be hearing them for the first time. The Velveteen Rabbit is a great family wedding reading to have a child give – we guarantee there won’t be a dry eye in the room!

33. Extract from The Velveteen Rabbit – Margery Williams

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nanna came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

34. Extract from Plato’s Symposium – Plato

Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.

To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men called the children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a third made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought for a way to end the humans’ insolence without destroying them.

It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of humankind.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, is but the indenture of a person, and we are always looking for our other half. Those whose original nature lies with the children of the Sun are men who are drawn to other men, those from the children of the Earth are women who love other women, and those from the children of the Moon are men and women drawn to one another. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.

Expert tip: Another long one, but this elegantly crafted extract from Plato's Symposium makes a wonderful wedding reading about love. A solid choice if you're only planning on having one wedding ceremony reading - you could always share it out between a few members of the wedding party too. 

35. Irish Blessing

May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace. May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase. May the saddest day of your future Be no worse than the happiest day of your past. May your hands be forever clasped in friendship And your hearts joined forever in love. Your lives are very special, God has touched you in many ways. May his blessings rest upon you And fill all your coming days.

36. Love Is a Great Thing – Thomas à Kempis

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good. By itself it makes that is heavy light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven.

It carries a burden which is no burden; it will not be kept back by anything low and mean; it desires to be free from all wordly affections, and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility. It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things, and warrants them to take effect, where he who does not love would faint and lie down.

Though weary, it is not tired; though pressed it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded; but as a living flame it forces itself upwards and securely passes through all.

Love is active and sincere, courageous, patient, faithful, prudent and manly.

37. Blessing for a Marriage – James Billet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding. May you always need one another – not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you. May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces. May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back. May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another’s presence – no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

38. Extract from ‘De Imitatio Christi’ – Thomas à Kempis

Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls.

Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle.

39. Never Marry but for Love – William Penn

Never marry but for love; but see that thou lovest what is lovely. He that minds a body and not a soul has not the better part of that relationship, and will consequently lack the noblest comfort of a married life.

Between a man and his wife, nothing ought to rule but love. As love ought to bring them together, so it is the best way to keep them well together.

A husband and wife that love one another show their children that they should do so too. Others visibly lose their authority in their families by the contempt of one another, and teach their children to be unnatural by their own examples.

Let not enjoyment lessen, but augment, affection; it being the basest of passions to like when we have not, what we slight when we possess.

Here it is we ought to search out our pleasure, where the field is large and full of variety, and of an enduring nature; sickness, poverty or disgrace being not able to shake it because it is not under the moving influences of worldly contingencies.

Nothing can be more entire and without reserve; nothing more zealous, affectionate and sincere; nothing more contented than such a couple, nor greater temporal felicity than to be one of them.

Expert tip: A sweet and classic wedding ceremony reading that is sure to raise a smile. This is also a popular choice for couples who want to include a non-religious wedding reading into their Church of England ceremony. 

Love and romance should be at the heart of your wedding day, so choose a beautiful reading to reflect that. If either of you have a favourite novel, that’s also a great place to start looking for a meaningful reading. You can also try reading out the lyrics to a song with a lot of meaning to you both for a romantic wedding reading.

40. True Friendship – Judy Bielicki

It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life — it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential. Bride and Groom came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship.

Expert tip:  This is a great choice if you're asking a close friend to give a reading at your wedding - you can always modify the use of 'bride and groom' if you need to, to reflect the couple getting married. 

41. Extract from The Road – Cormac McCarthy

Lying under such a myriad of stars.

The sea’s black horizon.

He rose and walked out and stood barefoot in the sand and watched the pale surf appear all down the shore and roll and crash and darken again.

When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.

42. Ancient Hawaiian Marriage Prayer – Anon

Before we met, you and I were halves unjoined except in the wide rivers of our minds. We were each other’s distant shore, the opposite wings of a bird, the other half of a seashell. We did not know the other then, did not know our determination to keep alive the cry of one riverbank to the other. We were apart, yet connected in our ignorance of each other, like two apples sharing a common tree. Remember?

I knew you existed long before you understood my desire to join my freedom to yours. Our paths collided long enough for our indecision to be swallowed up by the greater need of love. When you came to me, the sun surged towards the earth and moon escaped from darkness to bless the union of two spirits, so alike that the creator had designed them for life’s endless circle.

Beloved partner, keeper of my heart’s odd secrets, clothed in summer blossoms so the icy hand of winter never touches us. I thank your patience. Our joining is like a tree to earth, a cloud to sky and even more. We are the reason the world can laugh on its battlefields and rise from the ashes of its selfishness to hear me say, in this time, this place, this way – I loved you best of all.

Expert tip:  You can't have mentions of religion in a civil marriage ceremony, but this reading has spiritual elements without mentioning a god or form of religion, so it could be a great compromise if you want a non-religious wedding reading that still feels spiritual.

43. Quote from William Butler Yeats

I think a man and woman should choose each other for life, for the simple reason that a long life with all its accidents is barely enough time for a man and woman to understand each other. And to understand is to love.

44. Extract from A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway

At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.

45. Extract from Doctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak

Oh, what a love it was, utterly free, unique, like nothing else on earth! Their thoughts were like other people’s songs.

They loved each other, not driven by necessity, by the ‘blaze of passion’ often falsely ascribed to love. They loved each other because everything around them willed it, the trees and the clouds and the sky over their heads and the earth under their feet. Perhaps their surrounding world, the strangers they met in the street, the wide expanses they saw on their walks, the rooms in which they lived or met, took more delight in their love than they themselves did.

46. I Will Be Here – Steven Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up, And the sun does not appear I, I will be here.

If in the dark we lose sight of love, Hold my hand, and have no fear Cause I, I will be here.

I will be here when you feel like being quiet When you need to speak your mind, I will listen and I will be here when the laughter turns to cryin’ Through the winning, losing and tryin’ We’ll be together ’cause I will be here.

Tomorrow morning if you wake up, And the future is unclear I, I will be here.

As sure as seasons are made for change, Our lifetime’s are made for years So, I, I will be here.

I will be here and you can cry on my shoulder, When the mirror tells us we’re older, I will hold you and I will be here to watch you grow in beauty And tell you all the things you are to me I will be here.

I will be true to the promise I have made To you and to the One who gave you to me I, I will be here.

47. Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney

Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare’s very long ears. He wanted to be sure that Big Nutbrown Hare was listening.

“Guess how much I love you,” he said.

“Oh, I don’t think I could guess that,” said Big Nutbrown Hare.

“This much,” said Little Nutbrown Hare, stretching out his arms as wide as they could go.

Big Nutbrown Hare had even longer arms. “But I love YOU this much,” he said.

Hmm, that is a lot, thought Little Nutbrown Hare.

“I love you as high as I can reach.” said Little Nutbrown Hare.

“I love you as high as I can reach,” said Big Nutbrown Hare.

That is quite high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I had arms like that.

Then Little Nutbrown Hare had a good idea. He tumbled upside down and reached up the tree trunk with his feet.

“I love you all the way up to my toes!” he said.

“And I love you all the way up to your toes,” said Big Nutbrown Hare, swinging him up over his head.

“I love you as high as I can HOP!” laughed Little Nutbrown Hare, bouncing up and down.

“But I love you as high as I can hop,” smiled Big Nutbrown Hare – and he hopped so high that his ears touched the branches above.

That’s good hopping, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I could hop like that.

“I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river,” cried Little Nutbrown Hare.

“I love you across the river and over the hills,” said Big Nutbrown Hare.

That’s very far, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. He was almost too sleepy to think any more. Then he looked beyond the thorn bushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be further than the sky.

“I love you right up to the MOON,” he said, and closed his eyes.

“Oh, that’s far,” said Big Nutbrown Hare. “That is very, very far.”

Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him good night.

Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, “I love you right up to the moon – AND BACK.”

Expert tip: If you have children, it's likely this much-loved classic is (or was) a cherished part of their book collection. This makes a lovely family wedding reading, but perhaps choose just a small section if you'd like to have a child read it.  

48. Extract from The Secret Garden – Francis Hodgson Burnett

One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvellous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun—which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting though and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in someone’s eye.

Honour your beliefs with one of these beautiful Bible readings about love . Each one is ideal for a church wedding and demonstrates your love, faith and commitment to one another and God. 1 Corinthians 13 is an enduring testament to love and one of the most popular wedding readings at Hitched HQ.

49. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

50. Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6,7

My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.’

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned.

51. Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

52. Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

53. Psalm 67

God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, That your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. O let the nations rejoice and be glad, for you will judge the peoples righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, our own God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

54. 1 John 4:7-12

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.   Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.   This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.   Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.   No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Expert tip: You can have up to three ceremony readings at a Church of England wedding, so this shorter verse would be great to incorporate if you're choosing the maximum number.

55. Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

56. Tobit 8:4-8

When the parents had gone out and shut the door of the room, Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, ‘Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.’ So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying, ‘Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors, and blessed is your name in all generations for ever. Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you for ever. You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the human race has sprung. You said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.” I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together.’ And they both said, ‘Amen, amen.’

57. Romans 7:1, 2, 9-18

Do you not know, brothers and sisters – for I am speaking to those who know the law – that the law is binding on a person only during that person’s lifetime? Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband.

I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died, and the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.

Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.

58. John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.   These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.’

59. Romans 12:1,2, 9-13

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

60. John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Expert tip: There's often a reason why a wedding reading is so popular – and the Church of England cites this as one of its most-read. 

61. Romans 15:1-3, 5-7, 13

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbour for the good purpose of building up the neighbour. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

62. Mark 10:6-9, 13-16

Jesus said, ‘From the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

63. Genesis 2:18-24

The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The word of the Lord.

64. Ephesians 3:14-20

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

65. Ephesians 5:21-33

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’

This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

66. 1 John 3:18-24

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Expert tip: Always choose a wedding ceremony reading that resonates with you as a couple and has special meaning.  

67. Genesis 1:26-28

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’

So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’

68. Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth. He will not suffer your foot to stumble, he who watches over you will not sleep. Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord himself watches over you, the Lord is your shade at your right hand. So that the sun shall not strike you by day neither the moon by night. The Lord shall keep you from all evil, it is he who shall keep your soul. The Lord shall keep watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore.

69. 1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

70. Matthew 5:1-10

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Readings

We asked wedding celebrant Andrew D Scott for his take on your wedding reading questions.

It's much more common now for couples to want to incorporate their wedding readings into the ceremony but, as a celebrant, I tend to suggest no more than two readings. A wedding ceremony is an adventure and the celebrant is the story teller of a couple's journey - a roller coaster of a tale with hilarious highs, respectful lows and injected with love and passion throughout.

Two people delivering readings is a lovely addition but it's important to keep guests engaged. You want them to listen to every word of the readings you have so carefully chosen and not think "Oh, another reading!". Ultimately, it's completely up to the couple how many readings they have, just consider how long you want your ceremony to be and speak to your celebrant about timings before deciding. 

Before anything else, always give your celebrant a copy of all the readings that are going to be recited, even if they aren't the one delivering it, so they know what will be said, how long the reading will last. This is so that they know how to introduce it appropriately and so that timings can be incorporated into the ceremony. Encourage the person/people who are reciting the readings to meet with your celebrant prior to the ceremony starting to ensure that they are still able to recite the words as practising at home is very different from doing it on the day in front of friends and family.

You'll want to ensure the person doing the reading is confident at public speaking, but if your celebrant has a copy of the reading, they can then be on standby should the reader forget their copy or become too nervous to read aloud. 

When it comes to delivering the reading, it's important that the person reading doesn't stare down at the ground or piece of paper and mumble. You want to be standing proud and tall, lift the reading up and speak clearly, without rushing, so that everyone can hear the beautiful words being said. Ensure the print is big enough to be read, remember your reading glasses if you need them.

Usually your celebrant would introduce the reading if it's taking place during the ceremony. Personally, I try and keep it fun and upbeat and would say something along the lines of, "Now I would like to invite _____ to come forward and join us to recite _____". The introduction of any wedding reading should be as natural and seamless as possible.

The main things to remember are to introduce the person who is delivering the reading, and the title of the reading itself. 

You can request specific introductions for your celebrant to deliver as well. In the past, couples have asked me to bring serious attention to the person about to deliver readings from a child's nursery rhyme, pop song or television show - it puts a smile on everyone's face when they realised the playfulness in the reading. 

As a celebrant, I write the wedding ceremony first and then look where the reading(s) fit best within the ceremony to ensure a seamless link from me speaking, to the guests reciting the readings. Every single ceremony is unique and the reading may sit differently depending on what readings you have chosen and what kind of ceremony the couple wants.

I have officiated several weddings where the reading was recited after the signing of the documentation - it's a nice way to bring all the guests back to full listening before I announce the new happy couple and send them off on their adventure.

Want something a bit more unusual? Try one of these Harry Potter quotes about love or one of our favourite Disney quotes for your wedding ceremony.

Wedding Readings FAQ 

What is a reading at a wedding .

A wedding reading is a reading, poem or verse read aloud during your wedding ceremony – typically by a family member, friend or member of the wedding party. The reading can come from anywhere, including quotes from a film, song or book, a poem that you love, or perhaps a Bible verse. It can be religious or non-religious, but the most important thing is that it's meaningful to you as a couple and fits with your wedding style. 

How Many Readings Should You Have at a Wedding? 

We suggest having no more than two readings at your wedding ceremony, as Andrew D Scott recommends above, although the Church of England allows up to three. Think about how long your readings will take, as you'll want to keep your guests' attention throughout the service. We would recommend having wedding readings that take no longer than three or four minutes each, as any longer and it can be challenging for the person performing the wedding reading. 

Why Do We Have Wedding Readings? 

Your wedding readings are a great way to stamp your own personality on the day and allows you to show your guests who you are as a couple. A wedding reading also sets the tone of your celebrations and can bring a sense of togetherness amongst you and your guests. Wedding readings are a great way to inject some humour, too, if you don't want to have your guests weeping in the pews! 

Do I Have to Have a Wedding Reading? 

If you're having a non-religious ceremony, the rules are more relaxed and the last thing you want to do is include a wedding reading just for the sake of it. If you can't find a wedding reading that resonates with both of you, you're welcome to forgo it. For those having a religious ceremony, do check with whoever is conducting your ceremony as you may be required to have a reading. The Church of England requires you to have at least one Bible reading, for example.

Now you've sorted out the readings for your wedding, what about your wedding vows ?

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Wedding readings for every kind of couple

Struggling to find the right poem or reading for a wedding we're here to help with a selection of some of the most beautiful, touching and unique lines ever written about love. nothing too cheesy but still likely to bring on a few tears..

Looking for a less traditional, non-religious wedding poem or reading? Here’s our pick of the most beautiful, moving and original lines ever written about love from literature and poetry. With funny, romantic, quirky and alternative wedding readings on the list– it's the perfect inspiration if you’re planning a reading for a wedding, civil ceremony or vow renewal.

Adorable wedding readings

Perfect for the romantic at heart, these adorable wedding readings from best-loved children's classics and poems are sure to make your guests shed a tear or two. 

'The Owl and the Pussy-Cat' by Edward Lear, f rom The Picador Book of Wedding Poems

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea    In a beautiful pea-green boat. They took some honey, and plenty of money    Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above,    And sang to a small guitar, ‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are,    You are,    You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!’ Pussy said to Owl, ‘You elegant fowl!    How charmingly sweet you sing! O let us be married! too long we have tarried:    But what shall we do for a ring?’ They sailed away, for a year and a day,     To the land where the Bong-Tree grows, And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, With a ring at the end of his nose,    His nose,    His nose! With a ring at the end of his nose. ‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling    Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’ So they took it away, and were married next day     By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dinèd on mince, and slices of quince,    Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand  They danced by the light of the moon,    The moon,    The moon, They danced by the light of the moon.

'Us Two' by A.A. Milne, from Now We Are Six

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. Whatever I do, he wants to do, “Where are you going today?” says Pooh: “Well, that’s very odd ’cos I was too. Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he. “Let’s go together,” says Pooh. “What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh. (“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.) “I think it ought to be twenty-two.” “Just what I think myself,” said Pooh. “It wasn’t an easy sum to do, But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what it is,” said Pooh. “Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh. “Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me. We crossed the river and found a few- “Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh. “As soon as I saw their beaks I knew. That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what they are,” said Pooh. “Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh. “That’s right,” said Pooh to Me. “I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh, And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo! Silly old dragons!“- and off they flew. “I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he, “I’m never afraid with you.” So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. “What would I do?” I said to Pooh, “If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True, It isn’t much fun for One, but Two, Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

Extract from Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton

‘I like you a lot. You’re funny and kind. So let me explain what I have in mind. I want to be Your Personal Penguin. I want to walk right by your side. I want to be Your Personal Penguin. I want to travel with you far and wide.’ 

Poetic wedding readings and poems

These wedding poems from some of the world's best contemporary poets are perfect for every kind of ceremony.  

'Have You Got a Biro I Can Borrow?' by Clive James, from Clive James’s Collected Poems 1958-2015

Have you got a biro I can borrow? I’d like to write your name On the palm of my hand, on the walls of the hall The roof of the house, right across the land So when the sun comes up tomorrow It’ll look to this side of the hard-bitten planet Like a big yellow button with your name written on it Have you got a biro I can borrow? I’d like to write some lines In praise of your knee, and the back of your neck And the double-decker bus that brings you to me So when the sun comes up tomorrow It’ll shine on a world made richer by a sonnet And a half-dozen epics as long as the Aeneid Oh give me a pen and some paper Give me a chisel or a camera A piano and a box of rubber bands I need room for choreography And a darkroom for photography Tie the brush into my hands Have you got a biro I can borrow? I’d like to write your name From the belt of Orion to the share of the Plough The snout of the Bear to the belly of the Lion So when the sun goes down tomorrow There’ll never be a minute Not a moment of the night that hasn’t got you in it

'Bridled Vows' by Ian Duhig, from The Blind Roadmaker

I will be faithful to you, I do vow but not until the seas have all run dry etcetera: although I mean it now, I’m not a prophet and I will not lie. To be your perfect wife, I could not swear; I’ll love, yes; honour (maybe); won’t obey, but will co-operate if you will care as much as you are seeming to today. I’ll do my best to be your better half, but I don’t have the patience of a saint; not with you, at you I may sometimes laugh, and snap too, though I’ll try to learn restraint. We might work out: no blame if we do not. With all my heart, I think it’s worth a shot.

'The Present' by Michael Donaghy, from Michael Donaghy’s Collected Poems

For the present there is just one moon, though every level pond gives back another. But the bright disc shining in the black lagoon, perceived by astrophysicist and lover, is milliseconds old. And even that light’s seven minutes older than its source. And the stars we think we see on moonless nights are long extinguished. And, of course, this very moment, as you read this line, is literally gone before you know it. Forget the here-and-now. We have no time but this device of wantonness and wit. Make me this present then: your hand in mine, and we’ll live out our lives in it.

'Patagonia' by Kate Clanchy, from Kate Clanchy’s Selected Poems

I said perhaps Patagonia, and pictured a peninsula, wide enough for a couple of ladderback chairs to wobble on at high tide. I thought of us in breathless cold, facing a horizon round as a coin, looped in a cat’s cradle strung by gulls from sea to sun. I planned to wait till the waves had bored themselves to sleep, till the last clinging barnacles, growing worried in the hush, had paddled off in tiny coracles, till those restless birds, your actor’s hands, had dropped slack into your lap, until you’d turned, at last, to me. When I spoke of Patagonia, I meant skies all empty aching blue. I meant years. I meant all of them with you.

Traditional wedding readings and poems

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

Our favourite traditional wedding readings and poems, from some of the world's best-loved and well-known writers of romance. 

'Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare, from The Picador Book of Love Poems Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: Oh, no! It is an ever-fixed mark. That looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark, whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken. Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come; love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.   If this be error and upon me proved,   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

'Fidelity' by D. H. Lawrence, from The Picador Book of Wedding Poems

Fidelity and love are two different things, like a flower   and a gem. And love, like a flower, will fade, will change into   something else or it would not be flowery. O flowers they fade because they are moving swiftly; a   little torrent of life leaps up to the summit of the stem, gleams, turns over   round the bend of the parabola of curved flight, sinks, and is gone, like a cornet curving into the invisible. O flowers they are all the time travelling like cornets, and they come into our ken for a day, for two days, and withdraw, slowly vanish again. And we, we must take them on the wing, and let them go. Embalmed flowers are not flowers, immortelles are not   flowers; flowers are just a motion, a swift motion, a coloured   gesture; that is their loveliness. And that is love. But a gem is different. It lasts so much longer than we do so much much much longer that it seems to last forever. Yet we know it is flowing away as flowers are, and we are, only slower. The wonderful slow flowing of the sapphire! All flows, and every flow is related to every other flow. Flowers and sapphires and us, diversely streaming. In the old days, when sapphires were breathed upon and   brought forth during the wild orgasms of chaos time was much slower, when the rocks came forth. It took aeons to make a sapphire, aeons for it to pass away. And a flower it takes a summer. And man and woman are like the earth, that brings forth   flowers in summer, and love, but underneath is rock. Older than flowers, older than ferns, older than   foraminiferae older than plasm altogether is the soul of a man   underneath. And when, throughout all the wild orgasms of love slowly a gem forms, in the ancient, once-more-molten   rocks of two human hearts, two ancient rocks, a man’s heart   and a woman’s, that is the crystal of peace, the slow hard jewel of trust, the sapphire of fidelity. The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild chaos   of love.

'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love' by Christopher Marlowe, from The Picador Book of Wedding Poems

Come live with me, and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That valleys, groves, hills and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses, And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle. A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull, Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and ivy-buds, With coral clasps and amber studs, And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love. The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May-morning, If these delights thy mind may move; Then live with me, and be my love.

Unashamedly romantic wedding readings and poems

If you can't be romantic on a wedding day, when can you be? These romantic wedding poems and readings will help capture the essence of the day, whether you're having a small celebration or a huge wedding party!    

The Minute I Heard My First Love Story by Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, Not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.

From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

‘I have for the first time found what I can truly love - I have found you. You are my sympathy - my better self - my good angel; I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wraps my existence about you - and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.’

'i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)' by E. E. Cummings, from The Picador Book of Wedding Poems

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart) i am never without it(anywhere i go you go, my dear and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)                                                                     i fear; no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

From The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald

He smiled understandingly – much more than

understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles

with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that

you may come across four or five times in life. It

faced – or seemed to face – the whole eternal

world for an instant, and then concentrated on

you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour.

It understood you just as far as you wanted to

be understood, believed in you as you would like

to believe in yourself, and assured you that it

had precisely the impression of you that, at your

best, you hoped to convey.

From Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

‘The future belongs to hearts even more than it does to minds. Love, that is the only thing that can occupy and fill eternity. In the infinite, the inexhaustible is requisite. Love participates of the soul itself. It is of the same nature. Like it, it is the divine spark; like it, it is incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable. It is a point of fire that exists within us, which is immortal and infinite, which nothing can confine, and which nothing can extinguish. We feel it burning even to the very marrow of our bones, and we see it beaming in the very depths of heaven.’ 'Love’s Philosophy' by Percy Bysshe Shelley, from The Picador Book of Love Poems The fountains mingle with the rivers And the rivers with the oceans, The winds of heaven mix forever With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is single; All things by law divine In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine? See the mountains kiss high heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother, And the sunlight clasps the earth And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What is all this sweet work worth If thou kiss not me?

'Sonnet XVII' by Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,    or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:    I love you as one loves certain obscure things,    secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries    the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,    and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose    from the earth lives dimly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,    I love you directly without problems or pride: I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love, except in this form in which I am not nor are you,    so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,    so close that your eyes close with my dreams. 'The Sun Rising' by John Donne, from The Picador Book of Love Poems               Busy old fool, unruly sun,               Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?               Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide               Late school boys and sour prentices,         Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,         Call country ants to harvest offices, Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.               Thy beams, so reverend and strong               Why shouldst thou think? I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink, But that I would not lose her sight so long;               If her eyes have not blinded thine,               Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,         Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine         Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me. Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday, And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.               She’s all states, and all princes, I,               Nothing else is. Princes do but play us; compared to this, All honor’s mimic, all wealth alchemy.               Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,               In that the world’s contracted thus.         Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be         To warm the world, that’s done in warming us. Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere; This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.

Funny wedding readings and poems

The most memorable wedding days are filled with laughter and fun. These funny wedding readings and poems are sure to get everyone laughing, and those who have been married for a while nodding knowingly from their seats! 

'A Word to Husbands' by Ogden Nash

To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong admit it; Whenever you’re right shut up.

'I Wanna Be Yours' by John Cooper Clarke

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner Breathing in your dust I wanna be your Ford Cortina I will never rust If you like your coffee hot Let me be your coffee pot You call the shots I wanna be yours I wanna be your raincoat For those frequent rainy days I wanna be your dreamboat When you want to sail away Let me be your teddy bear Take me with you anywhere I don’t care I wanna be yours I wanna be your electric meter I will not run out I wanna be the electric heater You’ll get cold without I wanna be your setting lotion Hold your hair in deep devotion Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean That’s how deep is my devotion

From The Princess Bride

‘True love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT — mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.’

Quirky wedding readings and poems

Looking for a less traditional wedding reading or poem? These alternatives are the perfect way to celebrate love, without a hint of cheesiness!  

'Ode' by Gillian Allnutt, from The Picador Book of Wedding Poems To depict a (bicycle), you must first come to love (it). Alexander Blok I swear by every rule in the bicycle owner’s manual that I love you, I, who have repeatedly, painstakingly, with accompanying declaration of despair, tried to repair you, to patch things up, to maintain a workable relationship. I have spent sleepless nights in pondering your parts – those private and those that all who walk the street may look at – wondering what makes you tick over smoothly, or squeak. my trusty steed, my rusty three-speed, I would feed you the best oats if oats were applicable. Only linseed oil will do to nourish you. I want so much to paint you, midnight blue mudgutter black and standing as you do, ironic at the rail provided by the Council – beautiful the sun caught in your back wheel – or at home in the hall, remarkable among other bicycles, your handlebars erect. Allow me to depict you thus. And though I can’t do justice to your true opinion of the surface of the road – put into words the nice distinctions that you make among the different sorts of tarmac – still I’d like to set the record of our travels straight. I’d have you know that not with three-in-one but with my own heart’s spittle I anoint your moving parts.

'Scaffolding' by Seamus Heaney, from Macmillan Collector's Library Wedding Readings and Poems

Masons, when they start upon a building,

Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy

Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job’s

Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be

Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We can let the scaffolds fall

Confident that we have built our wall.

From So Long and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams There was a sort of gallery structure in the roof space which held a bed and also a bathroom which, Fenchurch explained, you could actually swing a cat in, “But,” she added, “only if it was a reasonably patient cat and didn’t mind a few nasty cracks about the head. So. Here you are. “Yes.” They looked at each other for a moment. The moment became a longer moment, and suddenly it was a very long moment, so long one could hardly tell where all the time was coming from. For Arthur, who could usually contrive to feel self-conscious if left alone long enough with a Swiss cheese plant, the moment was one of sustained revelation. He felt on the sudden like a cramped and zoo-born animal who wakes one morning to find the door of his cage hanging quietly open and the savannah stretching grey and pink to the distant rising sun, while all around new sounds are waking. He wondered what the new sounds were as he gazed at her openly wondering face and her eyes that smiled with a shared surprise. He hadn’t realized that life speaks with a voice to you, a voice that brings you answers to the questions you continually ask of it, had never consciously detected it or recognized its tones until it now said something it had never said to him before, which was, “Yes.” From The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

‘Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defences, you build up a whole suit of armour, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life … You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you.’

'Litany' by Billy Collins, from Aimless Love

'You are the bread and the knife, The crystal goblet and the wine . . .’ Jacques Crickillon You are the bread and the knife, the crystal goblet and the wine. You are the dew on the morning grass and the burning wheel of the sun. You are the white apron of the baker and the marsh birds suddenly in flight. However, you are not the wind in the orchard, the plums on the counter, or the house of cards. And you are certainly not the pine- scented air. There is no way you are the pine- scented air. It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, maybe even the pigeon on the general’s head, but you are not even close to being the field of cornflowers at dusk. And a quick look in the mirror will show that you are neither the boots in the corner nor the boat asleep in its boathouse. It might interest you to know, speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world, that I am the sound of rain on the roof. I also happen to be the shooting star, the evening paper blowing down an alley, and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table. I am also the moon in the trees and the blind woman’s tea cup. But don’t worry, I am not the bread and the knife. You are still the bread and the knife. You will always be the bread and the knife, not to mention the crystal goblet and – somehow – the wine.

From The Road by Cormac McCarthy

‘Lying under such a myriad of stars. The sea’s black horizon. He rose and walked out and stood barefoot in the sand and watched the pale surf appear all down the shore and roll and crash and darken again. When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.’

Wedding Readings and Poems

By edited by becky brown.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library, this newly curated anthology of romantic, funny, traditional and alternative wedding poems and readings for weddings is the perfect gift for newlyweds and wedding guests. 

Featuring classic poems from poets such as  John Keats, William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, readings from best-loved classic books, and less-traditional extracts about the different facets of marriage, there's something perfect for every type of wedding, and couple, in this beautiful collectable clothbound collection. The edition also includes tips for flawless public speaking, so would be a perfect gift to give a member of your bridal party. 

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• Bridal Shower
• Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties
• Engagement Party
• Rehearsal Dinner
• Wedding Checklists
• Wedding Hairstyle Ideas
• Wedding Vows Readings
• Wedding Music

In This Article

• Beautiful Readings from Literature
• Religious Wedding Readings
• Wedding Readings from Movies
• Readings for Non-Traditional Couples
• Funny Wedding Ceremony Readings

Romantic Secular Wedding Readings

• Short Wedding Readings
• Reading about Love with Examples

Wedding Readings for Gay Couples

• Wedding Party & Reception

50 Best Wedding Readings For Your Ceremony

You’ve said ‘yes’ to the love of your life, now it’s time to share that special moment with wedding readings! Whether you’re looking for a traditional wedding reading or something more modern, there are tons of unique and meaningful wedding readings from literature, film, music, and other sources that can add an extra touch of romance to your wedding ceremony. Here we’ll explore some of the best wedding readings to help you pick the perfect one for your special day.

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Brides Often Ask

How long should a wedding reading be.

Couples often have about three to four wedding readings at their weddings, all before wedding vow . But whether it’s a lengthy Apache wedding blessing, short readings, or love quotes , it should last for 7 minutes in total. Each wedding reading should take a maximum time of one to three minutes.

Beautiful Wedding Readings from Literature

“This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.” – Every Day by David Levithan.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no longer exists, where everything was discovered, and everything was possible. A stick could be a sword, a pebble could be a diamond, a tree, or a castle. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house across the field, from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was queen and he was king. In the autumn light, her hair shone like a crown.” – A History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

“At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.” – A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

“What I’m feeling, I think, is joy. And it’s been some time since I’ve felt that blinkered rush of happiness. This might be one of those rare events that last, one that’ll be remembered and recalled as months and years wind and ravel. One of those sweet, significant moments that leaves a footprint in your mind. A photograph couldn’t ever tell its story. It’s like something you have to live to understand. – Excerpt from Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.

“I am, he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. ‘I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, that oblivion is inevitable, that we’re all doomed, and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.” – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Traditional Religious Wedding Readings

Traditional religious ceremony readings have depth and some elements of spirituality. These readings are for couples who want to keep it traditional and religious but interesting at once. Whether Irish wedding readings, union by Robert Fulghum, or religious readings from other cultures, there is something to pick from here.

Traditional Irish Blessing

“May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand. May God be with you and bless you; May you see your children’s children. May you be poor in misfortune, Rich in blessings, May you know nothing but happiness From this day forward. May the road rise to meet you May the wind be always at your back May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home And may the hand of a friend always be near. May green be the grass you walk on, May blue be the skies above you, May pure be the joys that surround you, May true be the hearts that love you.”

“The Prayer” by St. Francis of Assisi

“Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, union; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O, Divine Master, Grant that we may not so much seek To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”

A Chinese Wedding Poem

“I want to be your friend forever and ever. When the hills are all flat And the rivers run dry; When the trees blossom in winter And the snow falls in summer; When heaven and earth mix, Not till then will I part from you.”

Buddhist Blessing

“Do not deceive, do not despise each other anywhere. Do not be angry nor bear secret resentments; for as a mother will risk her life and watches over her child, so boundless be your love to all, so tender, kind and mild. Cherish goodwill right and left, early and late, and without hindrance, without stint, be free of hate and envy, while standing and walking and sitting down, whatever you have in mind, the rule of life that is always best is to be loving-kind.”

Catholic Wedding Readings

“Two is better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.” – “Winnie the Pooh,” by A. A. Milne.

“His hello was the end of her endings. Her laugh was their first step down the aisle. His hand would be hers to hold forever. His forever was as simple as her smile. He said she was what was missing. She said instantly she knew. She was a question to be answered. And his answer was “I do.” – Sex and the City.

“So this is love So this is what makes life divine I’m all aglow And now I know The key to all heaven is mine My heart has wings And I can fly I’ll touch every star in the sky So this is the miracle That I’ve been dreaming of So this is love.” – Cinderella.

“You were you and I was I; we were two before our time I was yours, before I knew, and you have always been mine too.” – Always, by Lang Leav.

“Madly in love after so many years … they enjoyed the miracle of loving each other as much at the table as in bed, and they grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out old people they kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs.” – 100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez.

Inspiring Wedding Readings from Movies

“I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” – When Harry Met Sally.

“I want to make you smile whenever you’re sad, to carry you around when your arthritis is bad. All I want to do is grow old with you. I’ll get your medicine when your tummy aches, Build you a fire if the furnace breaks. Oh, it could be so nice, growing old with you I’ll miss you Kiss you Give you my coat when you are cold Need you Feed you Even let you hold the remote control So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink Put you to bed if you’ve had too much to drink I could be the man who grows old with you I want to grow old with you.” – The Wedding Singer.

“For so long I wondered if I would ever find my prince, my soulmate. Then three years ago, at another wedding, I turned to a friend for comfort. And instead, I found everything that I’d ever been looking for my whole life. And now here we are with our future before us, and I only want to spend it with you, my prince, my soulmate, my friend.” – Friends.

“You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn’t true. I know a lot about love. I’ve seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate it made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves you could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional.” – Excerpt Quote from Yvaine in Stardust.

“I haven’t been together with Topanga for twenty-two years, but we have been together for sixteen. ‘Kay, that’s a lot longer than most couples have been together. I mean, when we were born, you told me that we used to take walks in our strollers together in the park. When we were two, we were best friends, I mean, I, I knew everything about this girl. I knew her favorite color. I knew her favorite food. Then we became six, you know, and Eric made fun of me because it wasn’t cool to have a best friend that was a girl or even know a girl, so for the next seven years I threw dirt at her.” – Excerpt from Boy Meets World.

This category is for couples who binge on movies to pass time. This is an opportunity to include those movie quotes that they love in their wedding. From the oldies to new movies, there’s something to pick from. Get all the best readings from all of the best movies.

Unique Wedding Readings for Non-Traditional Couples

Lyrics from “red right ankle” by the decemberists.

“This is the story of your red right ankle, and how it came to meet your leg and how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled, and how the skin was softly shaped, and how it whispered, “Oh, adhere to me for we are bound by symmetry. And whatever differences our lives have been we together make a limb.” This is the story of your red right ankle.”

“II” from “Twenty-One Love Poems” by Adrienne Rich

“I wake up in your bed. I know I have been dreaming. Much earlier, the alarm broke us from each other, you’ve been at your desk for hours. I know what I dreamed: our friend the poet comes into my room where I’ve been writing for days, drafts, carbons, poems are scattered everywhere, and I want to show her one poem which is the poem of my life. But I hesitate, and wake. You’ve kissed my hair to wake me.”

Two Fragments by Sappho

“Love holds me captive again and I tremble with bittersweet longing As a gale on the mountainside bends the oak tree I am rocked by my love”

Excerpts from “The Good-Morrow” by John Donne

“I wonder by my troth, what thou and I Did, till we loved? were we not weaned till then? But sucked on country pleasures, childishly? Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den? ‘Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be; If ever any beauty I did see, Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.”

“To Diego and Frida” A Toast by Tina Modotti Excerpt

“I don’t believe in marriage. No, I really don’t. Let me be clear about that. I think at worst it’s a hostile political act, a way for small-minded men to keep women in the house and out of the way, wrapped up in the guise of tradition and conservative religious nonsense. At best, it’s a happy delusion.”

For the non-traditional couple who want unique readings at their weddings, this is your category. These marriage readings stand out and draw emotion from everyone. These are words that’ll give your wedding a lift.

Funny Ceremony Wedding Readings

Excerpt from the sandman by neil gaiman.

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life… You give them a piece of you.”

Excerpt from “Oh, The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss

“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care. About some, you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”

Some Things Go Together by Charlotte Zolotow

“Pairs of things that go together. Pigeons with parkStars with dark. Sand with seaand you with me.… Hats with heads. Pillows with beds. Sky with blue and me with you.”

Excerpt From “To My Valentine” by Ogden Nash

“More than a catbird hates a cat, Or a criminal hates a clue, Or the Axis hates the United States, That’s how much I love you. I love you more than a duck can swim, And more than a grapefruit squirts, I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore, And more than a toothache hurts. As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea, Or a juggler hates a shove, As a hostess detests unexpected guests, That’s how much you I love.”

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger

“And then, high up on an icy branch, a scarlet flash. One more leaf holding tight.”You’re here?” called the Little Yellow Leaf. “I am,” said the Little Scarlet Leaf. “Like me!” said the Little Yellow Leaf. Neither spoke. Finally “Will you?” asked the Little Scarlett Leaf. “I will!” said the Little Yellow Leaf. And one, two, three, they let go and soared.””

Weddings are days of joy, merriment, and most importantly, emotions. If you do not want something cheesy, but light-hearted enough to make everyone laugh, choose funny readings. They would leave the guests laughing at every single line. This is without losing its essence while putting out everything you feel.

Romantic secular wedding readings are for hopelessly romantic couples who want to get creative. Those who want some romance without any traditional flavor to it. The inspiration for some of these readings comes from song lyrics. Lyrics filled with romantic quotes that tell stories of love which couples can relate to.

Edward Monkton

“That still and settled place In that still and settled place There’s nobody but you You’re where I breathe my oxygen You’re where I see my view And when the world feels full of noise My heart knows what to do It finds that still and settled place And dances there with you.”

That’s Relativity by Albert Einstein

“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.”

They Brought you to me by Pablo Neruda

“I love your feet because they have wandered over the earth and through the wind and water until they brought you to me.”

Mutual Weirdness by Robert Fulghum

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutual weirdness and call it love.”

To Love Is Not To Possess by James Kavanaugh

“To love is not to possess, to own or imprison, nor to lose one’s self in another. Love is to join and separate, to walk alone and together, to find a laughing freedom that lonely isolation does not permit. It is finally to be able to be who we really are, no longer clinging in childish dependency nor docilely living separate lives in silence, it is to be perfectly one’s self and perfectly joined in a permanent commitment to another and to one’s inner self.”

Short Wedding Readings For Ceremony

From the road by cormac mccarthy.

“Lying under such a myriad of stars. The sea’s black horizon. He rose and walked out and stood barefoot in the sand and watched the pale surf appear all down the shore and roll and crash and darken again. When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.”

Excerpt from Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton

“I like you a lot. You’re funny and kind. So let me explain what I have in mind. I want to be Your Personal Penguin. I want to walk right by your side. I want to be Your Personal Penguin. I want to travel with you far and wide.”

From The Princess Bride

“True love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.”

I Love You by Freya Matthews

“This is the only sacred word in my keeping. This is the last trace, the last print in our hearts’ waste, of the migration of a thousand traditions, a thousand embodiments of wisdom. I stand with useless hands, and out of the transparency of my poverty, I offer you this, my single gift.”

The Love Of God by Dante Alighieri

“The love of God, unutterable and perfect, flows into a pure soul the way light rushes into a transparent object. The more love we receive, the more love we shine forth; so that, as we grow clear and open, the more complete the joy of loving is. And the more souls who resonate together, the greater the intensity of their love, for, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other.”

As much as couples want to express how they feel with the right words, most couples want snappy. Why make it so long when it can be concise, powerful, and hit its proposed target? In this category, you will get all the inspiration you need for your short readings.

Wedding Reading about Love with Examples

Excerpt from the promise by heather berry.

“Within this blessed union of souls, where two hearts intertwine to become one, there lies a promise. Perfectly born, divinely created, and intimately shared, it is a place where the hope and majesty of beginnings reside. Where all things are made possible by the astounding love shared by two spirits.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

“People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.”

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

“I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”

Excerpt From The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach

“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. .”

Adam Bede by George Eliot

“What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life — to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?”

A wedding reading about love goes beyond taking readings for the sake of having readings at a wedding. This type of wedding reading concentrates and talks about love, its essence, its strength, and how one relates to it. Get your inspiration from our favorite picks on readings about love.

“Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good. By itself it makes that is heavy light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven. It carries a burden which is no burden; it will not be kept back by anything low and mean; it desires to be free from all wordy affections, and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.” – Excerpt from Love Is a Great Thing by Thomas a Kempis.

“My true love hath my heart and I have his, By just exchange one for another given I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss, There never was a better bargain driven My true love hath my heart and I have his. His heart in me keeps him and me in one, My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides He loves my heart, for once it was his own, I cherish his because in me it bides My true love hath my heart and I have his.” – My True Love by Sir Phillip Sydney.

“When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow’d, And else when I carous’d, or when my plans were accomplish’d, stillI was not happy, But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh’d, singing, inhaling the ripe breath of autumn…” – Excerpt From Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

“All through eternity Beauty unveils His exquisite form in the solitude of nothingness; He holds a mirror to His Face and beholds His own beauty. He is the knower and the known, the seer and the seen; No eye but His own has ever looked upon this Universe….” – Excerpt From All through eternity By Rumi.

“He seems to be a god, that man Facing you, who leans to be close, Smiles, and, alert and glad, listens To your mellow voice And quickens in love at your laughter That stings my breasts, jolts my heart If I dare the shock of a glance…..” – Excerpt From The Arbor By Sappho.

We find love in all places and it’s a universal word that defies gender or race. Our readings for gay couples express the special love they share and how they don’t take it for granted. They combine traditional, modern, and alternative readings which give the day some spice.

Wedding ceremony readings make a very important part of a wedding day, one you cannot do without. These marriage blessings help you express all you cannot say in words that speak. Ensure you do it right by making a choice from our round-off of popular wedding readings. Regardless of your wedding packages, theme, or type, whether religious, traditional, or same-sex weddings. There is something here to serve everyone. Read through, make your pick, and have a wedding day to remember.

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Wedding reading that compares love to travel/foreign countries january 4, 2016 5:43 pm   subscribe.

LOVE POEM My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases, At whose quick touch all glasses chip and ring, Whose palms are bulls in china, burs in linen, And have no cunning with any soft thing Except all ill-at-ease fidgeting people: The refugee uncertain at the door You make at home; deftly you steady The drunk clambering on his undulant floor. Unpredictable dear, the taxi drivers' terror, Shrinking from far headlights pale as a dime Yet leaping before apopleptic streetcars— Misfit in any space. And never on time. A wrench in clocks and the solar system. Only With words and people and love you move at ease; In traffic of wit expertly maneuver And keep us, all devotion, at your knees. Forgetting your coffee spreading on our flannel, Your lipstick grinning on our coat, So gaily in love's unbreakable heaven Our souls on glory of spilt bourbon float. Be with me, darling, early and late. Smash glasses— I will study wry music for your sake. For should your hands drop white and empty All the toys of the world would break. - John Frederick Nims

15 Ceremony Readings from Literature for a Totally Romantic Wedding

There's nothing like an excerpt from a literary work to add a touch of elegance to your ceremony. Check out 15 wedding readings from literature that we totally love.

Authentic Collective

It’s often said that books help us find the words for what we already know, which is most certainly true with love. Great literature moves us with emotion, so it’s only natural to incorporate wedding readings from literature into your ceremony. While it can be overwhelming to sort through the endless words that have been written on the subject of marriage, commitment, and love, we’ve taken out all the legwork by curating our favorite wedding-approved excerpts. 

Featuring a mix of both timeless and contemporary selections, we’re highlighting our favorite wedding readings from literature to help personalize your special day.

A natural history of love by diane ackerman .

These impactful words celebrate the vast greatness of love.

"Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fueled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love's spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days. The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving, and being loved."

"100 Love Sonnets" by Pablo Neruda

Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, wrote this lovely sonnet for his wife in 1959. 

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” 

The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach 

This wedding reading from literature thoughtfully explores what it means to be soulmates . 

"A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life."

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

As one of the most celebrated works of literature, Victor Hugo’s words on love have a timeless appeal.

"The future belongs to hearts even more than it does to minds. Love, that is the only thing that can occupy and fill eternity. In the infinite, the inexhaustible is requisite.

Love participates of the soul itself. It is of the same nature. Like it, it is the divine spark; like it, it is incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable. It is a point of fire that exists within us, which is immortal and infinite, which nothing can confine, and which nothing can extinguish. We feel it burning even to the very marrow of our bones, and we see it beaming in the very depths of heaven."

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

This classic excerpt from Jane Eyre would make a beautiful reading at the opening of a ceremony.

"I have for the first time found what I can truly love – I have found you. You are my sympathy — my better self — my good angel — I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you — and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one."

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White 

A lovely wedding reading from literature to be read by a close friend or officiant just before the vows.

“I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.”

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

For the down-to-earth couple who prefers a more realistic sense of romance.

"No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater … The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot."

Paradise by Toni Morrison

"Let me tell you about love, that silly word you believe is about whether you like somebody or whether somebody likes you or whether you can put up with somebody in order to get something or someplace you want or you believe it has to do with how your body responds to another body like robins or bison or maybe you believe love is how forces or nature or luck is benign to you in particular not maiming or killing you but if so doing it for your own good. Love is none of that. There is nothing in nature like it. Not in robins or bison or in the banging tails of your hunting dogs and not in blossoms or suckling foal. Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind. It is a learned application without reason or motive except that it is God. You do not deserve love regardless of the suffering you have endured. You do not deserve love because somebody did you wrong. You do not deserve love just because you want it. You can only earn – by practice and careful contemplations – the right to express it and you have to learn how to accept it."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, wrote these impactful words on love that would be wonderful to be read by a friend or family member.

"When he looked into her eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke — the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.

Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. Because when you know the language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city.

And when two such people encounter each other, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning."

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman 

A unique reading selection for couples who appreciate a contemporary literary reference. 

“I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me.”

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

Known as one of history’s most beloved authors, C.S. Lewis explores the nature of love in this excerpt from his 1960’s book.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” 

Every Day by David Levithan

In just a few sentences, this wedding reading from literature paints a picture of love’s boundless power. 

"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be."

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Shawn Slovo

This popular literary ceremony reading incorporates both humor and heart . 

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.” 

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

The words of Hemingway would be a perfect addition anywhere in a ceremony. 

"At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together."

"Sonnet 116" by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s words stand the test of time, including this familiar sonnet about love.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

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Altar your thinking: alternative wedding planning

Awesome wedding readings for bad-ass couples

I've started my search for some offbeat readings for my wedding in October… Have you compiled a list anywhere of readings from modern literature, songs, etc that are a little edgier and more current than the traditional? – Buster

From “First Poems,” Rainer Maria Rilke Understand, I'll slip quietly Away from the noisy crowd When I see the pale Stars rising, blooming over the oaks. I'll pursue solitary pathways Through the pale twilit meadows, With only this one dream: You come too.

Our Union, by Hafiz From “Love Poems from God,” Daniel Ladinsky (ed), c2002 Our union is like this: You feel cold so I reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet. A hunger comes into your body so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes. You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance and I quickly kneel by your side offering you a whole book as a gift. You ache with loneliness one night so much you weep, and I say here is a rope, tie it around me, Hafiz will be your companion for life.

This children's picture book about friendship is a surprisingly great ceremony reading

I knew I wanted a reading included in our ceremony. Nothing too long. Nothing too sappy. Nothing too clichéd. And I wanted to find something that would allow my two oldest and dearest friends to participate in our ceremony. Then I remembered a children's picture book that I loved as a kid. The book is called Rosie and Michael by Judith Viorst. I was thrilled to discover IT'S PERFECT!

Red Right Ankle by the decemberists this is the story of your red right ankle and how it came to meet your leg and how the muscle bone and sinews tangled and how the skin was softly shaped and how it whispered ‘oh, adhere to me for we are bound by symmetry and whatever differences our lives have been we together make a limb' this is the story of your red right ankle

30 geek movie love quotes

Slogging through traditional love quotes can be taxing, especially when you just want something that tingles that geek-loving robot heart of yours. We root for the geeky underdog to get the girl and hope the battle over evil ends in a big snog. And we need something relatable for our ceremony readings, invitation wording, and pop culture-filled vows, right? You demand nerdy romance, funny vow ideas, and swashbuckling toast fodder from movies, TV, and a few books? As you wish...

To Love is Not to Possess, by James Kavanaugh To love is not to possess, To own or imprison, Nor to lose one's self in another. Love is to join and separate, To walk alone and together, To find a laughing freedom That lonely isolation does not permit. It is finally to be able To be who we really are No longer clinging in childish dependency Nor docilely living separate lives in silence, It is to be perfectly one's self And perfectly joined in permanent commitment To another–and to one's inner self. Love only endures when it moves like waves, Receding and returning gently or passionately, Or moving lovingly like the tide In the moon's own predictable harmony, Because finally, despite a child's scars Or an adult's deepest wounds, They are openly free to be Who they really are–and always secretly were, In the very core of their being Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

How to find and include readings in your wedding ceremony?

When it comes to "elements to include in a wedding," one of the first things that many people think of are readings. And there's a good reason why -- so many of us have such a strong connection with words. Finding the right quotes, poems, or passages, that capture a feeling or a moment, can help us when we aren't feeling especially creative, or can't find our own words to share how we feel. But where can you find these perfect words to include in your ceremony? And how can you include them?

The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are square in your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed down from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving, to hide it, fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the moon in God's presence. It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children. It doesn't interest me who you know, or how you came here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in empty moments.

Adrienne Rich, 21 Love Poems Whenever in this city, screens flicker with pornography, with science-fiction vampires, victimized hirelings bending to the lash, we also have to walk…if simply as we walk through the rainsoaked garbage, the tabloid cruelties of our own neighborhoods. We need to grasp our lives inseparable from those rancid dreams, that blurt of metal, those disgraces, and the red begonia perilously flashing from a tenement sill six stories high, or the long-legged young girls playing ball in the junior highschool playground. No one has imagined us. We want to live like trees, sycamores blazing through the sulfuric air, dappled with scars, still exuberantly budding, our animal passion rooted in the city.

Sweet and silly wedding readings from children's books

If you and your partner are both kids-at-heart looking for a wedding reading to highlight your sweet and silly sides, these passages from children's books just might be perfect!

From The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you're not here, I can't go to sleep. Praise God for these two insomnias! And the difference between them. The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along. We are the mirror as well as the face in it. We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity. We are pain and what cures pain, both. We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. I want to hold you close like a lute, so we can cry out with loving. You would rather throw stones at a mirror? I am your mirror, and here are the stones.

Love by Roy Croft I love you Not only for what you are, But for what I am When I am with you. I love you, Not only for what You have made of yourself, But for what You are making of me. I love you For the part of me That you bring out; I love you For putting your hand Into my heaped-up heart And passing over All the foolish, weak things That you can't help Dimly seeing there, And for drawing out Into the light All the beautiful belongings That no one else had looked Quite far enough to find I love you because you Are helping me to make Of the lumber of my life Not a tavern But a temple. Out of the works Of my every day Not a reproach But a song. I love you Because you have done More than any creed Could have done To make me good. And more than any fate Could have done To make me happy. You have done it Without a touch, Without a word, Without a sign. You have done it By being yourself.

From The Irrational Season By Madeleine L'Engle But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

‘The Book of Love' by Stephen Merritt (The Magnetic Fields) From the album 69 Love Songs The book of love is long and boring No one can lift the damn thing It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing But I, I love it when you read to me And you, you can read me anything The book of love has music in it In fact that's where music comes from Some of it is just transcendental Some of it is just really dumb But I, I love it when you sing to me And you you can sing me anything The book of love is long and boring And written very long ago It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes And things we're all too young to know But I, I love it when you give me things And you, you ought to give me wedding rings I, I love it when you give me things And you, you ought to give me wedding rings

Sweet, serious, and non-gaggy: a few of y'all's very favorite wedding readings about love

When we're doing our wedding profiles, we noticed some trends in nontraditional readings… readings that clearly Offbeat Brides tend to adore.

…and that's just the tip of the iceberg! We've got more readings here , and I'd love to invite my readers to share their favorite modern, non-“thou shalt” readings in the comments …

About the Author: Ariel

Author of three editions of the Offbeat Bride book and its sequel ( From Shitshow To Afterglow , the ultimate offbeat breakup book) Ariel Meadow Stallings is the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire web properties. She lives in Seattle with her son. To read her latest writing, follow @arielist on Medium .

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Comments on Awesome wedding readings for bad-ass couples

there are loads on http://weddingwords.vox.com if you want to search by themed tags

Sadly, this website is closed, fyi to all. The search continues for the right words…

I was able to access the site using the way back machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20100927200020/http://weddingwords.vox.com/

My two favorite bands in this post?! Ariel, you just made the OBB even more awesome.

The Magnetic Fields have another great song along the same lines –

It’s Only Time

Why would I stop loving you a hundred years from now? It’s only time. It’s only time.

What could stop this beating heart once it’s made a vow? It’s only time. It’s only time.

If rain won’t change your mind, let it fall. The rain won’t change my heart at all.

Lock this chain around my hand, throw away the key. It’s only time. It’s only time.

Years falling like grains of sand mean nothing to me. It’s only time. It’s only time.

If snow won’t change your mind let it fall. The snow won’t change my heart, not at all.

(I’ll walk your lands) I’ll walk your lands (And swim your sea) And swim your sea

Marry me. Marry me.

(Then in your hands) Then in your hands (I will be free) I will be free

Why would I stop loving you a hundred years from now?

Oh, this is our first dance song! And my fiance picked Book of Love for his reading which even though I love the song, I thought might not be quite appropriate. I feel a bit relieved that others have used it before us!

aww, i walked down the aisle to ‘the book of love’. i am a huge stephen merritt/the magnetic fields. my ladies walked to ‘nothing matters when we’re dancing’ and one of our “featured songs” was a cover of ‘strange powers’.

i might walk down an aisle just to be able to do it to “the book of love” that would be so lovely.

I would highly recommend Mike Doughty’s version of Book of Love for wedding songs. So darned perfect.

Can I add one that we’re using? Feel free to take it off the comments if this is the wrong place to post, but we found it hard to find a lovely reading that relates to offbeat mountain bikers!

Feel free to use: A Marriage Made for Two

A successful marriage can learn a lot from bicycle riding.

You should promise each other that you will not be fair weather riders, but venture out together in the wind and the rain. Only by braving the storms as a team will you reap the rewards when the sunshine arrives.

Look after each other. A well oiled bike will run smoothly and change gear easily.

Marriage is like a tandem…keep pedalling or the one at the front shouts at you!

You should promise each other to not only enjoy new adventures and explorations, but appreciate the same old routes you know and love.

Marriage is a promise to each other to endure the climbs so that you may chase the swoops and swerves of perfect singletrack.

The journey may be long and may have hills ahead, but if you climb together with love and passion, you will be able to achieve everything you both desire!

Wishing you all the best from the start line of the greatest endurance event of your lives. Good luck and may each lap be a great adventure.

Our friend is reading this for us. We actually wrote it ourselves, using some of the lovely comments guests had written with their RSVP’s.

AHHH! This is perfect. We’ve just started planning our ceremony. We’re not religious and we’re having problems finding something that suits our families as well… Plus, we’re currently restoring an old tandem bike that we’re going to ride off on after the ceremony!!!

This is awesome. I am going to write something similar about snowboarding for our wedding!!

I love this! We are both mountain bikers & snowboarders did you write something similar about snowboarding in the end? I’d love to read it if you are happy to share it?! Also, can anyone recommend anything else outdoorsy, maybe linked to the beautiful mountains??!! x

I’m reading for my best friends wedding and came across this one in my search! “Blessing For A Marriage”, by James Dillet Freeman (back to top of page)

“May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding. May you always need one another — not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete. The valley does not make the mountain less, but more. And the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you. May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another. May you succeed in all-important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces. May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back. May you enter into the mystery that is the awareness of one another’s presence — no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.”

this is so lovely, thanks lisa!!

this is a BEAUTIFUL blessing! thanks for posting it … my brother is officiating my ceremony & i wanted something he could say instead of the typical prayer or blessing.

This is so beautiful and I am definitely having this at my wedding. Thank you so much for posting. <3

Thanks, perfect for us as a mountain biking couple 🙂

This is fantastic! May we use for our wedding?

Oh my goodness this is amazing! It would be so great to use something like this for my FFIL to read! He is a bicycle enthusiast! You are a great writer!

Hi! I love your offbeat biking love writing. We’re getting married in two weeks! Would it be possible to use part/all of your poem? We are both cyclists (road, mountain, and motorcycles). If so, how would you like to be credited if people asked for the author?

I still like Sonnet 136 by Willy Shakespeare. Also, there is a reverend who blogs and wrote something quite lovely recently about taking risks in terms of love and the lifespan of a relationship.

This is absolutely beautiful. Made me tear up! I am considering it for the wedding…

Hi! The link will not work, does anyone have the text for the Strangers Passage? Thanks!

Hey, look at me there in the blue tie getting married! Our reading was from “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” & was the “Green Ribbon.”

Excuse me, I just died from that Rilke poem. Rilke! He is some kind of Teutonic super-genius.

When we started looking for wedding readings I especially had a very hard time – I’d start going through the Neruda and Rilke poems and, though they were often lovely, my eyes just glazed over and I couldn’t foster any personal connection with any of them. But we finally found some GREAT things – here’s what we read when we got married a few weeks ago!

READING ONE:

From Colin’s grandmother, a Miss Manners lover, the following excerpt.

“While exclusionary interest in one other human being, which is what we call courtship, is all very exciting in the stages of discovery, there is not enough substance in it for a lifetime, no matter how fascinating the people or passionate the romance. The world, on the other hand, is chock full of interesting and curious things. The point of the courtship — marriage — is to secure someone with whom you wish to go hand in hand through this source of entertainment, each making discoveries, and then sharing some and merely reporting others. Anyone who tries to compete with the entire world, demanding to be someone’s sole source of interest and attention, is asking to be classified as a bore. “Why don’t you ever want to talk to me?” will probably never start a satisfactory marital conversation. “Guess what?” will probably never fail.”

READING TWO:

My Dad – the only one who actually chose his own reading – read from Da Vinci’s notebooks some Notes on the Construction of Arches, interspersed with his own commentary on how this actually is all about marriage. (I don’t yet have a transcript of his words, alas, which were really the best part.)

“WHAT IS AN ARCH?

The arch is nothing else than a force originated by two weaknesses, for the arch in buildings is composed of two segments of a circle, each of which being very weak in itself tends to fall; but as each opposes this tendency in the other, the two weaknesses combine to form one strength.

OF THE KIND OF PRESSURE IN ARCHES.

As the arch is a composite force it remains in equilibrium because the thrust is equal from both sides; and if one of the segments weighs more than the other the stability is lost, because the greater pressure will outweigh the lesser.

ON THE STRENGTH OF THE ARCH.

The way to give stability to the arch is to fill the spandrils with good masonry up to the level of its summit.”

READING THREE:

My dear friend Katie read a selection from the Massachusetts State Supreme Court ruling on Gay Marriage, and we briefly mentioned how awe-inspiring it was that in our very city, in only two days, EVERYONE was about to get the right to marry. The cheer our guests let up was a joy to hear.

“Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. It is an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects.

Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition. Tangible as well as intangible benefits flow from marriage. The benefits accessible only by way of a marriage license are enormous, touching nearly every aspect of life and death.

It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a civil right.”

READING FOUR:

Colin’s sister read an excerpt from “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish,” included partially because the HHGttG being a crucially formative book for me when I was a child, and partially because it is awesome:

“They looked at each other for a moment.

The moment became a longer moment, and suddenly it was a very long moment, so long one could hardly tell where all the time was coming from.

For Arthur, who could usually contrive to feel self-conscious if left alone for long enough with a Swiss Cheese plant, the moment was one of sustained revelation. He felt on the sudden like a cramped and zoo-born animal who awakes one morning to find the door to his cage hanging quietly open and the savannah stretching grey and pink to the distant rising sun, while all around new sounds are waking.

He wondered what the new sounds were as he gazed at her openly wondering face and her eyes that smiled with a shared surprise.

He hadn’t realized that life speaks with a voice to you, a voice that brings you answers to the questions you continually ask of it, had never consciously detected it or recognized its tones till it now said something it had never said to him before, which was “Yes”.”

And those were our readings. =)

Hello Jess! Can you please tell me who wrote the first one" From Colin's Grandmother"? What is that from? Who is Colins Grandmother?

I loved the grandmother reading too! Where’d it come from????? IT’S FANTASTIC!

It says that his grandmother is a “Miss Manners lover”, which a google search confirms is where that piece is from.

The excerpt from “So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish” brought me to tears! I’ve been looking for readings that are personal and non-traditional about honoring and obeying, and he LOVED that book. When looking for readings I had no idea where to start, THANK YOU!

I realise it was a very long time ago you posted your comment. I’m looking to do a reading for my brothers wedding and I love the one your Dad did. You mentioned that he added some of his own words, which were excellent, but you hadn’t posted them yet. If you still have them, and are happy to share them, I’d love to read them. Thanks for your time Laura

My friends had the Da Vinci and thier wedding, and it was basically perfect for them – one is a bit of a history buff, the other an engineer, and it was just so beautiful and perfect that I couldn’t even.

My personal favorite love poem has always been Jim Daniels’s “You Bring Out the Boring White Guy in Me.”

Thanks, Ariel!

This is just what I needed. When I started looking for an offbeat-but-meaningful reading for our ceremony, I went to wikiquote and looked up “marriage.” Almost every one of the results were NEGATIVE! How frustrating.

Ok, I’m off to present the Madeleine L’Engal passage to dear fiance!

If you’re looking for something more secular that could cloak itself easily in a traditional ceremony, give Plato a once-over. My siblings-in-law used passages from Plato’s “Symposium.” It brought something different and unexpected to their otherwise traditional church wedding. It’s the only thing I remember about the ceremony…that counts for something, right?

I love that first one, I am going to have to hide it away for our rehearsal dinner.

I didn’t know that was L’Engle–I came across it as an option for opening words, so that is what we are using it for, although modified a little.

I also think that we’re going to use that Magnetic Fields song for either the processional or the signing.

Reading # 1: Wedding Ritual (adapted from StarTrek: Celebrations by Maureen McTigue)

With fire and steel did the gods forge the man’s heart. So fiercely did it beat, so loud was the sound, that the gods cried out: “On this day we have brought forth the strongest heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.” But then the man’s heart weakened, its steady rhythm faltered, and the gods said: “Why do you weaken so? We have made you the strongest in all of creation.” And the heart said…”I…am alone.” And the gods knew that they had erred. So they went back to their forge and brought forth another heart. But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power. Fortunately, the second heart was tempered by wisdom.

“If we join together, no forces can stop us.” And when the two hearts began to beat together, they filled the heavens with a ferocious sound–and to this very day, no one can oppose the beating of these two hearts.

Reading #2: “A Picnic on the Earth” by Shuntaro Tanikawa

Let’s jump rope here, you and I. Right here! Let’s have lunch here, you and I. Here I will love you. Your eyes will reflect the blue of the sky And your back will be dyed the color of mugwort. Let’s learn, you and I, the names of the constellations. Here let us dream of things distant. Here let’s gather shellfish. Let’s pick a little starfish From the sea of the dawning sky. At breakfast let’s throw it back And let the night recede. Here I’ll go on saying “I’m home!” While you keep saying, “Welcome back!” I’ll come back here again and again. Here let’s drink hot tea. Let’s sit here, you and I, and be caressed for a while By the cool breeze.

I have friends who used “The Places You’ll Go” by Dr Seuess 😀

My Dad will be reading that! 😀

My favorite quote that I have had memorized forever:

To love very much is to love inadequately: We love- That is all. Love cannot be modified without being nullified. Love is a short word but it contains everything. Love means the body, the soul, the life, the entire being. We feel love as we feel the warmth of our blood, we breathe love as we breathe the air, we hold it in ourselves as we hold our thoughts. Nothing more exists for us. Love is not a word. It is a wordless state indicated by four letters.

Guy De Maupassant

I love this…

Fantastic! I am madly taking notes as we speak. Now I just need to find more readers….

I just got married on June 21 and these are the two readings we used. Though I LOVE all the ones you posted.

The Journey

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice — though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do — determined to save the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~

It’s not as much about love, but in a second marriage, it was very appropriate!

Other one was: Crusoe by George Bilgere When you’ve been away from it long enough You begin to forget the country Of couples, with all its customs And mysterious ways. Those two Over there, for instance: late thirties, Attractive and well-dressed, reading At the table, drinking some complicated Coffee drink. They haven’t spoken Or even looked at each other in thirty minutes But the big toe of her right foot, naked In its sandal, sometimes grazes The naked ankle bone of his left foot, The faintest signal, a line thrown Between two vessels as they cruise Through this hour, this vacation, this life, Through the thick novels they’re reading, Her toe saying to his ankle, Here’s to the whole improbable story Of our meeting, of our life together And the oceanic richness Of our mingled narrative With its complex past, with its hurts And secret jokes, its dark closets And delightful sexual quirks, Its occasional doldrums, its vast Future we have already peopled With children. How safe we are Compared to that man sitting across the room, Marooned with his drink And yellow notebook, trying to write A way off his little island.

George Bilgere was my English prof!

The reading I love that we will use somehow at our ceremony is this one:

Loving the wrong person

We’re all seeking that special person who is right for us, but if you’ve been through enough relationships, you begin to suspect there’s no right person, just different flavors of wrong. Why is this? Because you yourself are wrong in some way, and you seek out partners who are wrong in some complementary way. But it takes a lot of living to grow fully into your own wrongness. It isn’t until you finally run up against your deepest demons, your unsolvable problems – the ones that make you truly who you are – that you’re ready to find a life-long mate. You’re looking for the wrong person. But not just any wrong person: the right wrong person – someone you lovingly gaze upon and think, “This is the problem I want to have.” – Andrew Boyd, Daily Afflictions.

i love it!!!

I love that!!

I am planning on playing this song or reading the lyrics…

Dreaming my Dreams The Cranberries

All the things you said to me today Changed my perspective in every way These things count to mean so much to me Into my faith you and your baby

It’s out there If you want me I’ll be here It’s out there

I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you And there’s no other place that I’d lay down my face I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you

It’s out there If you want me, I’ll be here I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you And there’s no other place that I’d lay down my face I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you

Other Lives and Dimensions and Finally a Love Poem, by Bill Hicok

My left hand will live longer than my right. The rivers of my palms tell me so. Never argue with rivers. Never expect your lives to finish at the same time. I think

praying, I think clapping is how hands mourn. I think staying up and waiting for paintings to sigh is science. In another dimension this is exactly what’s happening,

it’s what they write grants about: the chromodynamics of mournful Whistlers, the audible sorrow and beta decay of “Old Battersea Bridge.” I like the idea of different

theres and elsewheres, an Idaho known for bluegrass, a Bronx where people talk like violets smell. Perhaps I am somewhere patient, somehow kind, perhaps in the nook

of a cousin universe I’ve never defiled or betrayed anyone. Here I have two hands and they are vanishing, the hollow of your back to rest my cheek against,

your voice and little else but my assiduous fear to cherish. My hands are webbed like the wind-torn work of a spider, like they squeezed something in the womb

but couldn’t hang on. One of those other worlds or a life I felt passing through mine, or the ocean inside my mother’s belly she had to scream out.

Here when I say “I never want to be without you,” somewhere else I am saying “I never want to be without you again.” And when I touch you in each of the places we meet

in all of the lives we are, it’s with hands that are dying and resurrected. When I don’t touch you it’s a mistake in any life, in each place and forever.

Whee! Our first dance was ‘Book of Love’ by the Magnetic Fields!

We used the Roy Croft one for our wedding last month. We did it as part of our vows, though, each of us reading a line of the poem to each other and then adding our self-written vows at the end. (We hated the idea of repeating after the minister.)

Everyone loved it. So did we. It was perfect for us. 🙂

We didn’t have this as a reading–I actually incorporated it into my vows–but it would make a REALLY nice reading. From the book “I like you” by Sandol Stoddard:

I like you And I know why I like you because You are a good person To like I like you because When I tell you something special You know it’s special And you remember it A long long time You say Remember when you told me Something special And both of us remember When I think something is important You think it’s important too When I say something funny You laugh I think I’m funny and You think I’m funny too I like you because You know where I’m ticklish And you don’t tickle me there except Just a little tiny bit sometimes But if you do then I know where to tickle you too You know how to be silly That’s why I like you Boy are you ever silly I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you I like you because You know when it’s time to stop being silly Maybe day after tomorrow Maybe never Oops too late It’s quarter post silly We fool around the same way all the time Sometimes we don’t say a word We snurkle under fences We spy secret places If I am a goofus on the roofus Hollering my head off You are one too If I pretend I am drowning You pretend you are saving me If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag Then you are getting to jump That’s because You really like me You really like me Don’t you And I really like you back And you like me back And I like you back And that’s the way we keep on going Every day If you go away then I go away too Or if I stay home You send me a postcard You don’t just say Well see you around Some time Bye I like you a lot because of that If I go away I send you a postcard too And I like you because If we go away together And if we are in Grand Central Station And if I get lost then you are the one that is yelling for me Hey where are you Here I am And I like you because When I am feeling sad You don’t always cheer me up right away Sometimes it is better to be sad You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute You want to think about things It takes time I like you because if I am mad at you Then you are mad at me too It’s awful when the other person isn’t

They are so nice and hoo-hoo you could just about punch them in the nose I like you because if I think I am going to throw up then you are really sorry You don’t just pretend you are busy looking at the birdies and all that You say maybe it was something you ate You say same thing happened to me one time And the same thing did

If you find two four-leaf clovers You give me one If I find four I give you two If we only find three We keep on looking Sometimes we have good luck And sometimes we don’t If I break my arm and If you bread your arm too Then it is fun to have a broken arm I tell you about mine You tell me about yours We are both sorry We write our names and draw pictures We show everybody and they wish they had a broken arm too I like you because I don’t know why but Everything that happens Is nicer with you I can’t remember when I didn’t like you It must have been lonesome then I like you because because I forget why I like you But I do So many reasons On the Fourth of July I like you because It’s the Fourth of July On the Fifth of July I like you too If you and I had some drums And some horns and some horses If we had some hats and some Flags and some fire-engines We could be a HOLIDAY We could be a CELEBRATION We could be a WHOLE PARADE See what I mean? Even if it was the nine-hundred-and-ninety-ninth of July Even if it was August Even if it was way down at the bottom of November Even if it was no place particular in January I would go on choosing you And you would go on choosing me Over and over again That’s how it would happen every time I don’t know why

I guess I don’t know why I like you really Why do I like you I guess I just like you I guess I just like you Because I like you

[sorry that was hella long]

Thank you so much! I saw that a while ago when I was browsing one day and couldn't find it again. I love it.

oh my god. I HAVE to use that!! there are so many things in there that exactly relate to my relationship…. like it was written for me! lol…. okay I am a nerd but THANK SO MUCH!!!!!!

That is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU for introducing this to me! 🙂 I LOVE IT! It is right up my alley! I may end up using this for my ceremony as well, and I’m definitely buying the book! It is perfect! <3

We used this as a reading! It was read by a friend with theatrical flair. Very fun.

Love that! Thank you for sharing!!

Did you use the entire thing for your vows?? Or some? Cause I would love to use all of it ^_^ lol

our wedding was themed to edward monkton’s lovely love story, and that was our reading.

The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, HIS cage.

Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

I like this Dionsaur, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur. She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

He is also overly fond of Things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of Things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly, thought the Dinosaur. She is also uncommonly keen on Shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for Things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur. For she fills our life with beautiful thought and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them.

Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my frends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm. And the world is a beautiful place.

We’re using this as one of our readings! Our MOH and BM are going to go back and forth reading it!

we are using this one as well at the end for a reading in lieu of a blessing! And instead of the more traditional opening words that make me want to puke we are opening with the Kavanaugh poem, no intro or “friends and family we are here today” stuff, just straight into the poem.

thank you for posting these!

Thanks for posting this site. My son has asked me to speak at his wedding, and there are some great resources here . . . Nothing corny, just great poems and passages.

With so many great ones, I thought to possibly add another.

BTW: LOVE (!) ‘I think I like you’ Sounds just like me rambling on. I’m so glad to be reminded why we’re having this wedding to begin with.

OK, here’s mine. It’s from the song ‘Love Rain Down On Me’ by Jill Scott featuring Mos Def. I took Mos Def’s part and changed part of it. Other than obvious he/she differences what I changed is in parentatheses.

Love rain down on me X3 I stretch my arms towards the sky like blades of tall grass A rhythm bounces between my shoulders like carnival jumps I sat still in hopes it would help my wings grow So then I’d really be fly And then she arrived Like daybreak inside a railway tunnel, like the new moon, like a diamond in the mines Like high noon to a drunkard, sudden She made my heart beat in a now-now time signature Her skinny canvas were ultraviolet brush strokes She was the suns painting; she was a deep cognac color (Straight from the sniffer of God’s brandy) Her (My) eyes sparkled like lights along the new city (Only when reflected in your beauty ocean) Her lips pursed as if her breath was too sweet and full for her mouth to hold (My lips are pursed waiting for your sweet breath to fill my mouth) I said, you are the beautiful distress of mathematics (that I never took the time to learn) I said, for you I will peel open the clouds like new fruit Give you lightning and thunder as (well as myself) a dowry I will make the sky shit (pour) all of its stars like rain And I will clasp the constellations across your waist (shoulders) (To ease your load of the world) (And when you return to me at night) And I will make the heavens your (a) quilt (Draped over the bed that we will share) And they will be pleased to cover you (as they twinkle and shine) They will be pleased to cover you (lover of mine) (They will be pleased) May I please, cover you Please, (love you)

don’t forget depeche mode.

I want somebody to share Share the rest of my life Share my innermost thoughts Know my intimate details Someone wholl stand by my side And give me support And in return Shell get my support She will listen to me When I want to speak About the world we live in And life in general Though my views may be wrong They may even be perverted Shell hear me out And wont easily be converted To my way of thinking In fact shell often disagree But at the end of it all She will understand me

I want somebody who cares For me passionately With every thought and With every breath Someone wholl help me see things In a different light All the things I detest I will almost like I dont want to be tied To anyones strings Im carefully trying to steer clear of Those things But when Im asleep I want somebody Who will put their arms around me And kiss me tenderly Though things like this Make me sick In a case like this Ill get away with it

I love this song. It is part of our recessional music. I used to sing it in the bathtub when I was 8. My parents loved that I loved their music. Thanks for posting this.

Anyone have any ideas about a reading for a wedding ceremony from an ancient greek or roman myth? Something from Ovid or someone else in that vein? Thanks!

i just wanted to say i had “the invitation” hanging in my house for years and when it came time to choose something to read at my cousins wedding, nothing seemed more appropriate or supportive. now that i am getting married, i am a bit unsettled that i didnt hold onto this reading for myself! these are true words that will never disappoint…

From Marge Piercy’s book, “The Art of Blessing the Day” ====================== The day I forget to write the day I forget to feed the cats the day I forget to love you the day I forget your name and then my own.

Until then I will not cease this spinning pattern: part weave of skeins of soft wool to keep us warm, to clothe our too open flesh, to decorate us —

and part dance, through woods where roots trip me, a dance through meadows of rabbit holes and old ribs of plowing hidden under thick grass.

Until then I will whirl through my ragged days. Like a spindle, like a dreydl I will turn in the center of my intricate weave

spelling your name in my dance in my weaving, in my work, your hidden name which is simply, finally, love. =============== This poem is called “All lovers have secret names”

Love this so much! Thank you.

Our wedding isn’t for six months (from today, actually!), but we’ve already written our ceremony. We chose a range of readings, but my favorite is from the movie ‘Serenity’ when two of our favorite Joss Whedon characters are talking:

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds- It ain’t all buttons and charts, little albatross. You know what the first rule of flying is? Well I suppose you do, since you already know what I’m about to say.

River Tam- I do. But I like to hear you say it.

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds- Love. You can know all the math in the ‘Verse, but take a boat in the air you don’t love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the world. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she’s hurtin’ ‘fore she keens. Makes her a home.

[…] http://offbeatwed.com/2008/07/wedding-readings#more-859 […]

There are so many beautiful readings here.

One that seems very obvious to me is The Cure’s Lovesong:

Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am home again Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am whole again

Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am young again Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am fun again

How ever far away, i will always love you How ever long i stay, i will always love you Whatever words i say, i will always love you I will always love you

Quietly into the night…

Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am free again Whenever i’m alone with you You make me feel like i am clean again

However far away,i will always love you How ever long i stay, i will always love you What ever words i say, i will always love you I will always love you

We are definitely thinking of having The Cure’s Lovesong.

We are also having a bit more of a funny reading. The lyrics from The Two Of Us by The Mr T Experience:

Now there are two of us, instead of only one, two times as many things get left half undone. We’re twice as half-asleep when the new day has begun and maybe twice as on the run, ’cause some of them will still be making fun of us. They’ll say the two of you will never be one of us. But even if that’s true, they’ll have twice as much to do when there are two of us, and one of them is you. They’ll find the two of us much harder to restrain, outsmarted by our impressive double brain If one of us runs dry, still another will remain, and it’s twice as hard to pull the chain of two of us, against a ton of them: but two of us outnumber every single one of them. Two lives are semi-rough with half the rent and twice the stuff. There are two of us, and that should be enough. Look at everybody. Everybody’s always falling apart or breaking up. But the two of us never will be one of those, and I should know– I have had a run of those Our love’s not guaranteed, but it’s growing like a weed. There are two of us, I think that’s all we need.

That’s awesome! I just got my partner to read it aloud (without telling him what it was or why) and he found it hard not to laugh. I think we may have found at least one of our readings 🙂

We went for “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News… 😀

if you weren’t already married, i think i would propose to you…

Sometimes I think I’ve been planning my readings my whole life the way other folks plan the tulle, funky reception ideas or number of kids (I mean, depending on the person). Anyhow, here’s one I love.

Tony Kushner, from “An Epithalamion”

2. Encircled by this breathing world within this close sphere of warm summer night ringed by this congress of friends here assembled we make declaration of our love and our union in public declaring what’s privately ours. From this crowd of hearts, shared heat and blood.

3. I am yours, who I love, not a dream by life, not fantasy, immortality, eternity, but the present moment and all-too- mortal flesh; to what is hardest; love is hardest; hard and simple and what is best in life.

Love care honor growth—fine simple things and I make a vow of them to you.

I too vow these to you who I also love and also to the careful protecting and preserving of dreams. Circle within circle, concentrically guarded, in the pliable element of the innermost heart, a garden blossoms in a golden ring; the dream of dawn in paradise shines there. Love is imagination’s spur and food.

I promise you a future, impossible things, Justice and freedom and life without loss,

a practical pillow, a home, in fact, a sheltering and withstanding spirit and always a room for your dreaming.

4. Light is the Wedding of Matter and Spirit, wave and particle, it is neither and both, and is in itself the blood of creation. It floods across galaxies and has no end, it describes and transforms with a single motion.

May our love be as light.

VI. And Then…

Together, old and content, the day is warm and nearly over, the first breeze of evening plays in your hair. The sun sinks behind us, silhouetting the city. An old hand is ringing down the curtain. We cross the bridge that goes east into night.

I love the ancient Greek story about soulmates. Basically, the gods created humans to have two heads, four arms, and four legs, but one heart. All people were truly happy, and the gods became jealous, so they split every human so that they only had one head, two arms, two legs, and half a heart. We are destined to find our other half, or soulmate, to become complete again.

The actual wording of the myth is beautiful (I butchered it just now).

Another myth I particularily love is Eros and Psyche. Basically, Eros represents the physical, and Psyche the mind. For true love to exist, there needs to be both.

I love the statue of eros and psyche with his wings all flung out, and her in his arms <3 !!!

I love the first myth, too! If anyone is looking for a set out "script" for the myth, Aristophanes explains it in his speech in Plato's Symposium, and I think "The Origin of Love" song in Hedwig and the Angy Inch is absolutely beautiful.

I haven't heard the second myth, but that sounds gorgeous.

there's a song about the first myth actually, its called The Origin of Love from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch

If you are looking for particularily unique love poems, you might also try a metaphysical poet. They have this amazing way of comparing things so obscurely, but making it sound SO RIGHT.

Eg- in “Valediction of Forbidden Mourning,” John Donne compares his love to the foot of a compass (drawing tool), and himself to the wandering end. No mater how far he goes (the poem is about him leaving on a long journey), her foot brings him in a full circle, and make him end where he began.

We had the Sandol Stoddard one at our wedding. It was awesome. My friend is an actor and he read it brilliantly.

We also had these:

“All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” Robert Fulgham “All of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned.. Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Give them to someone who feels sad. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day. Take a nap every afternoon.

Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

“When we find someone Whose weirdness Is compatible with ours We join up with them And fall into Mutually satisfying weirdness That is called True love”

We also had this printed on the first page of our orders of service:

“This guy is walking down the street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out.

A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, ‘Hey, you, can you help me out? I’m in a hole here’. The doctor writes out a prescription, throws it into the hole and moves on.

A priest walks past. The guy calls out, ‘Father, I’m down in this hole can you help me out?’. The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a friend walks by. The guy shouts up, ‘Hey, it’s me, can you help me out?’ The friend jumps into the hole.

Our guy says, ‘Are you stupid, now we’re both down here?’ The friend says, ‘Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out’.” Leo McGarry – The West Wing

Writer Dan Savage explaining marriage to his 6-year-old son:

(From act II of the This American Life Episode “A Little Bit of Knowledge” — It’s a great story about how Dan and his boyfriend explain marriage and gay marriage to their son.)

“There’s something in your heart that makes you go out into the world and find someone new, someone you’ve met before, and that’s the person you fall in love with.” “Why?” “Because that’s how new families are made and someday you’ll meet the person you want to make a new family with and that’s the person you’re supposed to marry.” “Why?” “Because marriage is a promise that you make to that other person, a promise to stay in love with them forever, to be related forever, and that you’ll always be together.”

I’m not sure if/how I’ll use this for my wedding, but it’s my favorite definition of marriage so far.

One of my favorite readings is a hilarious and sentimental poem by Ogden Nash, “Tin Wedding Whistle”. I first heard it at one of the first weddings I photographed — a Scottish groom and a Jewish bride under a chuppah made of cornstalks on the family farm. Very OBB long before OBB existed…I’m sure she would have fit right in here! Anyway, it is as follows:

Tin Wedding Whistle Ogden Nash

Though you know it anyhow Listen to me, darling, now,

Proving what I need not prove How I know I love you, love.

Near and far, near and far, I am happy where you are;

Likewise I have never larnt How to be it where you aren’t.

Far and wide, far and wide, I can walk with you beside;

Furthermore, I tell you what, I sit and sulk where you are not.

Visitors remark my frown Where you’re upstairs and I am down,

Yes, and I’m afraid I pout When I’m indoors and you are out;

But how contentedly I view Any room containing you.

In fact I care not where you be, Just as long as it’s with me.

In all your absences I glimpse Fire and flood and trolls and imps.

Is your train a minute slothful? I goad the stationmaster wrothful.

When with friends to bridge you drive I never know if you’re alive,

And when you linger late in shops I long to telephone the cops.

Yet how worth the waiting for, To see you coming through the door.

Somehow, I can be complacent Never but with you adjacent.

Then grudge me not my fond endeavor, To hold you in my sight forever;

Let none, not even you, disparage Such a valid reason for a marriage.

LOVE this poem! I’m also a fan of Ogden Nash’s “To My Valentine”:

More than a catbird hates a cat, Or a criminal hates a clue, Or the Axis hates the United States, That’s how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim, And more than a grapefruit squirts, I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore, And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea, Or a juggler hates a shove, As a hostess detests unexpected guests, That’s how much you I love.

I love you more than a wasp can sting, And more than the subway jerks, I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch, And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above, And below, if such there be, As the High Court loathes perjurious oaths, That’s how you’re love by me.

There are some really beautiful readings on here, so many I’d love to use but feel slightly hypocritical as this is my partner’s second marriage so all the ‘marriage is forever’ stuff doesn’t really ring true.

Anyone got any ideas?

BLESSING FOR A MARRIAGE ~ James Dillet Freeman ~

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding. May you always need one another – not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you. May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another. May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces. May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back. May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another’s presence – no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

This one is from the Velveteen Rabbit

a link to the full online text http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html

I think we edited it down a bit from this though it seems really long now that I look at it again, and my whole ceremony was 15 minutes. No need to make people sit quietly in chairs for hours when really they want to hang out and have fun.

——-

For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn’t know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Oh and some family members who are definitely off beat did a reading of the Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear. A lot of the vernacular from this childrens poem has changed meaning over time, making it a “safe” yet utterly envelope pushing depending on HOW it is read.

http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/pussy.html

OMG!! I haven’t heard this in forever! My mom used to read this to me as a kid!! I’m totally going to make her read it at the wedding! hahaha great poem and hilarious.

Love the MTX song. I’m not sure how we’re going to use it but The Groovie Ghoulies will be part of our wedding for sure. My boy sang this song to me when we first got together and I was down about him going back to base.

Till Death Do Us Party: Here’s how it is, I know the score, don’t count on anything for sure. Leave no regrets, and waste no time. What’s mine is yours and yours is mine. ‘Til death do us party, let us make a pact.

No one will come between us, no one will turn us back. No one will get in our way, no one will bring us down. No one will make us feel like we’re not worthy of the crown. I look at things surrounding me, and I like everything I see. If it was gone, I wouldn’t care, when I look over you’re right there. ‘Til death do us party. 1-2-3-5 No one here gets out alive! 6-7-9-10 Re-incarnate, do it again!

And hand in hand, by the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon, the moon, they danced by the light of the moon

Amen. I love The Owl and the Pussycat and was wondering how to incoorporate it into the wedding. I made us a picture book once where I was the pusscat and he was the owl (his totem animal). I really want to repeat the theme.

ZOMG!!! I was looking for a reading for our wedding and have to thank Jess for posting the one taken from the Massachusetts Supreme Court. My partner and I have decided to get married in Mass even though our license won’t be valid in our home state of Florida. This makes it bittersweet for us, but just the thought that for the short time we are there, we will have the same rights as our friends, family, neighbors and coworkers have is too much for us to refuse the opportunity. 🙂

How appropriate for the kindergarten teacher krowd…or, conversely, the Wall Street set just itching to shed their stodgy shell and fingerpaint for a living:

The Gorilla Song, by Raffi

One, two, A one two kazoo

If I were a gorilla, la la la la la I’d eat me a banana. na na na na na I’d live in a treehouse And swing on a vine, But one thing is sure: I would love ya, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a tuba, ba ba ba ba ba All I’d do is oompah. pah pah pah pah pah I would take a big breath, And I would march in a band, But one thing is sure: I would love ya, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

‘Cause it don’t matter to me- Whatever you happen to be; An eagle, An onion, A pig or a grape, As long as you’re you, I will love ya. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a space ship, ip ip ip ip ip I would take a long trip. rip rip rip rip rip I would circle the planets And head for the stars, And then I’d come home, ‘Cause I love ya. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a daisy, sy sy sy sy sy Would you still be my baby? by by by by by I would pull all my petals out, One at a time, And always come up with I love ya Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

‘Cause it don’t matter to me- Whatever you happen to be; A beagle, A grunion, A fig or an ape, As long as you’re you, I’ll still love ya. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ba-bum-bump.

It’s actually “The Gorilla NIght” from Raffi…

[…] Offbeat Bride | Awesome wedding readings for bad-ass couples incl To Love is Not to Possess – James Kavanaugh, Rilke, Rumi, Adrienne Rich (tags: poetry music relationships) […]

This September I’m getting married and the first song will probablt be “If it’s the Beaches” by the Avett Brothers. Here is an excerpt from it.

“If it’s the beaches If it’s the beaches’ sands you want Then you will have them If it’s the mountains’ bending rivers Then you will have them If it’s the wish to run away Then I will grant it Take whatever what you think of While I go gas up the truck Pack the old love letters up We will read them when we forget why we left here”

Oh my goodness, YES the Avett Brothers. The things they write are amazing.

[…] go to wedding reading depositories are this Offbeat Bride post and this thread on Indie Bride.  They both take a little bit of digging, but it’s worth […]

I did a reading at a friend’s wedding recently – Us Two, by A.A. Milne. I thought it was a gorgeous choice, though I did get a wee bit teary!

Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. Whatever I do, he wants to do, “Where are you going today?” says Pooh: “Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too. Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he. “Let’s go together,” says Pooh.

“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh. (“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.) “I think it ought to be twenty-two.” “Just what I think myself,” said Pooh. “It wasn’t an easy sum to do, But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what it is,” said Pooh.

“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh. “Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me. We crossed the river and found a few- “Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh. “As soon as I saw their beaks I knew. That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what they are,” said Pooh.

“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh. “That’s right,” said Pooh to Me. “I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh, And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo! Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.

“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he, “I’m never afraid with you.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. “What would I do?” I said to Pooh, “If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True, It isn’t much fun for One, but Two, Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

This may sound a little silly, but can anyone think of a Harry Potter reading?

there is one on indiebride.com…it is the description of the preparations for Fleur and Bill's wedding and it's darling

We’ll use these lines somewhere in our ceremony in three months (probably somewhere in our vows, and then printed in the program as well):

“i would not wish Any companion in the world but you.”

-Shakespeare, “The Tempest”

Perfect, simple, lovely.

After much searching, we finally found a sweet, non-pretentious and child-like reading for our personalized wedding. Perfect for all dog-lovers. p.s. an epithalamion is a poem written for a bride on her wedding day.

Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog An Epithalamion by Taylor Mali

First of all, it’s a big responsibility, especially in a city like Washington, DC. So think long and hard before deciding on love. On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security: when you’re walking down the street late at night and you have a leash on love ain’t no one gonna mess with you.

Love doesn’t like being left alone for long. But come home and love is always happy to see you. It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life, but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk. It runs you around the block and leaves you panting. It pulls you in several different directions at once, or winds around and around you until you’re all wound up and can’t move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go. People who have nothing in common but love stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it. And in return, love loves you and never stops.

I really like a lot of the passages that everyone posted, although for the most part I’m not really feelin them for ceremony readings – instead, I’m going to use the ones I like in a book of poetry that I’ve been wanting to make as a gift for my fiance for a while now. Thanks for the great ideas everyone!

My favorite is a piece of slam poetry by Taylor Mali. It’s called “Falling in love is like owning a dog.”

First of all, it’s a big responsibility, especially in a city like New York. So think long and hard before deciding on love. On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security: when you’re walking down the street late at night and you have a leash on love ain’t no one going to mess with you. Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable. Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

On cold winter nights, love is warm. It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises. Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs. It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love makes messes. Love leaves you little surprises here and there. Love needs lots of cleaning up after. Sometimes you just want to get love fixed. Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper and swat love on the nose, not so much to cause pain, just to let love know Don’t you ever do that again!

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk. Because love loves exercise. It runs you around the block and leaves you panting. It pulls you in several different directions at once, or winds around and around you until you’re all wound up and can’t move.

Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it. And in return, love loves you and never stops.

I fell in love with this poem working on a play of Wendell Berry poems. I nearly cried everytime the actors rehearsed it. It totally describes where we hope our future takes us. We plan to have 2 people read it together, alternating sentences.

The Blue Robe by Wendell Berry

How joyful to be together, alone as when we first were joined in our little house by the river long ago, except that now we know each other, as we did not then; and now instead of two stories fumbling to meet, we belong to one story that the two, joining, made. And now we touch each other with the tenderness of mortals, who know themselves: how joyful to feel the heart quake at the sight of a grandmother, old friend in the morning light, beautiful in her blue robe!

I love the song “Anniversary” by Voltaire. Almost want it as a first song but afraid of it making me cry — it has done that before. 😛

Do I look the same to you? ‘Cause I don’t feel so. You know everything must change as time goes by. Though it feels like yesterday when we first met. I feel I’m sinking deeper. Do you look the same to me? Well, I don’t think so. You know everything must change as time goes by. Like the flowers that dry, locking inside forever their beauty.

And they said this feeling fades, it gets stronger everyday. And they said that beauty fades. You’re more beautiful than ever. They said we’d drift away, we’re still standing here. And it feels like everyday is our anniversary.

Well, I stumble through the dark and light a candle and the path the wax will take, no one can know. And you said it looked like snow or maybe clouds, and I think it looks like heaven. So we make it into a ring and make a mold. And we welt above the flames the whitest gold. When hot and cold collide what’s left in place is forever and ever. Some say things worth having take some time. As they get older they get better

I wept reading that omg!

We used this for our wedding…

Cat Heaven, by Jets to Brazil

In the dream that awakened me, you had come and taken me to a sea of stars. The cat stood in the flowers, two ears above. And the ground that was under me was holding me so wonderfully on a bed of leaves and you were there with me and we were free. Everything we saw was beautiful and strong and I knew we belonged. Then the birds came and carried us to the sky and married us on a bed of stars where I was always yours and you were mine. And in the long black eternity I loved you so perfectly in the words of clouds, like a bird sings to his flowers and I was heard. Everything I saw was everything I'd want and this world had just begun to live.

Long time fan of John Cooper Clarke so ours is:

I Wanna Be Yours…

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner breathing in your dust I wanna be your Ford Cortina I will never rust If you like your coffee hot let me be your coffee pot You call the shots I wanna be yours

I wanna be your raincoat for those frequent rainy days I wanna be your dreamboat when you want to sail away Let me be your teddy bear take me with you anywhere I don’t care I wanna be yours

I wanna be your electric meter I will not run out I wanna be the electric heater you’ll get cold without I wanna be your setting lotion hold your hair in deep devotion Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean that’s how deep is my devotion

My favorite is Shel Silverstein’s “The Missing Piece Meets the Big O”.

Some excerpts:

“It was missing a piece And it was not happy So it set off in search of its missing piece”

“”Hi!” It said. “Hi!” said the piece “Are you anybody else’s missing piece?” “Not that I know of.” “Well, maybe you want to be your own piece?” “I can be someone’s and still be my own.” “Well, Maybe you don’t want to be mine.” “Maybe I do!” “Maybe we won’t fit…” “Well…”

“Hummmmm?” “Ummmmmm?”

It fit It fit perfectly At last! At last!”

I plan to use this as one of our readings, and still looking for a second.

“Union” by Robert Fulghum You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks – all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will” – those late night talks that included “someday and somehow and maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this is my husband, this is my wife.

this is -perfect-!

Saving this one! 🙂

This made me bawl!

This brought me to tears. It’s absolutely perfect. Thank you for posting 🙂

Here is a poem I intend to use at our upcoming wedding:

A Marriage by Michael Blumenthal (for Margie Smigel and Jon Dopkeen) You are holding up a ceiling with both arms. It is very heavy, but you must hold it up, or else it will fall down on you. Your arms are tired, terribly tired, and, as the day goes on, it feels as if either your arms or the ceiling will soon collapse.

But then, unexpectedly, something wonderful happens: Someone, a man or a woman, walks into the room and holds their arms up to the ceiling beside you.

So you finally get to take down your arms. You feel the relief of respite, the blood flowing back to your fingers and arms. And when your partner’s arms tire, you hold up your own to relieve him again.

And it can go one like this for many years without the house failing.

omg omg omg YES

I'm lovin the idea of someone doing a reading with Dr. Seuss. I just wish I knew people who would do it. lol

Such wonderful readings! You have awesomely creative readers! Trust I'll be poring over these for inspiration!!

A Serenity Quote, Where the sidewalk ends and a request for Harry Potter. Now I am home. Thank you all so much for the lovely ideas, and congrats to all the new offbeat brides out there!

Jeffrey mcdaniel never fails to be simultaneously witty & tremendously talented…this is a poem he wrote for some friends upon their engagement, beautiful stuff:

The Archipelago of Kisses

We live in a modern society. Husbands and wives don't grow on trees, like in the old days. So where does one find love? When you're sixteen it's easy, like being unleashed with a credit card in a department store of kisses. There's the first kiss. The sloppy kiss. The peck. The sympathy kiss. The backseat smooch. The we shouldn't be doing this kiss. The but your lips taste so good kiss. The bury me in an avalanche of tingles kiss. The I wish you'd quit smoking kiss. The I accept your apology, but you make me really mad sometimes kiss. The I know your tongue like the back of my hand kiss. As you get older, kisses become scarce. You'll be driving home and see a damaged kiss on the side of the road, with its purple thumb out. If you were younger, you'd pull over, slide open the mouth's red door just to see how it fits. Oh where does one find love? If you rub two glances, you get a smile. Rub two smiles, you get a warm feeling. Rub two warm feelings and presto-you have a kiss. Now what? Don't invite the kiss over and answer the door in your underwear. It'll get suspicious and stare at your toes. Don't water the kiss with whiskey. It'll turn bright pink and explode into a thousand luscious splinters, but in the morning it'll be ashamed and sneak out of your body without saying good-bye, and you'll remember that kiss forever by all the little cuts it left on the inside of your mouth. You must nurture the kiss. Turn out the lights. Notice how it illuminates the room. Hold it to your chest and wonder if the sand inside hourglasses comes from a special beach. Place it on the tongue's pillow, then look up the first recorded kiss in an encyclopedia: beneath a Babylonian olive tree in 1200 B.C. But one kiss levitates above all the others. The intersection of function and desire. The I do kiss. The I'll love you through a brick wall kiss. Even when I'm dead, I'll swim through the Earth, like a mermaid of the soil, just to be next to your bones.

Here's a great one:

Facets of Marriage by Derek Rumpf

Marriage is like a diamond, many facets both dark and light One thing to balance another, as the day does for the night.

The union of a couple is indeed a wonderful thing, Yet remember the sweet and salt, whatever life may bring.

The perfume of the rose, brings to you an olfactory treat, But the dishes left undone, can they not smell just as sweet?

The letter left handwritten, such nostalgia and romance, The text message comes through, “Can you pick up milk by chance?”

Shouting love over the rooftops, for all the world to hear, The seat was left straight up, “Who used it last my dear?”

The flower petals on the floor, set a scene with romantic air, But forget them not those socks and pants strewn about with equal flair.

A gourmet meal before you, what a scrumptious, wondrous feast, Yet mac and cheese with hotdogs, this still feeds a hungry beast.

One time spending money, on a wonderful, fanciful thing, Another time scraping by, to escape the mortgage sting.

At home and trading stories of the goings-on of the day, It’s time to do some house chores, “Must we get to that today?”

There you stand fit-as-a-fiddle, my what a handsome pair, Now stand you soft-in-the-middle, breathless at the stair.

Vacationing in a far off place, with palm trees all around, Working hard for most of the year, with no time to be found.

Yes, the union of a couple, is indeed a wonderful thing, Yet remember the sweet and salt, whatever life may bring.

Whether perfect or disorderly, fair skies or fowl, harsh weather, It’s all part of the program, you just have to do it together.

My favorite is this, as it speaks to the work involved in a marriage:

Scaffolding Seamus Heaney

Masons, when they start upon a building, Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points, Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job’s done Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall Confident that we have built our wall.

The Challenge

This marriage is a determination, to be sustained by love. This marriage is an aspiration, to be upheld by love. This marriage is an intention, to invite love. This marriage is a quest, to appreciate love. This marriage is a question, answered by love. This marriage is a statement, to honour love. This marriage is a request, to be grateful for love.

This love is this marriage. It is humble, it is most noble. It is most delicate and it is mighty. By its strength may we be tempered. By its gentleness may we learn, And by love may we prove true.

“I love you, Not only for what you are, But for what I am When I am with you.

I love you, Not only for what You have made of yourself, But for what You are making of me. I love you For the part of me That you bring out; I love you For putting your hand Into my heaped-up heart And passing over All the foolish, weak things That you can’t help Dimly seeing there, And for drawing out Into the light All the beautiful belongings That no one else had looked Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you Are helping me to make Of the lumber of my life Not a tavern But a temple; Out of the works Of my every day Not a reproach But a song.

I love you Because you have done More than any creed Could have done To make me good And more than any fate Could have done To make me happy. You have done it Without a touch, Without a word, Without a sign. You have done it By being yourself. Perhaps that is what Being a friend means, After all.”

Oh the Places You’ll Go – Dr Seuss

Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the couple who’ll decide where to go. You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care. About some you will say, “We don’t choose to go there.” With your heads full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down, any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air, Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to great heights! You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have all the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang, and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don’t. Because sometimes, you won’t. You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with so many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with great care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.) KIDS, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! So, be your name Buxbaum or Dowrie or Bassor Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to great places!Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So … get on your way!”

I found this for ours & it still brings tears to my eyes in its simple truth:

The Beauty of Love (Anonymous) The question is asked: “Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?” And the answer is given: “Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired but still strong with love and devotion. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old Love.”

Also- Don Williams' song- You're My Best Friend You placed gold on my finger You brought love like I've never known You'll give life to our children And to me, a reason to go on.

When I need hope and inspiration You're always strong when I'm tired and weak I could search this whole world over You'd still be everything that I need.

You're my bread when I'm hungry You're my shelter from troubled winds You're my anchor in life's ocean But most of all, you're my best friend

This is a reading for the secular, science-y folk. It's adapted from on of my favorite books, "Woman: An Intimate Geography" by Natalie Angier.

The circuitries of love and attachment are everywhere within us. No sense is left unseized. Babies play on this by being pleasing to the eye—by being almost too cute, literally, to bear. Human babies arrive pre-fattened, and the reason for this is unclear; gorilla babies are born with almost no fat on them, and the extra bulk of a human baby makes birth harder for the mother. Perhaps babies are fat simply to make them look adorable. The visual seductions of a baby, a chubby, soft, rounded baby with its fleshy arms and thighs, may magnify the baby’s power to win the warmth and the touch of its mother. Rounded too is the sound of love, the rising and falling voice with which we coo at babies and a mate. As adults, we co-opt the warmth of baby talk to win a lover’s affections. We step ontogenically backward, offering coos, swoops, and warm nicknames of our own invention. Touch also conveys warmth. We stroke and dance with our lovers, we stroke and rock our infants—just the thought of rocking our babies fills us with warmth and joy. We instinctively know the right way to stroke someone—too fast, that’s irritating, too slow, that’s dull. Other mammals lick their pups or kittens, and babies nuzzle into it—this is as lovely as life will be. Smell too is a subcognitive minister, preaching bonds we are at a loss to describe or understand. We know the way our lover smells. A person who is anosmic—who has no sense of smell—can feel lust, but has difficulty forming attachments. A scent can trigger a memory, an image, or an emotion, whether it is the smell of our lover’s perfume or our grandmother’s pumpkin pie. We humans can maintain with just our minds the neuronal state of attachment. We have photographs. We have friends who mention the loved one. We walk the same streets and eat in the same restaurants where we once strolled and dined with the loved one. Again and again, the circuitries of love are reignited, and our minds protect the pathways of attachment. We don’t understand all of the endocrinology, the neuroanatomy, or the biochemistry of love. But we know it when we feel it. And we feel it here today.

Friendship By Elizabeth Jennings

Such love I cannot analyse; It does not rest in lips or eyes, Neither in kisses nor caress. Partly, I know, it’s gentleness

And understanding in one word Or in brief letters. It’s preserved By trust and by respect and awe. These are the words I’m feeling for.

Two people, yes, two lasting friends. The giving comes, the taking ends There is no measure for such things. For this all Nature slows and sings.

That First Day By Christina Rossetti

I wish I could remember, that first day, First hour, first moment of your meeting me, If bright or dim the season, it might be Summer or Winter for aught I can say; So unrecorded did it slip away, So blind was I to see and to foresee, So dull to mark the budding of my tree That would not blossom yet for many a May. If only I could recollect it, such A day of days! I let it come and go As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow; It seemed to mean so little, meant so much; If only now I could recall that touch, First touch of hand in hand – Did one but know!

http://www.weddingreads.com/wedding_readings/ helped me alot 🙂

cool readings! we're using a quote from the sci-fi author we love, Ursula Le Guin 🙂

By Dorothy Day:

We confess to being fools and wish that we were more so. In the face of the approaching atom bomb test (and discussion of widespread radioactivity is giving people more and more of an excuse to get away from the philosophy of personalism and the doctrine of free will); in the face of an approaching maritime strike; in the face of bread shortages and housing shortages; in the face of the passing of the draft extension, teenagers included, we face the situation that there is nothing we can do for people except to love them. If the maritime strike goes on there will be no shipping of food or medicine or clothes to Europe or the Far East, so there is nothing to do again but to love. We continue in our 14th year of feeding our brothers and sisters, clothing them and sheltering them, and the more we do it, the more we realize that the most important thing is to love. There are several families with us, destitute families, destitute to an unbelievable extent, and there, too, is nothing to do but to love. What I mean is that there is no chance of rehabilitation, no chance, so far as we see, of changing them; certainly no chance of adjusting them to this abominable world about them, — and who wants them adjusted, anyway? What we would like to do is change the world-make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And to a certain extent, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, and the poor, of the destitute-the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words-we can to a certain extent change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever-widening circle will reach around the world.

We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and dear God-please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.

at my sister's wedding i read this by Pam Ayres ( I got quite a few laughs even though I was so nervous!) her friends also did a performance recital of the lovely love story (dinosaur story) by edward monkton with big laminated pages from the book held up,

Yes, I'll Marry You Pam Ayres

Yes, I'll marry you, my dear, And here's the reason why; So I can push you out of bed When the baby starts to cry, And if we hear a knocking And it's creepy and it's late, I hand you the torch you see, And you investigate.

Yes I'll marry you, my dear, You may not apprehend it, But when the tumble-drier goes It's you that has to mend it, You have to face the neighbour Should our labrador attack him, And if a drunkard fondles me It's you that has to whack him.

Yes, I'll marry you, You're virile and you're lean, My house is like a pigsty You can help to keep it clean. That sexy little dinner Which you served by candlelight, As I do chipolatas, You can cook it every night!

It's you who has to work the drill and put up curtain track, And when I've got PMT it's you who gets the flak, I do see great advantages, But none of them for you, And so before you see the light, I do, I do, I do!

AAahahaha! *Snort* Great 😀

Hahaha perfect! Except that I’m the one who has to go to the basement to do laundry with him at night because he’s afraid of being attacked by zombies…. 😉

thank you so much!!! I have been looking for a great reading for weeks and i found one here!

I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan and he wrote this poem for a friend’s wedding and I think it’s great and plan to use it at my wedding.

This for you, for both of you, a small poem of happiness filled with small glories and little triumphs a fragile, short cheerful song filled with hope and all sorts of futures Because at weddings we imagine the future Because it’s all about “what happened next?” all the work and negotiation and building and talk that makes even the tiniest happily ever after something to be proud of for a wee forever This is a small thought for both of you like a feather or a prayer, a wish of trust and love and hope and fine brave hearts and true. Like a tower, or a house made all of bones and dreams and tomorrows and tomorrows and tomorrows

BTW-I love this website and i’m so addicted to it.

I’m not so much for the outright mushiness, but I have always adored this little poem- perhaps for the order of service 🙂

Sharing one umbrella, We have to hold each other, Round the waist to keep together, You ask me why I’m smiling- It’s because I’m thinking, I want it to rain forever.

—-Vicki Feaver

These are great. I love Bill Bryson and am getting married in the woods. Anybody figured out a way to incorporate his writing into a cermony reading?

In his book “Notes from a Small Island,” Bryson tells the story of how he met his wife, and praises his in-laws relentlessly, in case you want to have a moment to acknowledge yours, in or out of the ceremony. Of all his other books, you’re most likely to find something wedding-appropriate in A Short History of Nearly Everything, as he remarks several times on unlikely successes or unexpected events. He also talks about how deeply Darwin loved his wife. I’d say your second best bet is In a Sunburned Country, because he talks a lot about thriving in hardship in that one, and beauty in the midst of inhospitable circumstances. A Walk in the Woods mostly focuses on him being miserable or terrified, so that one’s up to you 😉

Sorry I can’t be more specific, but please post whatever you find — I’ve loved Bryson since I was 14, and one of the major things my fiancé and I bonded over was how much he loved Bryson once I introduced him to his books.

I’m so glad I looked through this post again. I’ve found a couple of readings that might just work for our wedding!

And just to let you know: It seems the Kvetch section of Indiebride.com is down right now. I tried to access it on the weekend and got an error page, and when I tried to go to Kvetch directly (bookmarked), I got a blank page. So I’m not sure if they’re doing work on it or not.

We’re using Dr. Suess books.

I love this! I’ve never heard it before and I love it! Thank you!

Another idea: Kahlil Gibran! I wish I had gotten to know him in the era he lived in, he must have been one hell of a guy 🙂 I love what he writes about marriage (amongst other things):

On Marriage Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

http://www.katsandogz.com/onmarriage.html

Here are a bunch from a great collection of poetry by Robert Priest called “Reading the Bible Backwards”

I LOVE A METAZOAN

Mitochondrial poetry Mother-mediated matter Multiply made and scattered Like data in transition In packets from node to node Tracking the human Diaspora Genome by genome

And so I love a metazoan She got her structure from bacteria Her cells are full of manic replications I am prone to doting on her gestures Apparently encoded To act this way through the honeycomb Inside honeycomb inside Hive after hive Of genome In the genome Yes I love her Like the last Russian doll Like the last colour at the heart of a ~blackball She exudes chemicals Catalysts, her scripts finish mine Scratching the graffiti Inside our skins To hypertext Till they connect Mind to mind To take us both somewhere Inescapable Fast

And so we are as the codes command I am the father of a trillion typewriters And she is the mother of all hands

Here’s a poem that I LOVE. It’s from a really old computer game series called King’s Quest which was developed by Sierra back in the early to late 90s. This poem has suck with me since I was 8, and I really love it.

What was it when I looked at you? What power has chained me through and through? And binds my heart with links so tight, I can not live without the sight of you?

What nameless thing has captured me? And made me powerless to flee? What thing is it without a name, That brings my mind ever back the same to thee?

The name of ‘love’ cannot apply, Its commonness does not descry, The haunted, hunted, painful cry that my heart makes for you, That ever my soul eternal makes for you.

I love the Magnetic Fields’ version of Book of Love but it’s originally by Peter Gabriel.

Actually, the Peter Gabriel version is a cover. It’s a Stephen Merrit song.

An alternative to the Corinthians 1:13 reading.

love is more thicker than forget, by ee cummings

love is more thicker than forget more thinner than recall more seldom than a wave is wet more frequent than to fail

it is most mad and moonly and less it shall unbe than all the sea which only is deeper than the sea

love is less always than to win less never than alive less bigger than the least begin less littler than forgive

it is most sane and sunly and more it cannot die than all the sky which only is higher than the sky

someone did a thing about zombies at their wedding. i NEED to find this

The Indiebride list has moved, I was just looking at it here:

http://kvetch.indiebride.com/kvetch/index.php?t=msg&goto=40800

Thanks, all, for the lovely poems!

Here’s my favorite so far

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks – all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe”- and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “ You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed- well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another- acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.

From Union by Robert Fulghum

These are fantastic and beautiful. And thank you to everyone above who added their own. We are hoping to use poems by Rumi and Pablo Neruda- both of whom are definitely worth a look over for anyone who is stumped.

For the forum of suggestions for indiebride, the link seems to be old. I’m going to go searching for it, but if anyone else finds it first, please repost?

We used this at our wedding, it real sums up for me how wonderful and how scary marriage can be.

Habitation by Margaret Atwood

Marriage is not a house or even a tent it is before that, and colder: the edge of the forest, the edge of the desert the unpainted stairs at the back where we squat outside, eating popcorn the edge of the receding glacier where painfully and with wonder at having survived even this far we are learning to make fire

A bit late, but I thought I’d throw in another possibility. Jonathan Coulton sings a beautiful song about “How terrible it is to be a parent (but not really)” called You Ruined Everything. It can easily also be about a relationship. Here’s the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8hrKb8SAQ and the words: I was fine I pulled myself together Just in time To throw myself away Once my perfect world was gone I knew You ruined everything In the nicest way

You should know How great things were before you Even so They’re better still today I can’t think of who I was before You ruined everything In the nicest way

Bumps in the road remind us The worst of the best behind us Only good things will find us Me and you

Days will be clear and sunny We’re gonna need more money Baby you know it’s funny All those stories

Coming true Despite my better efforts It’s all for you The worst kind of cliche I’ll be with you till the day you leave You ruined everything In the nicest way

I didn’t see this one mentioned yet. My soon-to-be husband wanted to keep the ceremony as short as possible so we agreed to have only one reading. We choose “Union” by Robert Fulghum:

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world – This is my husband. This is my wife.

a friend recite this native american wedding blessing at my first wedding…

Now you feel no rain for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness for you.

Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness. And may your days be good and long together.

so relieved i found this passage, and don’t have to resort to something worn out and tired. for me this says it all.

on love, khalil gibran When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.” And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

i also chose this passage from the book of ruth 1:16-17

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

“Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

some lovely ideas! book of love is originally Peter Gabriel’s song by the by…the magnetic fields rendition is fab too.

This one may be a bit macabre for some, but I’ve always loved poems that possess a certain darkness and beauty at the same time. This one is one of my favorites.

I Want to Die While You Love Me by Georgia Douglas Johnson

I want to die while you love me, While yet you hold me fair, While laughter lies upon my lips And lights are in my hair.

I want to die while you love me, And bear to that still bed, Your kisses turbulent, unspent To warm me when I’m dead.

I want to die while you love me Oh, who would care to live Till love has nothing more to ask And nothing more to give?

I want to die while you love me And never, never see The glory of this perfect day Grow dim or cease to be!

There’s a lovely poem from the book ‘Julie of the Wolves’ and within the book it’s referred to as the Eskimo Love Song:

My feet shall run because of you My feet dance because of you My heart shall beat because of you My eyes see because of you My mind thinks because of you And I shall love because of you

I really want to use this from the anime Bleach:

There were a lot of things I wanted to do. I wanted to become a teacher, and an astronaut, and a baker. I wanted to go to a bunch of different donut shops and ask for one of everything! And I wanted to tell the ice-cream man to give me one of everything, too! I wish I could have five lives! Then I could have been born in five different towns, and eaten five lifetimes worth of food, and had five different careers, and fallen in love with the same person, five times.

I was looking for poems, offbeat or otherwise, and I found this one.

The Love-Hat Relationship by Aaron Belz

I have been thinking about the love-hat relationship. It is the relationship based on love of one another’s hats. The problem with the love-hat relationship is that it is superficial. You don’t necessarily even know the other person. Also it is too dependent on whether the other person is even wearing the favored hat. We all enjoy hats, but they’re not something to build an entire relationship on. My advice to young people is to like hats but not love them. Try having like-hat relationships with one another. See if you can find something interesting about the personality of the person whose hat you like.

Angus and julia Stone, the wedding song is soooo lovely. listen:

http://youtu.be/lF5XPgpE4E4

This is going to be our first dance, my fiancé played it for me the night he proprosed:) We only recently found out it’s supposed to be about having kids.

Thank heavens for this site… I was tired of reading Shakespeare! We’re using one traditional (but very short) Bible passage, one serious but secular piece, and one humorous piece. We want our guests to celebrate our love and lives, not cry from boredom!

Hi there, I was really excited to find your site! Thank you for compiling all of these wonderful words. I’m not complaining but I have to tell you that the version of The Invitation that you have listed is incorrect. It is one of the most passed poems on the internet and I own the book that the author wrote about this poem. She comments about all the changes that are made especially to the line about being ‘faithLESS’. It is an amazing poem and I can get you a copy of the actual poem (I didn’t think that this was the right place to post that information), if you’d like. If you like the version you have listed, I can’t do anything to alter that. I know that I’d like to know if something was changed and it’s so easy to do that with the internet. Again, thank you for posting all of these to help people and I hope I’ve helped you back. Thank you…

I’ve been thinking about this one. I really love it, but my betrothed is not so sure:

The Fable of the Porcupine

It was the coldest winter in anyone’s memory, and one animal after another perished in the icy weather. The porcupines saw this and decided the only way they would survive is if they grouped together to share their warmth. Only trouble was, the quills of one porcupine wounded the one next to it, and that one hurt the one next to it, and so on and so on. They stayed warm, all right, but the pain they suffered was just too great. After awhile they edged away to shiver alone. But one by one, they froze to death.

Even porcupines could see that was never going to do. The only way to keep from disappearing from the earth was to move back together and put up with their neighbors’ painful quills. And that’s what they did.

So the porcupines learned to live with the little wounds caused by close relationships between companions. Even more important, they learned the gift of lifegiving heat that comes from being together.

The moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings perfect people together. It is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.

I found this reading, and it fits completely with the non-soppy thing. Love it.

From ‘Daily Afflictions’ by Andrew Boyd

We’re all seeking that special person who is right for us. But if you have been through enough relationships, you begin to suspect there is no right person, just different flavours of wrong. Why is this? Because you yourself are wrong in some way, and you seek out partners that are wrong in some complimenatry way. But it takes a lot of living to grow fully into your wrongness. It isn’t until you run up against your deepest demons, your unsolvable problems – the ones that make you who you are – that you are ready to find your life long mate. Only then will you finally know what you are looking for. You are looking for the wrong person. Not just any wrong person. The right wrong person – someone you lovingly gaze upon and think “this is the problem I want to have”

Richard Bach (author/philosopher)

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

Question about readings–Do any of you feel odd having a friend read a first person poem about love? Would you avoid it? We love Neruda’s “Sonnet LXIX” but while lines like “I am because you are” just make our hearts go pitter-patter…someone else will say them. (We won’t have any printed materials to put it on, so that’s out.)

Maybe I don’t care who says it and just want it. Maybe I do care. Do you? Would you?

Ya I do feel a little odd having say, my maid of honor or my brother read something that is in first person. But i figure if I decide to go ahead with it because I like that particular reading that much, then I figure the guests won’t even give it a second thought. They obviously know my MOH is not marrying my fiance.

As a Wedding Minister, I love reading first person poems. I often bastardize them and insert the couple’s names at the appropriate lines as though they were actually speaking to one another and I was their voice.

Other times I will write something into the ceremony like, “If I may speak on your behalf.” or “Partner one might describe love (or marriage or whatever we’re talking about) using the words of blah blah blah writer” and then I read a passage that reflects her.

Then I’ll say, “Partner 2 would describe his thoughts on love (or whatever) like this…” and then I put in a different first person poem or reading that reflects his point of view. The other thing you can do with first person readings is to have two people read them interactively. That way you also get the feel of having two people conversing with each other.

Of course you don’t want to pick a reading or even a line of a reading that you would be uncomfortable reading, or your reader would be uncomfortable saying. It’s fine to omit the line.

This is a thank you note. I’ve been enjoying all the fun, sweet ideas for readings that I’ve read on other sites too.

But when I saw The Book of Love, I suddenly burst into happy tears. My fiance introduced me to the song by singing me to sleep with it over the past year, when I’ve been too troubled to rest.

It’s definitely happening, a capella, at the ceremony. This is one of the few times in my planning that something instantly felt right. Thank you.

OMG! This is fan-freakin-tastic! SERIOUSLY! I’m just disappointed I didn’t find this site when I started wedding planning in January! I typed in “readings for wedding” and the first site that caught my eye was “Awesome Wedding Readings for Bad Ass Couples” and I couldn’t help myself. I can’t quit looking around your site. Amazing…simply amazing!

Some great readings here. My wife just wrote this lovely thing for a friend’s wedding, and I thought I’d share it:

A Slippery Weasel

“Sometime you might ask one another, ‘Why do you love me?’ You’ll take turns listing each other’s attributes, but you won’t be able to come up with any reasons. Really, it’s a ‘You’re prettier.’ ‘No, you’re prettier,’ sort of argument. You might get to the end of this conversation feeling a little bit frustrated, because although you’re now full of compliments about how wonderful you are, you won’t have actually gotten to the bottom of it.

You could try and address the question analytically, and decide that a number of socio-economic factors determined your location in the world and that your proximity to one another and your relative positions within your social circle led to your inevitable coupling. But the coincidences leading to your meeting and realising your attraction won’t get you to the bottom of the question either.

Love is a slippery little weasel, isn’t it? It can’t be listed, it can’t be held, it can’t be unpacked. It’s often mistaken for that simpering wee ogre, the cupid. Whatever you do, never forget that love can’t be boiled down to an orderly quality. You can’t break up each other’s features into a stack of elements which add up to a reason.

You might say ‘I love you because you are part of my soul,’ but you know fine well that a soul is an analogy, and that although this statement is true it can only slide off the surface of real meaning like water off a weasel’s fur.

The most honest answer to ‘Why do you love me?’ is ‘I don’t know.’

Don’t worry, and don’t wobble; it doesn’t mean you’re uncertain. On the contrary, you know that you don’t know, and this is fantastic bravery of the highest order.

Nor does it mean that the question is redundant and that you should stop asking each other. Always ask, ‘Why do you love me?’ It will remind you that you love each other, and besides, this conversation never loses its exasperating shine. It is what marriage is made of.”

Ariadne Cass-Maran

(If anyone uses this shares this can they please include the link? It’s not an advertise-y thing, it’s just nice for her to know if anyone uses it! http://www.ariadnecassmaran.com/a-slippery-weasel/ )

I really love this!!

We used the Roy Croft poem, and I loved it– it was sweet and not “the greatest of these is love…” but as I was trying to blend the offbeat and the traditional to appease our varied audience (without sacrificing our own hopes for the day), I think this was a great addition to our ceremony. A++, would read again 😉

The Book of Love was actually originally done by The Monotones in the 50’s. My fiance and I are dancing to this song at our wedding next spring 🙂

That’s an awesome song! But the Magnetic Field’s Book of Love and the Monotone’s Book of Love are two different songs that just happen to include a very iconic title.

I just started looking for readings/poems/etc, and I found this gorgeous poem by Sappho. Of course, there are thees and thous in it, but I had a concentration in Classical Studies in college and have loved Sappho for ages. If this is in the wrong section, please let me know and I’ll try to move it to a better place.

Peer of the gods, the happiest man I seem Sitting before thee, rapt at thy sight, hearing Thy soft laughter and they voice most gentle, Speaking so sweetly.

Then in my bosom my heart wildly flutters, And, when on thee I gaze never so little, Bereft am I of all power of utterance, My tongue is useless.

There rushes at once through my flesh tingling fire, My eyes are deprived of all power of vision, My ears hear nothing by sounds of winds roaring, And all is blackness.

Down courses in streams the sweat of emotion, A dread trembling o’erwhelms me, paler than I Than dried grass in autumn, and in my madness Dead I seem almost.

I heard this one at a wedding recently, and am considering it for mine…

http://bjfalken.blogspot.ca/2012/06/an-excerpt-from-game.html

“It appeared to outsiders that they were at odds. He would test her patience and try to charm his way out of it. She would try impose her will through loosely crafted arguments based on creative feminine logic. He would put on magnificent displays of rhetoric and manipulation, because he liked it when she caught him trying to get away with something. She liked it too.

Over time though, it became obvious that this was not a fight, or a contest. It was a game. Two sides, back and forth. Advance and defend. A game that was almost as much fun to watch, as it was to play.

In this game, however, keeping score was never necessary. It was like children playing tic-tac-toe. The minute one round was over, they’d scrawl out another cross-hatched board, barely paying attention who had been victorious only seconds earlier. Even if they had kept score, it would have still been tied after a hundred years of play. Sometimes he’d win, sometimes she would. And sometimes, when it was needed, they’d remind the spectators that they were actually on the same team all along and would do anything for each other.

Before each other, they hadn’t discovered anybody who could play the game at their level, nor anybody who wished to. But they found each other… and in each other a worthy adversary, a constant companion, and a best friend.

And they played the game for years and years, until one of them died. The person left standing being defeated by the heart’s greatest loss… and yet, still victorious because everyday they had spent together, the game brought into their hearts the greatest joy and love. Again, it was a tie.”

There is a back story to this, we both have tattoos of a heart shaped lock with each others initials on, we had them done two days after we started dating and neither of us have the key!! so the poem that my boyfriend and I are using is this: groom In your eyes, I have found my home In your heart, I have found my love In your soul, I have found my mate with you, I am whole, full and alive you make me laugh, you let me cry you are my breathe, my every heartbeat I am yours you are mine of this I am certain you are lodged in my heart the small key is lost you must stay there forever

Bride you are my insperation and my souls fire you are the magic of my days you make me laugh, you teach me love you provide a safe place for me, unlike I’ve ever known you free me to sing my own song you are more of an amazement to me and each day I rediscover you you are my greatest boon I am yours of this I am certain you are lodged in my heart the small key is lost you must stay there forever

I hope that it brings some insperation to someone else 😀

I would like to make the comment that the Madeline L’Engle quote, is rather a mash-up of quotes from chapter 4 of the Irrational Season. I desperately wish she had intended for these sentences to be uttered together. Alas, in her book, there are other sentences that separate them. I’m not sure I’m comfortable reading a mash-up of quotes at my wedding. I just wanted to throw that out there so people are aware of what the quote is.

I am a wedding officiant with a master’s degree from a liberal seminary. I’ve performed about 400 ceremonies over the last nine years – mostly meaningful, personalized weddings for couples who aren’t religious, but still want a special service. I’m collecting readings from this fabulous site to give some new options to the couples I work with.

When I was in training by mentors who helped me get started, I was told give myself permission to take liberties with quotes for the sake of clarity in a spoken ceremony. This would never be okay with the written word, of course, where we’d always use ellipses, parentheses and other methods to be sure to accurately quote an author’s original words. But in the case of a public reading, I aim for conveying the intent of the author’s sentiment and ease of understanding in the midst of the long stream of spoken words that occur during ceremonies.

I modify and edit quotes to: – make the words flow well within the service – prevent the reader or guests from getting hung up on an unusual or unclear word – convey the meaning of the reading without keeping lines or phrases that won’t make sense outside of the book’s context

Most guests would never notice the difference and check the source material to be sure quotes are exact. But they will know the difference between a reading that makes them sigh with sweet understanding or sit puzzled and distracted during the rest of the service wondering, “What the hell was that?”

When I’ve touched base with wedding readers – like a cousin or friend of the couple – and found they’re really stumbling over a word or concept, it can be a big relief to tweak or modify the offending part.

If that doesn’t feel right to you, though, I would definitely respect your wishes and say go with your gut. Very best to you.

This is a great website! I definitely plan on stealing some of your suggestions for the wedding I am officiating next month!

These are some of the off-beat readings we had at our wedding last year:

************** Marriage Song, by Tony Hoagland

God said (and already you can tell I’m making this up)

Let this woman and this man Be joined together

In front of the sea and the grass And the trees who don’t care

He said, Let them make A gate in themselves

Through which the other can pass And may the gate never be closed

So they can feel the truth of being entered

And the loneliness of being Imperfectly misunderstood —

Now go, God said, Into the country of love

Change it with your experiments Don’t be intimidated Enjoy your skin

Impress me Make something grow

For your bravery merely in undertaking This impossible task

I make you a special loan called Time No, don’t bother to thank me now–

You can pay me back as you go

From the introduction to “Slapstick”, by Kurt Vonnegut.

I have had some experiences with love, or think I have, anyway, although the ones that I have liked best can be best described as “common decency.” I treated someone well for a little while, or maybe even for a tremendously long time, and that person treated me well in turn. Love need not have anything to do with it. …

Love is where you find it. I think it is foolish to go looking for it, and I think it can often be poisonous. I wish that people who are conventionally supposed to love each other would say to each other, when they fight, “Please – a little less love, and a little more common decency.”

***********

from The Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett.

“The universe is, instant by instant, re-created anew. Therefore, he understood, there is, in truth, no Past, only a memory of the Past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.”

I’ve been compiling quotes here, might save someone time: http://tinyurl.com/ReadingsAndQuotes

It is our point of reference in life often changes our viewpoint. Sometimes good and sometimes this change is bad but it is our point of view that exerts the most control how we feel.

I am marrying next year in a small ceremony in Ireland. Me and my partner are quite shy people and big fans of Christie Moore the folk musician. I am thinking of reading or having read The Voyage. I know it will make me bawl crying though.

I am a sailor, you’re my first mate We signed on together, we coupled our fate Hauled up our anchor, determined not to fail For the hearts treasure, together we set sail With no maps to guide us we steered our own course Rode out the storms when the winds were gale force Sat out the doldrums in patience and hope Working together we learned how to cope

Life is an ocean and love is a boat In troubled water that keeps us afloat When we started the voyage, there was just me and you Now gathered round us, we have our own crew Together we’re in this relationship We built it with care to last the whole trip Our true destination’s not marked on any charts We’re navigating to the shores of the heart

My grandfather was a huge Bertrand Russell fan, and I was looking for a way to honor him at the ceremony. I recently found this. (Note: I’ve changed around the order and left some parts out. Also the first sentence comes from a different work by Russell than the rest of the quote, but it was one of my grandfather’s favorite sayings.)

The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge…I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved. (…)I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy – ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness – that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found.

On Marriage, Kahlil Gibran You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

I wrote my own vows and sang them that at my wedding. Here they are:

Last night I tried to find the words to tell you that I love you. Last night I tried to find the words to tell you that I care. Last night I tried to find the words to tell you how I feel. Last night I tried to find the words, but the words, they were nowhere. Last night I tried to find the words to tell you I’ll be there Through thick and thin, and good and bad, Through ups and downs, and happy and sad. Last night I tried to find the words, but the words, they were nowhere. Then the hours turned the night into the early morn, And all I have to offer is one poorly written song. But I hope you take it in your heart and hold it all your life, ‘Cause with this early morning song, I take you as my wife.

Needless to say my bride was totally surprised and cried through the whole thing. You can hear the song on my website, http://www.reverbnation.com/jimharry

Since I’m the sole author, I can guarantee that, if you want to use this song at your wedding, you will not be sued for a copyright violation.

2014 new Thunder store, all jerseys for both man and woman, 100% quality guarantee, fast and free delivery.

Scroll down past the book information (the reading is an excerpt from the book), for “Right Now Right Here” which has since been turned into a song http://yesidoweddings.com/a-guide-for-spirited-brides-perfect-gift-book-for-brides/ Cheers, MM

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Prince Harry Says He and Duchess Meghan Will Continue Traveling After Nigeria Trip

“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom.”

In a new interview with People , the Duke of Sussex noted his and his wife’s interest in continuing to travel for their different projects and charities. “There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters.”

He added, “Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation , Invictus, or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”

While Harry did not disclose where their next adventure will take them, we know the 2025 Invictus Games will take place in Vancouver and Whistler , British Columbia, in Canada, from February 8 to 16 of next year. And Harry and Meghan will surely be there to support the athletes.

The prince also opened up to People about his and Meghan’s recent trip to Nigeria , which saw them promote mental health initiatives via the Archewell Foundation, meet with military veterans, and speak about the importance of sport ahead of the Invictus Games, among many other activities. It also brought us numerous memorable sartorial moments courtesy of the duchess.

“It is hugely important for us to meet directly with people, supporting our causes and listening, in order to bring about solutions, support, and positive change,” Harry told the outlet of the Nigeria visit.

The West African country joined the Invictus Games for the first time in 2023. “I’m so happy with the growth of Invictus and to include Nigeria,” Harry said. “You know what Africa means to me over the years. It is a very, very special place, and to be able to include Nigeria now [in the games]—I’m very happy.”

Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets. 

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