Poems and Readings

We've thought about it and thats about as far as we have got, we are also looking into our vows at the moment so could do with some inspiration for that although we want to have them quite personal too!

I will be watching this thread with interest, so thanks maggles x

This is the poem i have chosen to have read on my behalf. My h2b is choosing his, as i want to have some surprises on the day, so i have no idea what he has decided upon or even i he has found anything yet.

We’re all seeking that special person who is right for us.
But if you’ve been through enough relationships, you begin to suspect there’s no right person, just different flavors of wrong.
Why is this?
Because you yourself are wrong in some way,
and you seek out partners who are wrong in some complementary way.
But it takes a lot of living to grow fully into your own wrongness.
It isn’t until you finally run up against your deepest demons, your unsolvable problems – the ones that make you truly who you are – that you’re ready to find a life-long mate.
Only then do you finally know what you’re looking for. You’re looking for the wrong person.
But not just any wrong person: the right wrong person – someone you lovingly gaze upon and think,
“This is the problem I want to have for the rest of my life.”

i know it isnt a traditional reading but it sums me up qute well.

Thanks tinks- i quite like that one!

Was also wondering if anyone knew of any readngs from childrens books as i often think they are quite sweet!

Well it made me giggle and i know that my side of the aisle will laugh when they hear it as it is very typically me. I think that making sure it is personal to you is the key.

I have started looking through the books i read when i was a child and there is a quote from teh velveteen rabbit about how you can only become real once you are loved by someone. although not sure about the exact words. Good luck with your searching.

Been looking most of the morning - i need 1 poem and one reading.

Have narrowed the pems down to these two..

The art of marriage:

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...

OR

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.

These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.

These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

OOPs didnt realise it was ging to be quite so big!

But for the reading i'd like to go for a childrens story- so far i have either:

Guess how much I love you?

Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare's very long ears.

He wanted to be sure that Big Nutbrown Hare was listening. "Guess how much I love you," he said.
"Oh, I don't think I could guess that," said Big Nutbrown Hare.

"This much," said Little Nutbrown Hare, stretching out his arms as wide as they could go.

Big Nutbrown Hare had even longer arms. "But I love you this much," she said.
Hmm, this is a lot, thought Little Nutbrown Hare.

"I love you as high as I can reach," said Little Nutbrown Hare.

"I love you as high as I can reach," said Big Nutbrown Hare.
This is very high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I had arms like that.

Then Little Nutbrown Hare had a good idea. He tumbled upside down and reached up the tree trunk with his feet.
"I love you all the way up to my toes!" he said.

"And I love you all the way up to your toes," said Big Nutbrown Hare, swinging him up over her head.

"I love you as high as I can hop!" laughed Little Nutbrown Hare, bouncing up and down.

"But I love you as high as I can hop," smiled Big Nutbrown Hare - and she hopped so high that her ears touched the branches above.
That's good hopping, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I could hop like that.

"I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river," cried Little Nutbrown Hare.
"I love you across the river and over the hills," said Big Nutbrown Hare.

That's very far, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. He was almost too sleepy to think any more.
Then he looked beyond the thorn bushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be farther than the sky.

"I love you right up to the moon," he said, and closed his eyes.
"Oh, that's far," said Big Nutbrown Hare. "That is very, very far."

Then she lay down close by and whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon - and back."

OR

No Matter What - Debi Gliori

Small was feeling grim and dark. He was playing toss and fling and bang and crash. Break and snap and bash and batter. 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 still 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?” Large said “I’d hug you close and hold you 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’ll love you forever”.

Small said “but what about when you’re dead and gone, would you love me then, does love go on?” Large held Small snug 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

I'm going for an excerpt from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Berniers

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 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 blossom have fallen from their branches,
they find that they are one tree and not two.

Hi

We are having theseand we have handed the forms to the registrar so we can't change our minds !!

Maybe

Maybe...

Maybe we are supposed to meet the wrong people before we meet the right one so when they finally arrive we are truly grateful for the gift we have been given.

Maybe its true that we don't know what we have lost until we lose it but it is also true that we don't know what we're missing until it arrives.

Maybe the happiest of people don't have the best of everything, but make the best of everything that comes their way.

Maybe the best kind of love is the kind where you sit on the sofa together, not saying a word, and walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.

Maybe once in a lifetime you find someone who not only touches your heart but also your soul, someone who loves you for who you are and not what you could be.

Maybe the art of true love is not about finding the perfect person, but about seeing an imperfect person perfectly.

and......

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.

i LOVE this one you have to have it!! x

Reading these has made me cry......

Hi everyone

Meggles 24, i love the 'these are the hands' reading.....do you know who this is by?

Thanks for sharing with us

Hey becky T..

No i've tried to search but as far as i can tell it's actually a blessing- a bit like the vows options you'd get from a registry office- as ive seen a few versions of it in a "blessing of the hands" ceremony book

Oh well i'm having it anyway!

Great thread!! I also need some inspiration for a reading for my civil ceremony, will be lurking here!!

we're having this one too! my friend who is doing the reading sent it to me the other day and i love it! x

Snap JuicyMelons we're also having Maybe but as yet haven't found a second reading we both like, tis hard!

I also think this would be lovely but traditionally the bride/groom don't do the readings;

Today begins my walk with you. Where you go, I go. Where you stay, I stay. When you sleep, I will sleep. When you rise, I will rise. I will pass my days within the sound of your voice, and my nights within reach of your hand, and none shall come between us.

Its from Slaves of the Mastery by William Nicholson - and one of the best bits is that because its techincally a childrens book not many people will havbe heard it.

Jo

you could get around it by having a friend/family member read it out, but before starting say words along the lines of "this reading sums up how X and X feel about each other" or something like that???

I love love love the idea of guess how much i love you!

you really really really must must must have that!

x