favorite readings?

misssunshine17 · May 2013

Hi ladies, we're having two readings in our ceremony. The can be whatever we choose. I've looked at so many online I can't tell them apart. Have any favorites I should look up?

Thanks!

AddieCake · May 2013

I like all of these!

http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/NovelReadings.htm

bunni727 · May 2013

We used this one: http://www.itakeyou.co.uk/wedding-ideas/wedding-readings-poems/a-year.htm.

harper0813 · May 2013

I just emailed myself some recently. I'm just going to C/P them here:

Robert Frost

No speed of wind or water rushing by

But you have speed far greater. You can climb

Back up a stream of radiance to the sky,

And back through history up the stream of time.

And you were given this swiftness, not for haste

Nor chiefly that you may go where you will,

But in the rush of everything to waste,

That you may have the power of standing still-

Off any still or moving thing you say.

Two such as you with such a master speed

Cannot be parted nor be swept away

From one another once you are agreed

That life is only life forevermore

Together wing to wing and oar to oar

Untitled

by Mr Rogers

It's you I like,

It's not the things you wear.

It's not the way you do your hair,

But it's you I like.

The way you are right now

The way down deep inside you

Not the things that hide you

Not your diplomas...

They're just beside you.

But it's you I like,

Every part of you,

Your skin, your eyes, your feelings,

Whether old or new.

I hope that you'll remember

Even when you're feeling blue,

That it's you I like,

It's you yourself, it's you

It's you I like!

Foxtrot From a Play

by W.H. Auden

The soldier loves his rifle,

The scholar loves his books,

The farmer loves his horses,

The film star loves her looks.

There's love the whole world over

Wherever you may be;

Some lose their rest for gay Mae West,

But you're my cup of tea.

Some talk of Alexander

And some of Fred Astaire,

Some like their heroes hairy

Some like them debonair,

Some prefer a curate

And some an A.D.C.,

Some like a tough to treat'em rough,

But you're my cup of tea. Some are mad on Airedales

And some on Pekinese,

On tabby cats or parrots

Or guinea pigs or geese.

There are patients in asylums

Who think that they're a tree;

I had an ant who loved a plant,

But you're my cup of tea. Some have sagging waistlines

And some a bulbous nose

And some a floating kidney

And some have hammer toes,

Some have tennis elbow

And some have housemaid's knee,

And some I know have got B.O.,

But you're my cup of tea. The blackbird loves the earthworm,

The adder loves the sun,

The polar bear an iceberg,

The elephant a bun,

The trout enjoys the river,

The whale enjoys the sea,

And dogs love most an old lamp-post,

But you're my cup of tea.

Excerpt from 100 Love Sonnets

BY CHILEAN POET, PABLO NERUDA

I do not love you as if you were 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.

Excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit

BY MARGERY WILLIAMS

“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 a child 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 all loose in the 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.”

Ernest Hemingway, from A Farewell to Arms

"At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together."

Wilferd A. Peterson, The Art of Marriage

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.

itzMS · May 2013

My friends did "The Velveteen Rabbit" and it sounds hilarious read out loud. All of the guests were holding back chuckles. Skin horse. *giggles*

erinlin25 · May 2013

We are using an Irish Hand Ceremony:

Hand Ceremony

Please face each other and take each others hands, so that you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief temporarily comes to you. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it, support and encouragement to pursue your dreams, and comfort through difficult times.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.

These are the hands that will give you support and encouragement to chase down your dreams.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

These are the hands that will lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into eyes that are filled with overwhelming love for you.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

lisabeats · May 2013

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,"

All of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned...

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Always. Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Give them to someone who feels sad.
Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play hard and work hard every day.
Take a nap every afternoon.
Be aware of wonder.
Give hugs.
Remember that time can heal even the worst boo-boos.

Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down… and the plant goes up… and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

ETA: sorry about the size. I read this at my brother's wedding, and exchanged some of the lines to make it more personal (ie: the name of our elementary school, don't hit your little sisters, etc.)

misssunshine17 · May 2013

Thanks, ladies! I think I just have too many good ones to choose from!

Bubblegum5586 · May 2013

In Response to Re: favorite readings?:
[QUOTE]We are using an Irish Hand Ceremony: Hand Ceremony Please face each other and take each others hands, so that you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief temporarily comes to you. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow and tears of joy. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it, support and encouragement to pursue your dreams, and comfort through difficult times. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will give you support and encouragement to chase down your dreams. These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. These are the hands that will lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into eyes that are filled with overwhelming love for you. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
Posted by erinlin25[/QUOTE]

I love this... I think I may have to use it

brielleinlove · May 2013

IMO the Velveteen Rabbit is becoming almost hackneyed at secular weddings along the lines of 1 Corinthians 13:4 ("Love is patient, love is kind...") at Christian ceremonies. I've been to a lot of secular ceremonies that used it. I'd skip it if you're going for unique over something that has a lot of personal meaning to you.

If you're looking for secular readings, I like the e.e. cummings poem "somewhere i have never traveled." We used readings from Song of Solomon, 1 John, and Matthew for our Catholic ceremony.

Pookieson · May 2013

To Love is Not to Possess
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To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one's self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one's self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another--and to one's inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon's own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child's scars
Or an adult's deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are--and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

yellowdaisies84 · May 2013

To My Friend:

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.

I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.

I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good,

and more than any fate could have done to make me happy.

You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign.

You have done it by being yourself.

Perhaps that’s what being a friend means, after all.

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