Let's be honest, ceremony readings can be a difficult thing to decide on when planning your wedding ceremony. When choosing a reading, there are a lot of things to take into account. Primarily, most couples would want their reading to resonate with their guests, while saying something unique about them as a couple. Obviously this can be a tricky road to navigate due to the fact that you're skirting a fine line between sentimental and sappy. Brides and grooms can spend days, weeks, or even months mulling over reading choices.
Narrowing the decision down to literary or lyrical options was a bit difficult, but ultimately this is just a jumping off point. Hopefully the suggestions below will lead you in the direction you were hoping for. Instead of going with the more traditional approach using a religious passage or wedding blessing, these options give a bit more depth and range. Again, use these as a springboard to catapult you to the reading that suits you and your significant other best.
Poetry/Literature
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in) by E.E. Cummings
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 your 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)
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 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."
Atonement by Ian McEwan
"...falling in love could be achieved in a single word- a glance."
"I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life."
A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That's sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
Song Lyrics
The Luckiest- Ben Folds
I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns
The stumbles and falls brought me here
And where was I before the day
That I saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know that I am
I am, I am the luckiest
Words and Music- Sondre Lerche
You be words and I'll be music
Ain't you heard that's how they do it
You're a poem when you're on your own
I'll try not to get in your way
But I've all the pretty poems I have known
Baby, you give me something to say
I'll be words and you'll be music
I concur, I can't refuse it
You're a sad little tune by yourself
So lovely I wanna sing along
If there's one thing I know I can tell
When we get together we're a song
Whenever I'm with you, it's true
It's everything you say and do
It's words & music, you and I
Make You Feel My Love- Bob Dylan
When the rain is blowing in your face,
and the whole world is on your case,
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.
When the evening shadows and the stars appear,
And there's no one there to dry your tears,
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love.
Love Me Tender- Elvis Presley
Love me tender,
love me sweet,
never let me go.
You have made my life complete,
and I love you so.
Love me tender,
love me true,
all my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin' I love you,
and I always will.
Love me tender,
love me long,
take me to your heart.
For it's there that I belong,
and we'll never part.
Love me tender,
love me dear,
tell me you are mine.
I'll be yours through all the years,
till the end of time.
Given a bit of time, you'll find the right reading that suits your tastes, but allow yourself the opportunity to read through everything and anything that you may stumble upon. Dog-ear pages of books, go back through your favorite songs or movies and jot down lines as you hear them. Your best bet is to always have a notebook handy in case you get inspiration while out and about. This will all help to narrow down your choices and decide.
-Melanie
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