When it comes to crafting a heartfelt and inclusive wedding ceremony, choosing the right readings can make a significant difference. Asking a friend or family member to do a romantic reading not only honours them with a special role but also adds a personal touch to your ceremony. However, the challenge often lies in selecting the perfect wedding reading. The pressure can be overwhelming, but here's a little secret to ease your stress:
The most important rule is simple: ‘You have to like it!’
Truly, deeply like it. If you and your partner aren’t genuinely moved by the reading, it’s unlikely to resonate with your guests either.
So, where should you look for these meaningful wedding readings? Think about the songs that make you sing along, the books that make you laugh, and the movies that bring tears to your eyes. Your wedding readings, vows, and music should all hold significant meaning for you. If they don't, it's time to reconsider.
If you're searching for something unique, sweet, romantic, and perhaps a bit unconventional, you're in the right place. In this post, I’ll share some romantic wedding readings from films, music, and poetry that might just be the perfect addition to your ceremony.
Readings from Films
"Juno"
"In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass."
"The Notebook"
"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever."
"Up"
"You and me... we’re in a club now. And you will always be my greatest adventure."
Poetry
"All I Know About Love" by Neil Gaiman
This is everything I have to tell you about love: nothing.
This is everything I've learned about marriage: nothing.
Only that the world out there is complicated,
and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain,
and the only thing that makes it okay, sometimes,
is to reach out a hand in the darkness and find another hand to squeeze,
and not to be alone.
It's not the kisses, or never just the kisses: it's what they mean.
Somebody's got your back.
Somebody knows your worst self and somehow doesn't want to rescue you
or send for the army to rescue them.
It's not two broken halves becoming one.
It's the light from a distant lighthouse bringing you both safely home
because home is wherever you are both together.
So this is everything I have to tell you about love and marriage: nothing,
like a book without pages or a forest without trees.
Because there are things you cannot know before you experience them.
Because no study can prepare you for the joys or the trials.
Because nobody else's love, nobody else's marriage, is like yours,
and it's a road you can only learn by walking it,
a dance you cannot be taught,
a song that did not exist before you began, together, to sing.
And because in the darkness you will reach out a hand,
not knowing for certain if someone else is even there.
And your hands will meet,
and then neither of you will ever need to be alone again.
And that's all I know about love.
"When I Hear You Laugh" by Author Unknown
When we share a secret
When your eyes sparkle
When we're just us
When we don't have to talk
When I watch you sleeping
When you remember
When I don't have to explain
When you walk into the room
When we are in a crowd
When I am by myself
When you are just being you
When you make me giggle
When I hear your heartbeat
When you reach for me
Even when you're not looking
That's when I love you.
“An Uncommon Love” by Terah Cox
May you have the love only two can know.
May you go where only two as one may go.
May the sun rise and set in your bonded hearts
and the moon never find you too long apart.
May you cherish each other’s dreams as your own
and turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
May you brave life’s mountains and miles together.
May there be no storm your love cannot weather.
May you be lovers and allies and friends.
May your soul’s conversation never end.
May you capture on earth what’s in heaven above.
May your hearts know the rapture of an uncommon love.
Extracts from Songs
"The Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel
The book of love is long and boring, no one can lift the damn thing. It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing. But I love it when you read to me, and you can read me anything.
"Everything" by Michael Bublé
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing. You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
"Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon
Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be. When our time has come, we will be as one. God bless our love, God bless our love.
Including personal and meaningful readings in your wedding ceremony can transform it into a truly unique experience for you and your guests. These readings should resonate deeply with both of you, reflecting your personalities, journey, and the love you share. Choose words that capture your commitment to each other. When your readings are authentic and heartfelt, they will shine through, making your ceremony unforgettable.
