Popular wedding readings

An open book with a heart

Your wedding readings are one of the most sentimental and unique elements of your whole wedding day. You can often find inspiration in childhood books, your shared favourite films, or popular television shows: there are endless romantic, heartfelt poems and prose to pick from. In the following blog post, we include our very favourites and hope you find some inspiration for your own wedding day.

‘The Notebook’, Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook (2004) is a romantic favourite among many, here is a lovely quote from the film:

“I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”

‘The Velveteen Rabbit’, Margery Williams

The Velveteen Rabbit is a popular childhood storybook, written by Margery Williams, which follows a toy a rabbit on his quest to become ‘real’ through the love of his owner.

‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’

‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’

‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.

‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’

‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’

‘I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled.

‘Someone made me Real,’ he said. ‘That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.

‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, Louis De Bernieres

Our next reading comes from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, by Louis De Bernieres. This reading beautifully encapsulates ‘real love’, after the storm of infatuation.

“Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become 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 of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.”

‘Jane Eyre’, Charlotte Brontë

This heartfelt quote from the classic Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, really expresses the notion of a soulmate, someone who is a perfect balance to our own character and who we perceive with deep admiration and affection.

“I have for the first time found what I can truly love – I have found you. You are my sympathy – my better self – my good angel; I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you – and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”

Romantic hearts hanging

‘The Art of a Good Marriage’, Wilferd Arlan Peterson

The Art of a Good Marriage, by Wilferd Arlan Peterson, expresses the work that goes into making a marriage great.

“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 having a mutual sense of values, and common objectives.

It is standing together and facing the world.

It is forming a circle 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 giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is not only marrying the right person — it is being the right partner.”

‘A Lifetime of Love’, Author unknown

This next poem really expresses the beauty of love, its author is sadly unknown.

“The most ideal expression of love is the joining in spirit of two people whose hearts are as one.

‘Love……’ A word that promises so many happy tomorrows, That gives meaning to everyday moments of sharing …..That strengthens and supports in difficult times…..That makes a commitment that never ends. Today is the beginning of a whole new life together …A life of special moments, shared with love….Today is the beginning of countless bright tomorrows…..”

The right readings for you

Wedding readings are a lovely way to express the unique charms of your relationship, we hope our selection has inspired you in your search for the perfect readings for your own big day.

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Laura

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