Wedding Ceremony Readings

Choosing just the right wedding ceremony readings can be a frustrating task. Can’t find just the right text that expresses how you and your partner feel about each other? Many people will go with religious readings, which are always fine, and others will go with the straight civil ceremony text. But more and more people are trying to find ways to personalize what is read at their wedding. How can you go about doing that?

For suggestions on wedding ceremony readings, you can ask your chaplain, priest or justice of the peace. You can ask family and friends. You can go to the library or spend some time in one of those giant books stores where nobody ever bothers you. You can search the web for “wedding poetry” and be offered numerous ideas (sometimes the same ones over and over). These are all great places to look. But wouldn’t it be nice to have something read at your wedding ceremony or your reception that is specifically meaningful to you as a couple. I don’t know about you, but I find that lovely reading from Corinthians a little over done at weddings. Other than writing it yourself, such a poem can be tricky to find.

The message here is not to settle for “the usual” if you are looking for something more. Use ways unconventional to find readings, short stories or poems that are meaningful to you and your partner and that will speak of the life you hope to share together.

Before you make your final decision, here’s a quick checklist to make sure you get the right wedding ceremony reading for you:

• Does the reading meet with the approval from your minister/officiant?

• Is the text really about marriage and not just about falling in love?

• If you are having a civil ceremony, is your text approved as having no religious content?

• Will it fit in with the rest of the order of service? Is it a good foil for any other readings/prayers you've chosen?

• Is it a self-contained piece that needs no further explanation?

• Is it free of any material that might offend guests?

• Is it the right length? A reading that's too short may easily get drowned out by a coughing fit or baby crying, while a text that's too long may over-balance your whole ceremony.

• Will your chosen reader be able to handle the words?

Plan to spend lots of time deciding on the perfect wedding ceremony readings for you and your spouse. Sometimes, just when you think the perfect reading has come your way, you find an even better one.

And plan on getting lots of 'suggestions' from friends and relatives.

Here is one of my favorites:

The Art of Marriage, by Wilfred A. Peterson.

A good marriage must be created.
In the art of 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 each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
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 in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is in giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right part

Choosing your Wedding Ceremony Readings is a serious matter. But having someone doing a reading who is able to be original and funny at the same time is priceless.

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