These days, it’s easier than ever to find a reading for your wedding. But, if you prefer something other than St. Paul’s Letter to the Apostle (about how love is patient and kind and all that), there are many different ways to find unique readings that represent you and your betrothed. The problem with Google or Bing is that you’re likely to come up with a similar list, including but not limited to readings by: Rilke, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou, Rumi, a Shakespearian sonnet, and possibly Dr. Seuss. You may also encounter a Navajo or Celtic blessing, and while these authors and their texts have merit, if you’re interested in something unique, I encourage you to put down your computer and look elsewhere.
Wedding Ceremony Readings
To start, I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open during your engagement. When reading a book – a novel, a memoir, collections of poems – always read with a pen, and underline any passages that deal with matters of the heart. And why not revisit one of your favorite books? It’s always pleasant to reread books at different phases of life – you’ll probably pick up on something you might have missed when you were younger.
If you attend any plays or movies, have a piece of paper and pen nearby. If you work with young children, pay attention while reading picture books aloud. So you see, the possibilities are endless. One other thing to keep in mind while perusing for readings is that they don’t have to be so literal.
The guests at the wedding all know why they’re there – the underlying theme of the ceremony is love. Don’t be afraid to be abstract – to use passages or lines that symbolize love, devotion, and trust – without spelling it out so clearly. Let them ponder the words you read.
And if you’re one of the lucky ones who has been selected to be a reader in a wedding and it is your job to select the reading, here are few ideas. Begin with the friend or relative in mind. Are they more traditional, adventurous, literary, quirky? Or a combination of all these traits? Here are a few different ideas…
For the practical, hands-on bride who appreciates subtlety, I highly recommend poems by contemporary poets like Mary Oliver, Marge Piercy, or Billy Collins. Collins is the former National Poet Laureate and known for his accessible but deep writing. For my adventurous, courageous and independent college roommate who spent her first few post-college years in a tiny West African village performing AIDS education for the Peace Corps, I chose the following excerpt from Billy Collins’s poem, “Directions.”
“Still, let me know before you set out.
Come knock on my door
and I will walk with you as far as the garden
with one hand over your shoulder.
I will even watch after you and not turn back
to the house until you disappear
into the crowd of maple and ash,
heading up towards the hill,
piercing the ground with your stick.”
And for that passionate friend, who may allow him or herself to get caught up in drama from time to time, don’t be afraid to use excerpt from plays – classic or modern. I think this is the most overlooked of the genres for wedding readings.
From Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing
“I love love. I love having a lover and being one. The insularity of passion. I love it. I love the way it blurs the distinction between everyone who isn’t one’s lover. One two kinds of presence in the world. There’s you and there’s them. I love you so.” (43)
Read more about Non-Religious Wedding Reading&Love Quotes in my next article.
