Having a reading during your ceremony is an awesome way to acknowledge a special friend or family member, but what should they read? Often we hear the same readings over and over, think "love is patient, love is kind..." or a spin-off of that. I wanted to come up with some alternatives to help make your ceremony unique and reflect your personality. Check these out and let us know what you think!
"Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times
And the bad times, too.
Let it be a dance.
Learn to follow, learn to lead
Feel the rhythm, fill the need
To reap the harvest, plant the seed.
An let it be a dance.
Morning star comes out at night,
Without the dark, there is no light.
If nothing's wrong, then nothing's right.
Let it be a dance.
-Ric Masten, in Looking Out/Looking In
"I wanna make you smile whever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you
I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you
I'll miss you
I'll kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold
I'll need you
I'll feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control
So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you"
"Grow Old With You" - Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer)
"Once for all, I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I love her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, that if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection."
-Great Expections by Charles Dickens
"You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in your silent memory.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not bondage of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one other of your bread, but eat not of the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not to near together,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
-"On Marriage," from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran
"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the couple who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "We don't choose to go there." With your heads full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down, any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air, Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too.
OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to great heights! You won't lag behind, because you'll have all the speed. You'll pass the whole gang, and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly you'll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don't. Because sometimes you won't. You'll get mixed up of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with so many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with great care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KIDS, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So, be your name Buxbaum or Dowrie or Bassor Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!"
Oh, The Places You'll Go - Dr. Seuss
Please be sure to check back tomorrow for part two of "10 Best Wedding Readings."
