10 Wedding Ceremony Readings That Won’t Make You Cringe
Modern, Heartfelt, and a Little Unexpected - Here Are 10 Wedding Ceremony Readings That Actually Feel Like You, without the eyerolls
Let me guess: you’ve been trying to find a wedding ceremony reading that feels heartfelt and not totally overdone, because you want to invite someone who means something to you, to say something that means something to you.
But you had no idea this task would be so much harder than it should be!
You want something beautiful, meaningful, and maybe a little quirky; but you also don’t want your guests internally rolling their eyes at another predictable love quote (sorry, Shakespeare, although I will always bow down to your works).
Are you after words that hit the right note without making you vom a bit in your mouth? Are you trying to find something romantic and genuine, but without the cheese? Well then, you’re in the right spot.
Here are 10 wedding ceremony readings that are modern, heartfelt, and perfect for couples who want to keep it real.
Asking your celebrant or a loved one to deliver a reading can help add an element of fun or formality, and sincerity, to your wedding ceremony. Photo by Stories With Mel at Bimbadgen Palmers Lane in the Hunter Valley.
The Love Page List of Readings:
From Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Why it works: I’ve always been a bit obsessed with the Sliding Doors concept, and this is a lovely, literary way to articulate it as a reading.
“That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”
From The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Why it works: This one cuts straight to the guts of how love feels with a bit of wit and honesty.
“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.”
From To Love Is to Choose by Henri Nouwen
Why it works: This one is thoughtful, sincere, and perfect for couples who value choice and intention in their relationship.
“To love is to choose. To love is to choose again and again and again. To love is to choose for life. To love is to choose to be faithful to those who love us and to whom we want to be faithful. To love is to choose to listen to the voice that says, ‘You are my beloved.’ To love is to choose to accept the many things in life that are not the way we want them to be. To love is to choose to be grateful for the gift of life.”
From The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Why it works: Perfect for couples who love a bit of whimsy - this reading beautifully captures what it means to love deeply and authentically.
“‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day...
‘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.’”
From The Art of Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson
Why it works: It’s about the everyday beauty of marriage, and it’s written in a simple, timeless style.
“A good marriage must be created.
In the art of 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 at no time taking the other for granted;
The courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
It should continue through all the years.”
Photo by Burcu Elmas
From Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Why it works: A goodie and a classic for a reason! This one’s for couples who like things a little poetic but still raw and honest.
“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. 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.”
From A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton
Why it works: A cute, lighthearted option for couples who love a little humor and whimsy. It’s perfect for a reading with a smile.
“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.’”
From To Love Is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh
Why it works: This modern reading beautifully captures the freedom and individuality within a strong relationship.
“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.”
Photo by Emma Bauso
From A Marriage by Mark Twain
Why it works: A mix of wit and wisdom, perfect for couples who appreciate humour with heart.
“A marriage makes of two fractional lives a whole;
it gives to 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 a new gladness to the sunshine,
a new fragrance to the flowers,
a new beauty to the earth,
and a new mystery to life.”
From Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Why it works: Modern, simple, and brimming with love - perfect for a short and powerful reading.
“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.”
