What readings are you having?

We are having 'partners' although we've had to tweak the words slightly!

We had 'the lovely dinosaur' end 'the promise' civil ceremony though so not sure if your church will allow

This is on my to-do list!

I really love poetry, usually rhyming but I do love Carol Ann Duffy's stuff. Unfortunately OH is not keen So we've just about (and just this minute) agreed on two:

"The Art Of Marriage"
by Wilferd A. Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
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 a 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.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude
of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

Indian Wedding Blessing

Now we feel no rain for each of us will be a shelter to the other,
Now we feel no cold for each of us will be warmth to the other,
Now there is no loneliness for each of us will be a companion to the other
We are two bodies but there is one life before us and one home.
When evening falls I’ll look up and there you will be,
I’ll take your hand, you’ll take mine and we’ll turn together
To look at the road we travelled to reach this the hour of our happiness
It stretches behind us, even as the future lies ahead.
A long and winding road whose every turning means discovery.
Old hopes, new laughter, shared fears -
The adventure has just begun.

I did write one of my own, about me and OH, which tells the story of our relationship in a humerous way but not quite sure I'm confident enough about it to have an audience hear it!!

These are our two for a civil ceremony -

He never leaves the seat up
Or wet towels upon the floor
The toothpaste has the lid on
And he always shuts the door!

She’s very clean and tidy
Though she may sometimes delude
Leave your things out at your peril
In a second they’ll have moved!

He’s a very active person
As are all his next of kin
Where as she likes lazy days
He’ll still drag her to the gym!

He romances her and dines her
Home cooked dinners and the like
He even knows her favourite food
And spoils her day and night!

She’s thoughtful when he looks at her
A smile upon his face
Will he look that good in 50 years
When his dentures aren’t in place?!

He says he loves her figure
And her mental prowess too
But when gravity takes her over
Will she charm with her IQ?

She says she loves his kindness
And his patience is a must
And of course she thinks he’s handsome
Which in her eyes is a plus!

They’re both not wholly perfect
But who are we to judge
He can be pig headed
Where as she won’t even budge!

All that said and done
They love the time they spent together
And I hope as I’m sure you do
That this fine day will last forever.

He’ll be more than just her husband
He’ll also be her friend
And she’ll be more than just his wife
She’s be his soul mate ‘till the end.

And

Love me when I'm old and shocking
Peel off my elastic stockings
Swing me from the chandeliers
Let's be randy bad old dears.

Push around my chromed Bath Chair
Let me tease your white chest hair
Scaring children, swapping dentures
Let us have some great adventures

Take me to the Dogs and Bingo
Teach me how to speak the lingo
Bone my eels and bring me tea
Show me how it's meant to be

Take me to your special places
Watching all the puzzled faces
You in shorts and socks and sandals
Me with warts and huge love-handles

As the need for love enthralls
Wrestle with my damp proof smalls
Make me laugh without constraint
Buy me chocolate body paint

Hold me safe throughout the night
When my hair has turned to white
Believe me when I say it's true
I've waited all my life for you

Ooooh just googled The Promise as I'd not come across that one and I LOVE it!!!! Maybe we'll have to have three ?

We are having 'the one' and 'maybe' took ages to find them but they are perfect for us!

We are having 'maybe' and the cake recipie reading (I cant think what its called, I alwaya google wedding reading cake recipie)

We're having 1 Corinthians 13 for our bible reading, and have made our own up from snippets of others and our own words for the other one.

We are having "Lovely Dinosaur" by Edward Monkton - ours is not a church wedding.

Why not ask her how she would feel if you had the same reading?

We are having:

Marriage Fulfills the Dreams and Love Two People Share by Glenda Wilm

Everyone searches for one special person
They can share their lives with. The other half who makes them whole,
Like two notes blending together to make a beautiful song,
Or the colours that complement
Each other to form a rainbow.
It is everyone’s wish to have a lifetime of sunny days,
A rainbow after every storm;
A lifetime of loving and living and growing and giving,
Of sharing and caring; a lifetime of days together,
Learning from the bad times and cherishing the good times.
Marriage is everything your heart desires
And the strength, courage and determination to work for it.
In marriage you take care of each other’s heart
And hold on to what you share.
You hold it gently so it doesn’t smother
And firmly so it doesn’t slip away.
Hold it so that it can grow
And you can grow together
And live and laugh and love together always

Yes, I'll marry you (poem) by Pam Ayres

Yes, I'll marry you, my dear, and here's the reason why;
So I can push you out of bed when the baby starts to cry,
And if we hear a knocking and it's creepy and it's late,
I hand you the torch you see, and you investigate.

Yes I'll marry you, my dear, you may not apprehend it,
But when the tumble-drier goes it's you that has to mend it,
You have to face the neighbour should our Labrador attack him,
And if a drunkard fondles me it's you that has to whack him.

Yes, I'll marry you, You're virile and you're lean,
My house is like a pigsty you can help to keep it clean.
That sexy little dinner which you served by candlelight,
As I do chipolatas, you can cook it every night!

It's you who has to work the drill and put up curtain track,
And when I've got PMT it's you who gets the flak,
I do see great advantages,
But none of them for you, and so before you see the light,
I do, I do, I do!

We had The Lovely Dinosaur too! Also had a friend who is a journalist read something that she wrote for us.

We're having 1 Corinthians, which is lovely even if it is really common. We're having "The Future", which is in the poem section on here, as it really fits how we see our life. Not sure my sister is going to cope reading it as she's a crier like me!

Have you had a look at the Poems and Readings section on Hitched? (Under the speeches tab) https://www.hitched.co.uk/speeches/poems/poemshome.aspx Have a look, there's a lot to choose from!

Zoe

Alongside our religious ones we are having these two from Shakespeare

No sooner met but they looked;
No sooner looked but they loved;
No sooner loved but they sighed;
No sooner signed but they asked one another the reason;
No sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy;
And in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage...

................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

We had Psalm 121 ("I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills") and the Wedding at Cana.

Thanks guys think we are definitely going to go with Maybe it's so lovely and says exactly what we feel. ?

I hadn't really looked into readings but would love our daughter, who is mad about dinosaurs to do a reading. Having just read this i love it and think it will be perfect.

I love this one:

The Colour Of My Love
David Foster and Arthur Janov

Ah, you see, now that's just thrown a curveball! We had our readings (and readers) sorted out. My dad is reading 'Union' and a friend who refound love after 30 years apart is reading 'Maybe' (makes the words so much more meaningful).

And then I see Marriage Fulfills the Dreams and Love Two People Share on this thread and sent it to my H2B who likes it.

How can I shoehorn this in and whom can I ask to read it ..... hmmmmmmm....

(I really should stop looking or we'll end up with an 8 hour ceremony consisting mainly of beautiful readings! lol)

We're not having readings but our friends got married last weekend. The Brides brother read an extract from Captain Correllis Mandalin:-

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 root was 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.

Just LUSH!