One of the great ways to personalise your ceremony, is to think about the readings/poems that you would like to include in your ceremony. There is so much to choose from, it can often be a daunting task, so I hope this blog will help you and give you some guidance on where to start and what to include.
When planning ceremonies with my couples, we discuss what to include and how many to include. Lets start with the first part – what to include. You can choose from many different genres including secular or spiritual, formal, romantic or funny, Irish Traditional, readings that reflect you culture or background, readings in your native language. We also talk about how we represent your values, beliefs and background and consider readings, poems, prayers or scriptures. The choice is completely yours.
We also talk about how many to include in your ceremony. Again, the choice is completely yours, but my guidance is three: two in the middle of the ceremony and one after the marriage (vows and rings) as a reflection.
Most Popular
Here are some suggestions of some of the most popular.
On Your Wedding Day (Anon.)
The Day of your Wedding (Anon.)
Always Love Each Other (Larry S Chengges)
Union (Robert Fulgham)
Love is Friendship Caught On Fire (Ann Landers)
Time Travellers (Terah Cox)
Scriptures
While couples choose not to get married in a church, I have had many ceremonies that included religious aspects blended in and a lovely way to do that is to include scriptures as readings in your ceremony. There are so many beautiful passages that represent your union in marriage and talk about love and unity. The three most popular are:
Corinthians 13:4-8
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Book of Ruth 1:16-17
Traditional Irish
Another popular approach is to include traditional Irish poetry, reflecting your heritage and background, but representing the love and unity between you. Here are some that I have seen included in ceremonies.
Scaffolding (Seamus Heaney)
Her Praise (W.B Yeats)
Oh Call It By Some Other Name (Thomas Moore)
Aedh Wishes for the Cloth of Heaven (W.B. Yeats)
Bluebells for Love (Patrick Kavanagh)
We Are Made One With What We Touch And See (Oscar Wilde)
Including Your Children
Readings are a perfect way to have your children involved in your ceremony. There are some many lovely readings and poems that you can choose from, that bring joy and laughter, that the children can connect to and be a special part of your ceremony. Here are some of the most popular.
Somethings Things Go Together (Charlotte Zolotow)
An excerpt from ‘Your Personal Penguin’ (Sandra Boynton)
An excerpt from Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’
The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)
Inspiration
You still may be asking the question, where do we start? Here are some good sources of readings for your ceremony.
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