Wedding Readings FAQs for Engaged Couples

Wedding readings for you and / or your fiancé(e)

If you both are comfortable reading aloud in front of a group of people, then you might consider reading yourselves.

There are some works that succeed very well when read by a couple, first one and then the other, such as “A Lovely Love Story”, shown in the What are some great examples ... section of this Page.

The subject of the reading might be a person of a specific gender. That is something which you may decide to consider when choosing who should do the reading.

Some examples one of you might read:

“My love for you.” (song lyrics; Abner Silver, Sid Watne)

My love for you is deep and endless as the sea
Strong and mighty as a tree
My love for you.

My eager heart keeps beating just for you alone
Since the moment it has known
My love for you.
…

“My love for you.” from www.lyricsmode.com/cite>

Robert Burns’s poem “A red, red rose” was originally written in dialect form. Most people use the English version.

My love is like a red, red rose
  That’s newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melody
  That’s sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
  So deep in love am I:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
  Till all the seas go dry.
…

“A red, red rose” from http://poetsgraves.co.uk/Classic%20Poems/Burns/a_red,_red_rose.htm.

“A Blessing for the Journey” (Buddhist Prayer — Sensei Wendy Egyoku Nakao)

Let us vow to bear witness to the wholeness of life,
realizing the completeness of each and every thing.
Embracing our differences,
I shall know myself as you,
and you as myself.
May we serve each other
for all our days,
here, there, and everywhere.
…

“A Blessing for the Journey” from https://www.oneworldc12.com/blog/blessing-for-the-journey-buddhist-prayer-sensei-wendy-egyoku-nakao-1

“A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton is a short book with illustrations. The book is fun for all ages.

(First reader:)
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.

(Second reader:)
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.

(First reader:)
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.

(Second reader:)
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?
…

“A Lovely Love Story” from WWW.ItakeYou.co.uk/lovely-love-story-edward-monkton-wedding-reading/

“Maybe” wedding reading

Maybe … We are supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that,
  when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift

Maybe … it is true that we don’t know what we have got until we lose it,
  but it is also true that we don’t know what we have been missing until it arrives
…

“Maybe” from WWW.ItakeYou.Co.UK

Got a little cousin or niece who wants to be part of your big moment? We’ve got reading ideas that are perfect for younger readers — adorable and easy to deliver.

A reading from “Oh, The Places You’ll 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 couple who’ll decide where to go.
…

“Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” from Amazon, where you can also listen to it read.

“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.
…

This is a board book, with great illustrations. It is perfect for a younger child to read because all the words are easy.

Two or more children might read alternating verses.
…

“Your Personal Penguin” from Amazon.Com. And don't miss hearing it sung on YouTube! by Davy Jones of The Monkees!

A reading from “The Velveteen Rabbit” by 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.”
…

“The Velveteen Rabbit” from Amazon.Com

Whether it’s a loving grandparent or a proud sibling, we’ve collected readings that will make your relatives feel honored and tug a few heartstrings, too.

“Blessing for a Marriage” by James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the 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.
…

“Blessing for a Marriage” from WWW.LoveMyDress.Net

“A Family is a Gift for Life” by Wendy Haynes

Love is constant and ever present.
Love is expressed in your voice and the words you use,
In your actions and the way you care for one another.
Love opens the door to kindness and generosity.
…

“A Family is a Gift for Life” from Wendy Haynes, who granted Ernest full permission to use her complete poem. Very special thanks to Wendy Haynes!

“A Family’s Blessing” by Maureen Killoran, MA, DMin

Today you take the step of consecrating the very special relationship you have been building
and in this step you change forever the direction of your individual life paths.
Today you begin your journey together,
weaving the strands of your different lives into a strong thread that will be your guide,
no matter how stimulating or strenuous your common path.
…

“A Family’s Blessing” from PrayWay Global Prayer Community.

Not sure what your officiant should say (beyond the legal stuff)? Here are elegant and heartfelt passages that will fit beautifully into my part of your ceremony.

You’ve noticed that my ego doesn’t require me to read everything, or even anything. When it comes to wedding readings, I don’t have to do any.

People sometimes find it convenient to have me read rather than choose among friends and family.

“An Irish Blessing” (Traditional)

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.
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.
…

“A Traditional Irish Blessing” from DavidIam.Com (and then look for “Popular Irish Blessings”)

“Love is a temporary madness” from “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” by 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 roots have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
…

“Love is a temporary madness” from WWW.GoodReads.Com

“The Art of Marriage” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson (that's not a typo in his first name.)

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created.
In 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 a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.
…

“The Art of Marriage” from WWW.RockMyWedding.Co.UK

Absolutely! If you’d like to reflect your faith traditions, we’ve curated some meaningful verses and passages from the Bible and other sacred texts.

You should feel free to choose both the source and translation that appeals to you.

1^st Corinthians, Chapter 13, verses 4 through 8

Love is always patient and kind;
love is never jealous;
love is not boastful or conceited,
it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage,
it does not take offence or store up grievances. ....
Love never comes to an end.
…

1^st Corinthians from WWW.Catholic.Org (NJB translation)

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, verses 1 through 8

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
…

Ecclesiastes from WWW.BibleGateway.Com (KJV translation)

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4, verses 9 through 12

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes from WWW.BibleGateway.Com (NIV translation)

A Reading from the Bhagavad Gita

Marriage between man and woman is for the purpose of each partner helping to uplift the other
in a commitment of divine friendship, love, and loyalty
that will move both souls closer to their true nature in the incarnation they share.
And it further provides the medium and right environment
to invite other souls seeking rebirth on earth to come into the circle of their expanding love.
…

The Bhagavad Gita from Yogananda.com

“A Wedding Toast” by James Bertolino

May your love be firm,
and may your dream of life together be a river between two shores —
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night illuminated from within.
May the heron carry news of you to the heavens,
and the salmon bring the sea’s blue grace. ....
…

“May your love be firm” from WWW.PoetryFoundation.Org.