Modern Wedding Ceremony Readings

When you’re planning your ceremony, it’s easy to get swept up in the big pieces: the vows, the rings, the kiss. But nestled between those major moments, there’s an opportunity to slow things down, add a touch of meaning, and bring in a different voice. That’s where a reading comes in.
Whether it’s a short poem, a quote that’s always resonated with you, or a sweet excerpt from a book or song, a reading is a lovely way to weave more of you into the ceremony. And if you're not sure whether you even need one - or what the options are - you're in the right place.

✍️ Do I need a reading in my wedding ceremony?

Not at all! Readings are totally optional.

If you have a short ceremony, or just don’t feel drawn to any particular text, skipping a reading is 100% fine. No pressure - this is meant to feel right to you, reading or not.

💬 Why include a reading in your wedding ceremony?

A reading is a chance to add depth, personality, or lightness to your ceremony - to reflect on love, partnership, or even just the quirks of your relationship, from a different angle.

It can be a meaningful way to include a friend or family member in your day, or simply a beautiful moment of pause. Readings can break up the flow of the ceremony in a good way - shifting the energy, helping everyone take a breath, and offering space for reflection or laughter.

🙏Are wedding ceremony readings only religious?

Not at all. While religious texts can be used as readings if that's meaningful to you, a “reading” really just means any short piece that’s read aloud during your ceremony. It could be a poem, a passage from a novel, a lyric, a quote, or something a loved one has written.

I've seen everything from Rupi Kaur and Winnie-the-Pooh to Pablo Neruda and The Office… if it speaks to you and fits the tone of your day, it’s fair game

🎤 Who recites a wedding ceremony reading?

Totally up to you. Some couples like to have a loved one come up to read - it’s a beautiful way to include someone important to you who isn’t in the wedding party. Others prefer to have their officiant read it as part of the ceremony flow.

✏️ Can I make my own reading?

Absolutely! I recently had a couple who took an existing piece - Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton - and they lightly changed a few of the sentences to reference events that had happened throughout their relationship, making it more suited to them.

Here they are: Readings to include in your wedding ceremony 📚

📖 Wedding Poem, by Whitney Hanson

They say that sometimes love starts with a spark. And that might be true, but if I were to wish you a love, I wouldn't wish fire for you.

You see, fire is powerful. It burns bright and then it's gone. It's beautiful and warm, but it doesn't last long.

So instead of wishing you a love that burns, I wish you a love like a river twists and turns. It changes and it flows,
It is powerful and free. But it consistently finds its way back to the sea.

And so like the water, I hope your love is ever growing, ever changing. I hope your love is powerful and free, And may you always find each other, like a river finds the sea.

Why I Love It: A gentle, modern poem that’s full of tenderness. It feels like a soft exhale: short, emotional, and authentic.

📖 Marry Your Best Friend, by N’tima

Marry your best friend. I do not say that lightly. Really, truly find the strongest, happiest friendship in the person you fall in love with. Someone who speaks highly of you. Someone you can laugh with. The kind of laughs that make your belly ache, and your nose snort. The embarrassing, earnest, healing kind of laughs. Wit is important. Life is too short not to love someone who lets you be a fool with them. Make sure they are somebody who lets you cry, too. Despair will come. Find someone that you want to be there with you through those times. Most importantly, marry the one that makes passion, love, and madness combine and course through you. A love that will never dilute - even when the waters get deep, and dark.

Why I love it: This one cuts through the fluff and gets to the heart of what lasting love actually looks like: laughing, showing up, and choosing each other every day.

📖 The Art of Marriage, by Wilfred A 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

Why I Love It: Classic, wise, and full of grounded advice. It’s the kind of reading that makes guests nod along and say “Yes. That’s it.”

📖 "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis De Bernieres

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 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.

Why I love it: It’s poetic and raw, and speaks to love growing over time. (Full disclosure: I have excluded two sentences that were a bit more passionate than we wanted for the couple’s ceremony).

📖 Relativity by Albert Einstein

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special person for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.

Why I love it: Yes, that Einstein. This one is unexpected, brainy, and strangely romantic. Perfect for science nerds or curious minds.

📖 I’d Rather Rise in Love With You, By Jana Lynne Umipig

I don’t want sweet nothings whispered in my ears - I’d rather be confronted by savoury somethings, truths communicated with fullness and compassion. I don’t want long gazes or to get lost in your eyes; I’d rather have our eyes brave exploration, discovering every part of each other - every wrinkle, tint, and shade, every scar and marking that our living has made. I don’t want to feel like I knew you in another life or that I dreamed you in my sleep; I’d rather learn you piece by piece, in reality. I want you to teach me how the you of today is better than before, and I want my new self to love you more, as I love me more. I don’t want to be attached, or taken, or spoken for - I don’t want to make each other whole. I’d rather be two whole beings: mind, body, and soul. I don’t want to believe you don’t choose who you love, or that you just know when you do - because love, to me, is a choice. You wake up every day and you choose: what you want, what you need, and you speak your truths to receive. Truths in exchange, past what is perceived, past assumptions, toward deep knowing. And to keep love growing, it’s more than the showings - it’s clarity in communication, calm and patience past frustration, the listening and the stillness, every message from body to breath. I don’t want to fall for you or fall in love - falling is falseness, it’s fleeting. I’d rather rise in love with you, in ascension, without fear or apprehension. I don’t want to sacrifice any part of myself to make it work - I want to invest in all of me and all of you, with gratitude that we empower one another in self-worth. I don’t want to be possessed or bound by love - I’d rather be liberated in loving. I want a love that is revolutionary: love that is patience, presence, respect, pride, honesty - with nothing to hide - attraction, joy, and truth in everything we say, show, and do. In love with you is all of this to me, and there is no place I would rather be.

Why I love it: Revolutionary and grounded in self-worth. This piece is empowering, poetic, and makes you rethink what love can look like. I really resonate with it personally, as my partner and I are very independent and different people. On paper, we are not even well matched, let alone soulmates. But in action, it’s an empowering love that let’s us both grow.

📖 Love Me When I’m Old, by Bee Rawlinson

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.

Why I love it: Hilarious, cheeky, and tender all at once. This is perfect if you want your guests laughing through their tears.

📖Wedding Reading by Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere, they’re in each other all along…

Why I love it: Timeless and soulful. Rumi always brings the magic, and this reading resonates with a lot of my couple’s who, upon meeting their partner, had that instant “I feel like I’ve known you for years” feeling.

📖 You Are The Bubbles, by Rachel Bright

Together, you are the bubbles in one another’s champagne. The morning sun through a window. The breaking of a smile. You are the one doughnut in the bag with more jam than all the others, that photo where everybody looks great, the know-all-the-words, sing-out-of-tune chorus of your favourite song. Together, you are the beginnings of a big idea, the twinkly bits that hang in the sky after the firework goes bang, the cold, thin air at the top of a mountain, the only two people in a crowded room. You are that unforgettable day of the holiday, an accidental adventure, chocolate chip. The last two pages of your favourite book. A BBQ with friends. The spray of the sea. The nose of the cheese. A kiss. A hug. A hold-my-hand. A decision which, looking back, will seem to be the most excellent one you’ve ever made. Together, you are bubbles—the unburstable bubbles of the very best things in life. The only things any of us ever really need.

Why I love it: Pure joy. This one feels like sunshine and confetti. Whimsical, warm, and full of charm - perfect for a light-hearted ceremony.

💌 Need help finding the perfect reading?

I offer a wedding ceremony script writing service (readings included!). If you're stuck or want something totally custom, I’d love to help. Email me for more details ✨

Photos by Lorenza Tessari, Darby Magill, Oliver Rabanes, and Meghan Fenton.
Blog cover photo by Meghan Fenton.