Got to read a passage at a wedding - any idea's?

[SpringChicken]

My DB is getting married in April and i have been asked to read a passage/verse in the church.

Anyone got any idea's? We are not an overly religious family and i don't think i would feel comfortable reading something to religious.

we had the corinthians one about love, and elizabeth barratt browning 'how do I love thee'

We did this Khalil Gibran excerpt:

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 also read the Apache Wedding Blessing at a ceremony recently and thought it was just lovely.

I did that one too!!

We had this :

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 or duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
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."

All of these are so lovely. Makes me feel all mushy and want to go give dh a kiss. Maybe the idea of renewing vows every now and then has some merit.

Gosh, I am so crap! I start these threads then cannot find them again when they go off the top 50 list.

Thanks alot for your help - have emailed these to soon to be SIL to see what she thinks!

We let our friends choose their own readings for us, and one chose a reading that started like this:

Bring me sunshine in your smile
Bring me laughter all the while
In this world where we live
There should be more happiness
All the joy you can bring
To each brand new bright tomorrow...

and ended,

Bring me joy, bring me laughter, bring me love.

It made people laugh quite a lot, once they'd got over the surprise (but will probably mean nothing to anyone under 40)

Also a passage of very funny prose about a wedding from Cold Comfort Farm, one of my favourite books.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous.
Love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things... Love never fails.

Corinthians 13. 4-8.

I am not religious either but I read this in church when my parents renewed their vows at 25 years.

nice one aloha!!

Aloha- were there actions and music too? Would be great for bride and groom to sing and dance whilst walking down the aisle after ceremony.

SpringChicken - we had 2 readings at our wedding in June.

The first was 1 corinthians 13 - it is religious, but the words are beautiful.

The second was from Captain Corelli's Mandarin - seems to be very popular!!

We arent overly religious, but i think the trick is to focus on the words. Both of the above have beautiful words.

Good luck x

Well, our reader did a little dance, and there was a little spontaneous audience participation... Makes me smile to remember it!

Aloha, everyone in the office is looking at me now because I collapsed in a fit of giggles! Bet everyone remembers your wedding

I've been wondering what to walk out of chuch to and the Morcambe and Wise theme never crossed my mind - wish I was brave enough!!

Lilibet - go on it would be such fun and even the most miserable relly would laugh!

there is a lovely poem called 'Wedding Day' by Ruth Crary and if anyone has a copy of it would they please let me have a copy. I read it at a friend's wedding back in the year dot and I've never been able to find a copy.

Do you have a bit more info mckenzie, I have lots of wedding poems but with no author names and I may have it.

that's kind of you lillibet but undortunately, it was so long ago now that i cant remember any of the lines although i would recognise it in a flash, It's quite short and I think it talks about going off together into alight. NOt much help is that huh?

Hi Spring chicken havent posted for an age. It seems to happen in fits and bursts - like the sun coming out for a few seconds and then sinking back into cloudy chaos.

If you are still collecting ideas. Here's a poem I heard at a wedding in the summer.
by Roy Croft 'On Friendship'

I love you no 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 what you are making of me.I love you for the part of me that you bring out.

I love you for putting your hand into my heaped up heart and passing over all the frivolous and weak things that you cannot help seeing there, and drawing out into the light all the beautiful and radiant things that no one else has looked quite far enough to find.

I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool in me, and for laying hold of the possibilities of good in me.

I love you for closing your eyes to the discords in me and adding to the music in me by worshipful listening

You have done it without a touch, without a sign.
You have done it by being yourself.

I should add that in an emotional moment I read it to my dearly beloved and he scoffed at me for being over sentimental. So it might not suit all tastes.

Good Luck anyway

here's another one.
We had it at our wedding and I still get misty eyed when I read it. The ones here are all so lovely - I guess you have to think of your brother and his bride and the kind of people they are and find one to fit. Lots of luck!

Hymn of Marriage
The question is asked 'Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and girl clasping clean hands and pure heart in the path of marriage?' And the answer is given, 'Yes, there is a more beautiful thing; it is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are knarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but radiant; their hearts are tired and bowed but still strong. They have proved the happiness of marriage and have vindicated it from the jeers of cynics.'
A L Alexander
Poems that Touch the Heart

when my sister read it she left out the the last bit - '...and vindicated it..... it just had a bit of a yucky sound with the words 'jeers' and 'cynics'

you'll have to let mn know what you decide upon!!

My Favourite reading ever!

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!

westcountrylass that's wonderful!

I had that one read out at my wedding last year xx