What are you having for your wedding readings?

These are the two we have picked, its hard though cos there are so many to choose from!

A wedding is a party with,
Of course, a wedding cake.
But sometimes by the time it comes,
It's hard to stay awake.
People need to talk a lot,
And laugh and joke and kiss,
And cry - why do they cry? - and mention
love and bliss.

Two people have decided that
They'll share one house for life,
And call themselves, instead of friends,
A husband and a wife.

And so we have to get dressed up,
And eat a lot, and wait
For hours till they finally serve
The great big wedding cake.

and

name and name, as you say ‘I Do’
And promise to love your whole life through
Remember that today is just a start:
Just a beginning, a pledge from the heart
A marriage isn't dresses or aisles or rings
Or wedding cakes and invites and all those things
It's giving and taking in equal share
It's promising that you will always be there
When things depress you and get you down
When you're feeling sad and he's acting the clown
Remember this day, and why you chose to be here
Then be glad you’ve got each other, year after year

Lucy that second one brought a tear to my eye!

There won't be a dry eye in the house on your wedding day

It's fab they both are xx

We are having 2 as well. This one is being read by my Dad

The Art Of A Good Marriage - Wilferd Arlan Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In 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 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 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 old.
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.

The second one is a poem that my OH wrote telling the story of how we met and is being read my one of my best mates.

Aw how lovely Tinks!!

All these poems are making me emotional which doesn't take much these days lol

Just asked OH if we're having any reading he said no ☹️ but then said if i want to then i can

I'll be balling my eyes out just walking down the aisle

and that's with out the lovely poems !!

xx

My best friend is opening our civil ceremony with this:

O Tell Me the Truth About Love- WH Auden

Some say love's a little boy,
And some say it's a bird,
Some say it makes the world go around,
Some say that's absurd,
And when I asked the man next-door,
Who looked as if he knew,
His wife got very cross indeed,
And said it wouldn't do.

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
Or has it a comforting smell?
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
O tell me the truth about love.

Our history books refer to it
In cryptic little notes,
It's quite a common topic on
The Transatlantic boats;
I've found the subject mentioned in
Accounts of suicides,
And even seen it scribbled on
The backs of railway guides.

Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
Or boom like a military band?
Could one give a first-rate imitation
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
Is its singing at parties a riot?
Does it only like Classical stuff?
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
O tell me the truth about love.

I looked inside the summer-house;
It wasn't over there;
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
And Brighton's bracing air.
I don't know what the blackbird sang,
Or what the tulip said;
But it wasn't in the chicken-run,
Or underneath the bed.

Can it pull extraordinary faces?
Is it usually sick on a swing?
Does it spend all its time at the races,
or fiddling with pieces of string?
Has it views of its own about money?
Does it think Patriotism enough?
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
O tell me the truth about love.

When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I'm picking my nose?
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
Will it come like a change in the weather?
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
Will it alter my life altogether?
O tell me the truth about love.

(She is a theatre actress and very dramatic; she reads stuff like this really well and I hope she'll introduce everyone to the informality of the day!)

Then my OH has chosen this for his dad to read:

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

(It's an extract from Captain Corelli's Mandolin.)

We might pick another one as well, I have another friend who needs to be slotted in somewhere. Does anyone know if there is a limi to how many readings you can have?

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Glad you like them!

i think i just wont listen so i dont cry too much!

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There is space in the civil ceremony for three readings, so you can have another if you like.

We have not decided what we will have yet, but possibles so far are A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton, Yes I'll Marry You by Pam Ayres and Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy (tho not sure of the last one really).

We're having A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton - the dinosaur one (H2B choice) and On Your Wedding Day by Anonymous (my choice). This is being read by my friend who has been married for a few years and I like the idea that it is like her giving us advice from her experience:

Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest in anyone's life
You'll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as Husband and Wife

It's a brand new beginning the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although there'll be times when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure

You'll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken

So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It's the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper 'I do'

And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real
May success find it's way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts.

H2B's Dad is reading this:

"UNION"
~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 promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- 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 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, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this- is my husband, this- is my wife.

We are having 2 of these 3, just can't decide which one to drop:

Religious reading - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Religious reading - 1 Corinthians 13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Non religious poem - The Bargain by Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86)

My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.

His heart in me keeps him and me in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish his because in me it bides:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.