Ceremony Readings?

ccarmany23 · July 22, 2008

Thanks everyone! Now I just need to narrow down but I am definitely going to incorporate some of these. And I never would have thought to read the Irish blessing but that is a must have for the end of the ceremony! I have been looking for poems for my brother to read- these are great ideas- what would I do without this forum

islandbride8 · December 28, 2010

Bumping for more ideas

BeachBound2011 · February 2, 2011

I think we're having the Art of Marriage read - atlcatlover posted the short version, but I we're going to do the long version. My two favorite lines are "it is never being too old to hold hands." and "It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner."

"The Art Of Marriage"
by Wilferd A. Peterson (longer version)

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...

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 all 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 in 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.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
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.

It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

summafool1 · February 2, 2011

great thread...thanks!

aholen · February 3, 2011

Here's a good one for a sea-side wedding:

EXCERPT FROM "THE GIFT FROM THE SEA"
~ By Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, mot in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

adales · February 3, 2011

This is a great thread. I am still searching for a ceremony reading for a good friend. I will post some more when I find them.

christmasincuba · February 6, 2011

Would love something for my flower girl to read. Something short and with kid friendly wording!

lucy<3woody · October 13, 2011

We are using this one from ee cummings!!! LOVE IT!

JayKay · October 14, 2011

I love this! Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by aholen

Here's a good one for a sea-side wedding:

EXCERPT FROM "THE GIFT FROM THE SEA"~ By Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~
When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, mot in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

carrieb258 · October 15, 2011

This is the reading we are having at our wedding in three weeks time :-)

Maybe.....

Maybeâ€¦We are supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the Right one, so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.
Maybe...it is true that we don't know what we have got until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives
Maybe...the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of
Everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their Way.
Maybe...the best kind of love is the kind you where you can sit on a sofa
Together never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best Conversation you've ever had
Maybe...you shouldn't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
Maybe...you should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.
Maybe Love is not about finding the perfect person; it's about learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. When you do what you can, love will do what you can't