Shy Groom Literary Bride

Re: Shy Groom Literary Bride

• moonstone523

  

  August 2009 edited December 2011

  I am totally in the same boat.  English major here.  I really want a Pablo Neruda poem in our wedding, but FI said no on the one I wanted because it abstractly talked about sex.  Here are some readings I like: Love Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; So I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley The fountains mingle with the river And the rivers with the ocean, The winds of Heaven mix for ever With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is single, All things by a law divine In one spirit meet and mingle - Why not I with thine? See the mountains kiss high Heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea - What are all these kissings worth If thou kiss not me? I Carry Your Heart with Me by E.E.Cummings I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart) I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling) I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart) Habitation Margaret Atwood Marriage is not a house or even a tent it is before that, and colder: The edge of the forest, the edge of the desert the unpainted stairs at the back where we squat outside, eating popcorn where painfully and with wonder at having survived even this far we are learning to make fire

  
  
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• Lanyer

  

  September 2009 edited December 2011

  Moonstone I love your selections, especially the Margaret Atwood one, she is my favorite author. Another English major here, maybe we should start our own board. As for the original question on this post I would suggest looking at Aprillm730's post on this board entitled "what do ya think?" she has a simple format that can be repeated yet individualized. I hope this helps. I feel for your FI, while I can write the vows saying them is a totally different thing.

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• TopazAngel member

  

  November 2009 edited December 2011

  Hello from yet another English major! I'll be having the same problem, since I'm a bibliophile with a penchant for poetry (sorry about the alliteration, it just happens).
  
  My man, on the other hand, becomes terrified to the point of physical pain when speaking in public. This is baffling sice he's fearless in almost every other situation--he even spent three tours in Iraq as a Marine!
  
  I think we'll have to make our vows short, but I'll be darned if I don't have a friend read some poetry!
  
  I LOVE that last Cummings selection, but I've noticed his frequent parenthetical phrases sound awkward out loud.

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• meladoriestar

  

  January 2010 edited December 2011

  Same situation here! Comp lit minor way back in college, and the fiance hates reading but loves tv/movies, and is more shy than he likes to admit. I'm planning to find a short reading from a favorite book (MUCH harder than I expected!) My problem is that I am only willing to use a quote from a book I love, and a quote that strikes me. I don't read many love stories though, lol. And I am unwilling to choose a passage from a book that I don't consider a favorite (fortunately I have tons of favorites).
  
  But at the reception, on each table instead of table numbers (I won't be doing assigned seating anyways), I am going to get a 3-picture frame, and in one frame type a Simpsons quote (the fiance's obsession) related to marriage/love, in another frame type a short romantic quote from a favorite book, and in the third frame a picture of us. I like this idea a lot because it incorporates my love of books and his love of film, in a romantic kind of way I think.
  

  BFP #1: 11.21.12; (EDD 7.30.13); missed M/C 12.21.12 @ 8w4d

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• springflr member

  

  February 2010 edited December 2011

  The poem by cummings is actually beautifully lyrical when spoken; it takes practice, but it flows like tongue candy.  The internet has so many great readings...  I like Off Beat bride's selection the most.

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• panspixie32

  

  March 2010 edited December 2011

  I am in the same predicament. I am a theatre major and love the stage and spotlight, while my fiance is more studious and shys away from attention.  I can't even convince him that the garter toss is a neseccary part of the wedding!  But we agreed to find non-traditional vows (I wanted to write our own) and possibly have some poetry readings, as long as he didn't have to do them. I love the Cummings selection!!

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