Reading at my Sister's wedding - inspiration needed!

[hollyhobbie]

My sister has asked me to read at her wedding next June.
The problem is, she expects me to choose the piece! I thought the bride and groom would decide what they would like read at their wedding, but apparently they chose me because they trust what I would choose!
Has anyone got any ideas for me? What did you have read at your wedding? (I didn't have anything)
To give you a bit of background, it will be a humanist wedding, outdoors in Snowdonia, so a religious reading wouldn't be appropriate.

I eard this, by Ogden Nash for the first time the other day. MAde me laugh a lot

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.
"A Word to Husbands" in Marriage Lines (1964)

For our wedding (small civil thing) a good friend really rose to the occasion and wrote something herself. It could have gone oh so very wrong but it was actually rather lovely, and she recited it beautifully.

The life that I have is all that I have
and the life that I have is yours
The love that I have of the life that I have
is yours and yours and yours
A sleep I shall have, a rest I shall have
and death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years in the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours

we had two things (neither religious as not allowed at registry office), an ee cummings one and one by ogden nash but these might not be to everyone's taste.

There is also a lovely TS Eliot one, which we almost had, at the top of this page .

But we got all of these from a great website, which was something like alternative brides, or indiebrides or something, which had a messageboard and a great thread about secular but wonderful readings. If I can at all recollect it, I will post again!

My cousin had this, it is Kahlil Gibran, it was also not a religious ceremony

Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"

And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond 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 another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one 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 too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

I read one at my friend's wedding that would be perfect. Not slushy and sentimental but very moving - loads of complete strangers said how fantastic it was afterwards. It's from a book called The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, I can?t remember whereabouts the particular piece is but it?s not a huge book so you'll easily find it. It's about what love means and how true love means being separate individuals together rather than joined at the hip (not done it justice at all)

bloody hell evilanniedividedin2byalargeaxe

that's the one!!

The Bargain
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86)

My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.

His heart in me keeps him and me in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish his because in me it bides:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.

Will Be Here
Steven Curtis Chapman

If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.

I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.

I will be here,
And you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we're older.
I will hold you, to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me.
We'll be together and I will be here.
I will be true to the promises I've made,
To you and to the one who gave you to me.
I will be here.

we had this plus another. but I have forgotten what the other one was

A Drinking Song

WINE comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That?s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

WB Yeats

To Keep Your Marriage Brimming
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong admit it;
Whenever you're right shut up.

www.poemhunter.com/poems/marriage/

this might have some good ones on it?

There are websites full of stuff - have you done a search?

The Promise
Eileen Rafter

The sun danced on the snow with a sparkling smile,
As two lovers sat quietly, alone for a while.
Then he turned and said, with a casual air
(Though he blushed from his chin to the tips of his hair),
"I think I might like to get married to you"

"Well then, she said, "Well there's a thought,
But what if we can't promise to be all that we ought,
If I'm late yet again, when we plan to go out.
For I know I can't promise, I'll learn to ignore
Dirty socks and damp towels strewn all over the floor.

So if we can't vow to be all that we should
I'm not sure what to do, though the idea's quite good".
But he gently smiled and tilted his head
Till his lips met her ear and softly he said

"I promise, to weave my dreams into your own,
That wherever you breathe will be my hearts home.
I promise, that whether with rags or with gold I am blessed
Your smile is the jewel I will treasure the best.

Do you think then, my love, we should marry - do you?"
"Yes" she said smiling "I do".

Oh I love those SLG have copied them maybe for my wedding x

They are lovely SG aren't they, we were at a wedding on Saturday and they were the three readings.

I would like to say I started to cry when they were read out,but I did that the minute the bride walked in to the room.

We had a very traditional church wedding. But, to lighten the mood we had this

-Wendy Cope

On Waterloo Bridge, where we said our goodbyes,
The weather conditions bring tears to my eyes.
I wipe them away with a black woolly glove,
And try not to notice I've fallen in love.

On Waterloo Bridge, I am trying to think,
"This is nothing - you're high on the charm and the drink."
But the jukebox inside me is playing a song,
That says something different, and when was it wrong?

On Waterloo Bridge with the wind in my hair,
I am tempted to skip. "You're a fool." I don't care.
The head does it's best, but the heart is the boss,
I admit it before I am halfway across.

It was quite relevant to us and was also a bit of fun !

Wow! Thanks all... Brilliant inspiration.

My favourite so far is Ogden Nash's 'To My Valentine' (thanks, twocatsonthebed), but I think the thing to do is to print this out and send it to my sister.

I'm curious, cece, which bit of Winnie the Pooh? I thought I knew it quite well, but can't think off the top of my head what it would be. Guess I'll have to dig the book out.

KathyDCLXVI- I haven't done a search yet, thought I'd see what the wise people at MN had to offer first...

oh, I found the Winnie the Pooh one now, thanks!

Heard this at a civil ceremony and loved it

Yes, I'll Marry You
Pam Ayres

Yes, I'll marry you, my dear,
And here's the reason why;
So I can push you out of bed
When the baby starts to cry,
And if we hear a knocking
And it's creepy and it's late,
I hand you the torch you see,
And you investigate.

Yes I'll marry you, my dear,
You may not apprehend it,
But when the tumble-drier goes
It's you that has to mend it,
You have to face the neighbour
Should our labrador attack him,
And if a drunkard fondles me
It's you that has to whack him.

Yes, I'll marry you,
You're virile and you're lean,
My house is like a pigsty
You can help to keep it clean.
That sexy little dinner
Which you served by candlelight,
As I do chipolatas,
You can cook it every night!

It's you who has to work the drill
and put up curtain track,
And when I've got PMT it's you who gets the flak,
I do see great advantages,
But none of them for you,
And so before you see the light,
I do, I do, I do!

theres a book by edward monkton called a lovely love story
my chief bridesmiad read that at ours, not religious and VERY cute

There's another good Wendy Cope one in Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis about an orange. Friends had it and it was very good.

Love the Pam Ayres one though! Too late alas.

Not keen on the Kahil Gibran one. My sister had it at her first (ahem!) wedding and I remember at the time thinking "Aye, that'll be right"!

The one mentioned by Lilibet (The life that I have...) is, I think, in Vera Brittain's book Testament of Youth. It was written for her by her then boyfriend, Roland Leighton, who was killed in WW1. So quite sad, really, because he was anticipating his death and her being without him. Lovely poem, though.

My favourites are the Apache ones. The Registrar read an Apache poem at my BIL and SiL's wedding - her idea, not theirs - and I was jealous, wished somebody had thought of that for ours!