22 Ideas for Memorable Wedding Ceremony Readings
Setting the Tone
One of the biggest concerns for a bride and groom is selecting the right ceremony readings for their wedding. This can be very difficult as there are so many different options. Weddings readings give your guests a chance to catch a breath and learn more about your relationship. The right ceremony reading can be a real tear-jerker, or it can simply reflect the tone of your wedding. Here are some memorable wedding ceremony readings for you to use at your wedding.
Poetry
There are few things more beautiful than a well-written poem about love. The way the words flow together, the emotions that are conveyed... it's simply magical. And there's no greater feeling than knowing that someone has put their heart and soul into writing something just for you.
Whether it's a love poem for a romantic partner, a family member, or a friend, the act of receiving one is always special. It's a way of showing that you're loved and appreciated, and it's a cherished keepsake that can be reread and treasured for years to come.
If you're lucky enough to have someone in your life who writes poetry about love, count yourself blessed. It's a gift that not everyone has, and it's one that will keep on giving.
Scaffolding by 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 seems to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me
Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.
"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?"
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
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
Hah-hah!
…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…
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…
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 because
I forget why I like you but I do.
Valentine
by Carol Ann Duffy
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.
Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.
I am trying to be truthful.
Not a cute card or a kissogram.
I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.
Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.
Literature & Love
Love quotes in literature and weddings are often used to express the deep love and connection that two people share. These quotes can be used to describe the feeling of being in love, the beauty of love, or the strength of love. They can also be used to express the hope for a long and happy future together. Whatever the reason, love quotes are a popular choice for both literature and weddings.
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.”
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.”
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. It was because I felt and knew this, that I resolved to marry you.”
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.”
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."
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. ”
Children's Literature
There's something special about love quotes in children's literature. They're often simple and straightforward, but they can also be incredibly moving and profound. And what could be more appropriate for a wedding than quotes about love?
There are a number of classic love quotes in children's literature that would be perfect for a wedding. For example, from The Velveteen Rabbit: "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.'"
Or how about this quote from The Giving Tree? "And the tree was happy. But the boy was not. The boy wanted more. 'I want more,' the boy said. 'I want to be loved.'"
There are so many beautiful love quotes in children's literature. If you're looking for the perfect quote to use in your wedding, look no further than your favorite childhood books.
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 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.
Song Lyrics
There are a lot of ways to personalize your wedding ceremony, and one of them is by choosing readings that are meaningful to you and your partner. If you're looking for something a little different, why not consider using song lyrics as your wedding readings? There are so many songs out there with beautiful, romantic lyrics that would be perfect for your ceremony. Plus, it's a great way to incorporate your favorite music into your big day. To get started, simply choose a few of your favorite love songs and find the lyrics that best reflect your relationship. Then, have someone read them aloud during your ceremony. You can even play the songs in the background if you like. Whatever you do, make sure the lyrics you choose are meaningful to you and your partner. After all, your wedding ceremony is all about your love for each other.
“Time In a Bottle” by Jim Croce
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure, and then
Again, I would spend them with you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory of how they were answered by you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with
Thank You by Led Zeppelin
If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you,
When mountains crumble to the sea
There would still be you and me.
Kind woman, I give you my all,
Kind woman, nothing more.
Little drops of rain
Whisper of the pain
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
Our love is strong,
With you there is no wrong,
Together we shall go until we die. My, my, my.
Inspiration’s what you are to me,
Inspiration, look and see.
And so today, my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done
For you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness…. I’m glad
Quotes
"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."
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."
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."
David Rose in Schitt's Creek by Dan and Eugene Levy
"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."
