I need a wedding reading - not too gushy but with lots of good 'marriage' advice...

[liquidclocks]

Something that says:

"Marriage isn't a bed of roses but if you work at it then it'll be great"

But not in a slushy gooey sort of way...

If anyone will know of one then you all will!

Try www.confetti.co.uk. They've got loads of great ones.

don't know if this fits the bill but i love it..o tell me the truth about love by WH Auden

we had this at our wedding. it was lovely

There's 'On Marriage from 'The Prophet' ( Khalil Gibran)

here

senorapostrophe had a fab one at her wedding - something about who gets up for noises in the middle of the night and that kind of thing - will see if I can find it

We had this

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two. "- Captain Corelli's Mandolin

I was looking for the one we had "What does Marriage Mean? by Teresa Ling which is quite practical and down to earth but I can't find it, but I thought this one was quite nice.

Why Marriage? by Mari Nichols
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...

Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love in friendship...

Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...

Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...

Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.

try some ogden nash

Or this one!

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!

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".

I 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.

helsy, that Pam Ayres one with the tumbledryer is what I was looking for! Thank you!

Thought so . Still can't find ours, though. It was really good.

one of the ones we had... short and sweet;

Wedding Prayer.

Now you will feel no rain?
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold?
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness?
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies?
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness?
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

confetti.co.uk has loads, if not just google 'wedding reading' ... we found all ours that way. You just have to search hard for the one that means something special to you both.

OMG I went to have dinner and all tese appeared - I'll have a read through them now

You ol' romantics you!

helsys we had that at our wedding - we kept having people ask 'why' we were getting married (a lot of our friends just stick to the 'we don't need a piece of paper' line).

I do love the kahlil gibran one...

still reading

blueamema, we had the apache blessing too at out wedding, brings a tear to my eye thinking about it i was going to recommend it too!

This is one I gave to my DP when he was best man...... (I can't give you one for why.....)

May the best you've ever seen be the worst ye'll ever see
May a moose ne'r leave yer girnal wi a tear drap in his 'e
May ye aye keep hale and hearty til ye'r auld enough tae dee
May ye aye be juist as happy as we wish we aye tae be

Best suited to the Scots maybe.....

We said we'd walk together come what may
That come the twilight should we lose our way
If as we're walking a hand should slip free
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me

We swore we'd travel side by side
We'd help each other stay in stride
But each lover's steps fall so differently
But I'll wait for you
And if I should fall behind
Wait for me

Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
But you and I know what this world can do
So let's make our steps clear that the other may see
And I'll wait for you
If I should fall behind
Wait for me

Now there's a beautiful river in the valley ahead
There 'neath the oak's bough soon we will be wed
Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me

(Bruce Springsteen)

Not sure if you meant for you two to read for someone else to read i.e. relative - this one is nice for someone else...

On Your Wedding Day (Author Unknown)

Today is the day you will always remember ?
The greatest in anyone?s life.
You?ll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as husband and wife.

It?s a brand new beginning, the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure.
And although there?ll be times when you both disagree.
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure.

You?ll have heard many words of advice in the past.
When the secrets of marriage were spoken,
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken.

So live happy for ever as lovers and friends.
It?s the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper ?I do?.

And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real.
May success find its way to your hearts.
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts.

A Walled Garden
'Your marriage' he said 'should have within it, a secret and protected place, open to you alone.
Imagine it to be a walled garden, entered by a door to which only you hold the key.
Within this garden, you will cease to be a mother, father, employee,
homemaker or any other of the roles which you fulfill in everyday life.
Here you are yourselves, two people who love each other.
Here you can concentrate on one another's needs.'
So take my hand and let us go back to our garden.
The time we spend together is not wasted but invested.
Invested in our future and the nurture of our love.

look at some e.e cummings poems - they read extremely well are not gushy and are often very apt for weddings

We had this

The Difficulty That is Marriage
Paul Durcan

We disagree to disagree, we divide, we differ;
Yet each night as I lie in bed beside you
And you are faraway curled up in sleep
I array the moonlit ceiling with a mosaic of question-marks;
How was it I was so lucky to have ever met you?
I am no brave pagan proud of my mortality,
Yet gladly on this changeling earth I should live forever
If it were with you, my sleeping friend.
I have my troubles, and I shall always have them
But I should rather live with you forever
Than exchange my troubles for a changeless kingdom.
But I do not put you on a pedestal or throne;
You must have your faults but I do not see them.
If it were with you, I should live forever.

We had this but may be a bit gushy?:
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."