Choosing a Wedding Reading - everything you need to know.

I recently answered some of the FAQs about choosing a reading for a funeral; in this article I look at ways to find the perfect reading for a wedding, many of which would work just as well for naming and other ceremonies.

For weddings, it is important to understand that the readings that will be open to you will vary according to what kind of ceremony you are having. (For more details on the different kinds of ceremonies that are possible please see my blog).  If you're having a church wedding there will be, unsurprisingly, at least one scriptural reading and often more.  Most religious leaders will allow you to include non-religious readings in addition to religious ones if you wish - providing of course they’re suitable!

C & M's glorious garden wedding

A registry wedding will not allow any religious content at all so this obviously rules out any scriptural references, indeed if your reading even contains reference to God, it will not be allowed. For example a popular wedding reading comes from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran but since it contains the line “Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God” it is not allowed in a civil service.  Technically a Humanist ceremony would also be completely secular although many Humanist celebrants are less strict about this than their registrar counterparts.  In a celebrant-led wedding from an independent celebrant any combination of religious and non-religious material is allowed.  If you know what readings you want - great, but if you’re looking for inspiration, your celebrant will work with you to find readings (and rituals) that are meaningful to and right for you.  Couples who’d like to reflect their religious heritage or who share mixed religious backgrounds often find a ceremony led by an independent celebrant can best reflect their wishes. Of course such a ceremony can be completely secular too, if that's your preference. For more detail about celebrant-led weddings, see my blog.

Options for readings are many and varied.

So where do you go to find suitable readings?  A quick Google search will bring up plenty of lists of possible readings and this is certainly a popular and successful method for many. (Hitched has a list of 80 of the best wedding poems here.) You might have attended a wedding and particularly liked a reading; there’s nothing wrong with using this.  You might like to ask someone important to choose a reading for you and deliver it at your ceremony - this can be a meaningful role for bridesmaids, groomsmen, grandparents etc.

What about using a reading to link your wedding with that of your parents or even grandparents - what readings did they have?  Would you like to include one of these?  Perhaps you’d like to create your own reading - what did you think marriage was all about when you were younger and how has that changed?  An account of this would make an original and thoughtful reading, as would asking an older relative to write a letter to you about marriage. 

Do you have a special song that would make an original reading?

Think of your story.  Does that offer inspiration?  For example, is there a particular song that is precious to you both?  The lyrics or an extract from them, might make a perfect reading.  Books too can offer inspiration; is there a novel that you both love and might there be an extract from that? Perhaps there is a place that is important to you as a couple - there might be a book about that place that could offer an original text.

Poetry is popular and there are lots of beautiful examples of poems which have graced wedding ceremonies for many years, from Shakespeare’s sonnet 116 to Edward Leah's 'The Owl and the Pussycat’ but there are also plenty of modern poems perfect for your special day; one of my personal favourites is ‘Dust’ by Harry Baker which starts with the exquisite line “It’s not the flowers, it’s the weeding in the mud with you” and expresses the importance of the everyday aspects of a marriage.

I think children’s stories can be a great source of inspiration too.  You might have a favourite story from childhood that you’d like to include such as Winnie the Pooh’s immortal words, "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” Again, there are some wonderful modern stories that would work beautifully as wedding readings - 'Guess How Much I Love You' comes straight to mind.

If you’d like to discuss the possibility of me working with you to create a bespoke, personalised wedding or other ceremony, please do take a look at my website and be sure to get in touch if you think I might be the right celebrant for you.

By Catrina Young, Leicestershire Heart-led celebrant; Marking Life’s Moments.

© Hardingstone Ceremonies, October 2025