Most couples think of wedding readings as something extra—maybe a poem they ask a friend to read. In reality, when you are creating a fully personalized ceremony, a wedding reading is really any part of the ceremony that isn’t your story, the vows or the ring exchange. It simply means some words on love and marriage. These are the words that will help you build the script of your wedding ceremony.
There’s no right or wrong way to do this; it’s more about finding what readings reflect your values and views on marriage. You might have one main reading or several smaller readings. They might all be done by your officiant or presented by several friends. They might stand alone or be blended into your story.
Your officiant should provide you with a range of selections. My first post focuses on how to choose your wedding readings. Ideally, it’s a great opportunity for you and your partner to reflect on what marriage means to you. My second post focuses on a few off-the-beaten-path selections, just to give you some ideas of what’s possible.
A couple of my favorite sites for finding readings are June Bug Weddings and Off Beat Bride.
“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.”
When it came time to create our wedding ceremony, my husband and I holed up in a bed and breakfast and spent a day reading through various quotations, poems, and literary passages on love and marriage. We talked about what resonated with us, we laughed at the ones that we found totally ridiculous, and we … [Read more…]
Here are a few quotes, poems, and literary passages that I have found from my work officiating hundreds of weddings over the years! If you are looking to give your wedding a timeless quality—romantic, enduring, thoughtful, finding that perfect passage is a lovely way to do that. In an age where everything lives on the … [Read more…]