Civil service readings

I've found this so far...

Yes, I'll marry you, my dear,And here's the reason why;So I can push you out of bedWhen the baby starts to cry,And if we hear a knockingAnd 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 goesIt's you that has to mend it,You have to face the neighbourShould our labrador attack him,And if a drunkard fondles meIt's you that has to whack him.Yes, I'll marry you,You're virile and you're lean,My house is like a pigstyYou 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 drilland 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!

Xx

Are there any books or songs that are special to the two of you? Or a childhood favourite perhaps? An excerpt or some lyrics are a nice touch.

I'm not a fan of having readings for the sake of padding out the ceremony. I know a lot of people google 'non religious wedding reading' or 'quirky wedding reading' to find stuff, but I didn't want to do that for ours.

In the end we chose an excerpt from a favourite book of mine (one that H also loves), and it worked perfectly. It was so 'us': a little funny, but very heartfelt.

"They looked at each other for a moment.

The moment became a longer moment, and suddenly it was a very long moment, so long one could hardly tell where all the time was coming from.

For Arthur, who could usually contrive to feel self-conscious if left alone for long enough with a Swiss Cheese plant, the moment was one of sustained revelation. He felt on the sudden like a cramped and zoo-born animal who awakes one morning to find the door to his cage hanging quietly open and the savannah stretching grey and pink to the distant rising sun, while all around new sounds are waking.

He wondered what the new sounds were as he gazed at her openly wondering face and her eyes that smiled with a shared surprise.

He hadn't realized that life speaks with a voice to you, a voice that brings you answers to the questions you continually ask of it, had never consciously detected it or recognized its tones till it now said something it had never said to him before, which was 'Yes.'"

Hi, I'm having a similar problem. I'm getting married in a registry office and don't want it to be over too fast, but equally don't want to read stuff out I don't really like just for the sake of it. I've googled readings for civil ceremony's but all the ones that I've seen are quite cheesy. Didn't really want anything that was soppy either. Does anyone have any ideas of things that could be read out that's more about shared hobbies etc, but can't really think how that could be tied into a reading?

When we gave notice we were given a book by the registry office with some readings in the back.

We have one of those (on your wedding day) & also a poem written specifically for us.

One of my cousins did Shakespeare's sonnet 116. To be honest we chose her because my other two cousins were bridesmaids, but she lives in Malaysia and it was a pretty last-minute decision that she was coming, so we wanted to include her but just didn't have time to sort out the BM stuff (also I'm pretty sure she'd have hated it, but does lots of drama so thought she'd like to do a reading!).

Then one of my friends read an extract from The Velveteen Rabbit (if you google "velveteen rabbit wedding reading" you'll find it). We chose her to do a reading as we knew she'd love it and we knew she'd be good at it. She chose the reading as a surprise for me, she just told my H so he could let the registrar know (as they have to vet the readings in advance) but nobody told me so it was a surprise on the day. It was lovely, we both nearly cried!

The same friend recently read The Owl and the Pussycat at her mum's wedding, complete with showing photos that went with the poem. It was really well thought out and well done. It was a very small wedding, so we could all see!

We had...

Excerpt from the novel “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” (Louis de Bernieres)

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes 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 that is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement,

It is not the proclamation 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…..

To have roots that grow towards each other underground,

So that when all the pretty blossom has fallen from your branches

You find that you are one tree and not two.

Union by Robert Fulghum

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment.

At some point, you decided to marry.

From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.

All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.

All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time.

Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years.

Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

A lovely love story:

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.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur.

She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice.

She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

He is also overly fond of things.

Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur.

She is also uncommonly keen on shopping.

Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur.

For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides,

I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old.

Look at them.

Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.

Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm, and the world is a beautiful place.

or

The
Promise

• by
  Eileen Rafter

The sun danced on the snow
with a glittering smile,

As two lovers sat quietly,
alone for a while.

Then he turned and said, with
a casual air,

(Though he blushed from his
toes to the tips of his hair)

“I think I’d quite like
to get married to you.”

“Well then,” she said,
“well there’s a thought,

But what if we can’t vow
to be all that we ought?

Can you promise me, say, you
won’t grumble and shout

If I’m late yet again when
we plan to go out?
For I know I can’t say that I’ll learn to ignore

Dirty socks and damp towels
strewn all over the floor.

So if we can’t promise to
be all that we should,

I’m not sure what to do,
though the idea’s quite good.”

But he gently smiled and tilted
his head

Till his lips met her ear,
then softly he said,

“I promise, to weave my dreams
into your own.

That wherever you breathe shall
be my heart’s home.

I promise, that whether with
rags or with gold I am blessed,

Your smile is the jewel I shall
treasure the best.

Do you think then, my love,
we should marry, do you?”

“Yes,” she said smiling

“I do.”

We're having Sonnet 116 before the ceremony and the reading from captain Corelli which kharv suggested at the end!

Mini, did you use this recently? I'm having a civil ceremony in 8 weeks, and took my readings to the registrar this week. This Edward Monkton poem was our favourite - and I found it by scouring the forums - but we've been told the General Register's Office won't allow it, and haven't been able to get a reason why. I'm getting married in Northern Ireland, so I don't know if that's got anything to do with it, but I just can't work out why it's not ok! If we have to, we'll find something else, but we really did want this - and I feel like being stubborn about finding out why it's not allowed!

Does anyone have any idea why we might not be able to use it?

Hi, although there are plenty of civil ceremony readings out there, we just found none of them reasonated with us . It took us a long time to find ones we wanted, but it's worth all the digging when you find the right ones.

These are our two readings . The first is an excerpt from The Wedding Song by Bob Dylan, I got so emotional reading it as I knew it was perfect for us.

I love you more than ever, more than time and more than love

I love you more than money and more than the stars above

I love you more than madness, more than waves upon the sea

I love you more than life itself, you mean that much to me.

Ever since you walked right in the circle's been complete

I've said goodbye to haunted rooms and faces in the street

In the courtyard of the jester which is hidden from the sun

I love you more than ever and I haven't yet begun

It's never been my duty to remake the world at large

Nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge

'Cause I love you more than all of that with a love that doesn't bend

And if there is eternity I'd love you there again.

Oh, can't you see that you were born to stand by my side

And I was born to be with you, you were born to be my bride

You're the other half of what I am, you're the missing piece

And I love you more than ever with a love that doesn't cease.

My OH chose this:

Small was feeling grim and dark.

Playing toss and fling and squash, yell and scream and bang and crash.

Break and snap and bash and batter.

"Good grief," said Large. "What is the matter?"

Small said, "I'm a grim and grumpy little Small and nobody loves me at all."

"Oh Small," said Large. "Grumpy or not, I'll always love you no matter what."

Small said, "If I was a grizzly bear, would you still love me, would you care?"

"Of course," said Large, "bear or not, I'll always love you no matter what."

Small said, "But if I turned into a bug, would you still love me and give me a hug?"

"Of course," said Large, "bug or not, I'll always love you no matter what."

"No matter what?" said Small and smiled. "What if I was a crocodile?"

"I'll hug you close and tight and tuck you up in bed at night."

"Does love wear out," said Small, "does it break or bend? Can you fix it, stick it, does it mend?"

"Oh help," said Large, "I'm not that clever. I just know I will love you forever."

Small said, "But what about when you're gone, would you love me then, does love go on?"

Large held Small as they looked out at the night, at the moon in the dark and the stars shining bright.

"Small, look at the stars- how they shine and glow, but some of those stars died a long time ago.

Still they shine in the evening skies

Love, like starlight never dies."

@jen383, we got married in 2011 so perhaps it's changed? Did you ask why it's not allowed?

I did indeed, and was simply told "the General Register's Office has previously advised that it is not allowed." And I can't find any contact details for the GRO in Belfast to check with them! I just find it really odd.